There are several elements to the first century culture which are foreign to us today. In this episode we discuss some of the most prevalent ones: honor/shame; patron/client; slavery; and limited resource dynamics. A better understanding of these underlying social structures, values, and worldviews equips us to grasp how the original audience would have understood the New Testament.
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Resources:
Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, Third Edition.
Joel B. Green and Lee Martin McDonald, eds., The World of the New Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts
N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians
James S. Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Ers: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity
J. Julius Scott, Jr., Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament
Bruce W. Longenecker, Elizabeth E. Shively, and T. J. Lang, eds., Behind the Scenes of the New Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts
