Paula Fredriksen

How, over the course of five centuries, one particular god and one particular Christianity came to dominate late Roman imperial politics and piety. The ancient Mediterranean teemed with gods. For centuries, a practical religious pluralism prevailed. How, then, did one particular god come to dominate the politics and piety of the late Roman Empire? In Ancient Christianities, Paula Fredriksen traces...

How did Jesus of Nazareth become the Christ of the Christian tradition? Magisterial. . . . A learned, brilliant and enjoyable study.—Géza Vermès, Times Literary Supplement In this exciting book, Paula Fredriksen explains the variety of New Testament images of Jesus by exploring the ways that the new Christian communities interpreted his mission and message in light of the delay...

Paul is a groundbreaking new portrait of the apostle Paul, crafted by one of today’s leading historians of antiquity. Often seen as the author of timeless Christian theology, Paul himself heatedly maintained that he lived and worked in history’s closing hours. His letters propel his readers into two ancient worlds, one Jewish and one pagan. The first was incandescent with...

When Christians Were Jews offers a compelling account of Christianity’s Jewish beginnings, from one of the world’s leading scholars of ancient religion. How did a group of charismatic, apocalyptic Jewish missionaries, working to prepare their world for the impending realisation of God’s promises to Israel, end up inaugurating a movement that would grow into the gentile church? Committed to Jesus’s...

How, over the course of five centuries, one particular god and one particular Christianity came to dominate late Roman imperial politics and piety. The ancient Mediterranean teemed with gods. For centuries, a practical religious pluralism prevailed. How, then, did one particular god come to dominate the politics and piety of the late Roman Empire? In Ancient Christianities, Paula Fredriksen traces...