The Child-Parent Relationship in the New Testament and Its Environment

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What was family life like in the early church? How did early Christians treat their parents? Would early Christian families have been admired or scorned by their neighbors? Did the relationships between early Christian children and their parents mirror those in the families around them? What characteristics were typical of the first few generations of followers of Jesus? Marshalling the evidence from both New Testament and nonbiblical texts, Peter Balla offers fresh insight into the first Christian families. "This book solidifies Peter Balla's reputation as an emerging leader among a new generation of Eastern European biblical scholars. Adding to previous works on New Testament theology and canon, Professor Balla clarifies the New Testament understanding of family, its social setting, and its hermeneutical implications. He also contributes to our understanding of the tensions that pulse through the New Testament. At the same time he points to profound unity. Balla's diligent research and clear reasoning result in wise insights that no one pondering this topic will wish to miss." --Robert W. Yarbrough, Associate Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School "In the midst of growing interest in children in early Christianity, this book carves out a special place with its focus on children's duties towards parents. It is a competent analysis not only of texts but also of inscriptions, papyri, and other private documents from the social context. A close and prolonged look at controversial New Testament texts leads to the conclusion that the duty to parents was never abrogated in the teaching of Jesus or his successive disciples. A worthwhile contribution to an expanding field." --Carolyn Ostek, Professor of New Testament, Brite Divinity School. Peter Balla is Professor of New Testament at Karoli Gaspar University of the Reformed Church in Hungary (Budapest). Educated at the Reformed Theological Academy in Budapest, and Edinburgh University (PhD, 1994), Professor Balla was also a Humboldt scholar at the University of Heidelberg and was awarded his Habilitation degree from the Evangelical Lutheran Theological University in Budapest. In addition to numerous essays, he is the author of Challenges to New Testament Theology. He is married with four children.