Larry Hurtado

Justin's testimony about becoming a Christian is that he had been searching various philosophical traditions of the time, and then accidentally encountered…

— Larry Hurtado

In the Marquette Lecture volume, I focus on the question in the title. I emphasize the social and political costs of being…

— Larry Hurtado

I think that Rodney Stark studies of new religious movements in the modern world give us some insights into the kinds of…

— Larry Hurtado

Justin Martyr says that he was impressed in his study of the Old Testament, at the seriousness and contents of these writings,…

— Larry Hurtado

Early Christianity, like Roman-era philosophical traditions, laid emphasis on everyday behavior, about how to live your life.

— Larry Hurtado

Studies of the people named and described in earliest Christian texts show that, right from the earliest years, they included craftsmen, merchants,…

— Larry Hurtado

"Religions" of the Roman world varied. Most of it was ritual practices. There were periodic occasions when cities honored their guardian deities…

— Larry Hurtado

Galen recognized, with some considerable puzzlement it seems, that Christians exhibited the virtues that he associated with the discipline of philosophy.

— Larry Hurtado

I think that Rodney Stark puts his foot wrong on some things where he simply wasn't sufficiently current on scholarly developments.

— Larry Hurtado

In its Roman-era setting, for example, Christianity was so different that critics of the time referred to it as a "superstition" (meaning…

— Larry Hurtado

I think Rodney Stark makes a substantial contribution to the study of early Christianity in posing the kinds of questions that he…

— Larry Hurtado

In Destroyer of the gods I focus on several major features of early Christianity that made it distinctive, even odd or bizarre…

— Larry Hurtado

Galen's observations reflect one of the distinctive features of early Christianity. Roman-era religion was mainly about ritual actions vis-à-vis the gods, and…

— Larry Hurtado

[Christians] practiced moderation and chastity in marriage, for example, and Galen was puzzled at how they were able to do so. His…

— Larry Hurtado

I offer early Christianity as a case-study to show that the phenomena that we group under "religion(s)" comprise a somewhat artificial category,…

— Larry Hurtado

Some modern scholars contend that in terms of what "religion" was in that [Roman-era setting], you can't even call Christianity a religion.

— Larry Hurtado