--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the Marquette Lecture volume, I focus…" description: "\"In the Marquette Lecture volume, I focus on the question in the title. I emphasize the social and political costs of being a Christian in the earliest ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/larry-hurtado-31747_answers_in-the-marquette-lecture-volume-i-focus_582806.jpg" --- # In the Marquette Lecture volume, I focus on the question… ![“In the Marquette Lecture volume, I focus on the question in the title. I emphasize the social and political costs of being a Christian in the earliest centuries, and contend that many attempts to answer the question are banal. I don't attempt a full answer myself, but urge that scholars should…” quote by Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/larry-hurtado-31747_answers_in-the-marquette-lecture-volume-i-focus_582806.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/larry-hurtado-31747_answers_in-the-marquette-lecture-volume-i-focus_582806.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/larry-hurtado-31747_answers_in-the-marquette-lecture-volume-i-focus_582806.jpg) > “In the Marquette Lecture volume, I focus on the question in the title. I emphasize the social and political costs of being a Christian in the earliest centuries, and contend that many attempts to answer the question are banal. I don't attempt a full answer myself, but urge that scholars should take the question more seriously.” [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the overlooked social and political hardships early Christians faced, urging deeper scholarly attention. **In simple terms:** Early Christians faced costly challenges; scholars should study them seriously. Key Takeaway Recognize and investigate early Christian hardships. Themes history religion politics scholarship Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical scholarly When to use this quote - academic research - theological study - historical analysis Key Concepts social cost political cost early Christianity Questions to Reflect On - How can we better assess early Christian struggles? - What methodologies deepen our understanding? A Different Perspective The quote may overstate banality of existing work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Attempts Answer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempts-answer-4786888/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christian Earliest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-earliest-4786887/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Costs Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/costs-christian-4786885/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Lectures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lectures/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Question Banal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-banal-1182174/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Scholars Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholars-question-4786886/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Titles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/titles/) [Urges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urges/) [Volume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volume/) ## Related quotes > [“The question is banal but one of the real troubles with living is that living is so banal. 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Being of dramatic bent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luanne-rice/i-was-married-to-a-law-student-and-i-used-to-attend-classes-with-him/) [Luanne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luanne-rice/) > [To the distracting occupations belong especially my lecture courses which I am holding this winter for the first time, and which now cost much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/to-the-distracting-occupations-belong-especially-my-lecture-courses/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [I haven't been silent. I teach, I lecture at universities, I write, I'm not silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-haven-t-been-silent-i-teach-i-lecture-at-universities-i-write-i-m/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## More by 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 a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/justin-s-testimony-about-becoming-a-christian-is-that-he-had-been/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) > [I think that Rodney Stark studies of new religious movements in the modern world give us some insights into the kinds of questions that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/i-think-that-rodney-stark-studies-of-new-religious-movements-in-the/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) > [Justin Martyr says that he was impressed in his study of the Old Testament, at the seriousness and contents of these writings, and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/justin-martyr-says-that-he-was-impressed-in-his-study-of-the-old/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) > [Early Christianity, like Roman-era philosophical traditions, laid emphasis on everyday behavior, about how to live your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/early-christianity-like-roman-era-philosophical-traditions-laid/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) > [Studies of the people named and described in earliest Christian texts show that, right from the earliest years, they included craftsmen, merchants, and owners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/studies-of-the-people-named-and-described-in-earliest-christian-texts/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) > ["Religions" of the Roman world varied. Most of it was ritual practices. There were periodic occasions when cities honored their guardian deities with sacrifices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/religions-of-the-roman-world-varied-most-of-it-was-ritual-practices/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) > [Galen recognized, with some considerable puzzlement it seems, that Christians exhibited the virtues that he associated with the discipline of philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/galen-recognized-with-some-considerable-puzzlement-it-seems-that/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) > [I think that Rodney Stark puts his foot wrong on some things where he simply wasn't sufficiently current on scholarly developments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/i-think-that-rodney-stark-puts-his-foot-wrong-on-some-things-where-he/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 a bogus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/in-its-roman-era-setting-for-example-christianity-was-so-different/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) > [I think Rodney Stark makes a substantial contribution to the study of early Christianity in posing the kinds of questions that he pursues (which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/i-think-rodney-stark-makes-a-substantial-contribution-to-the-study-of/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) > [In Destroyer of the gods I focus on several major features of early Christianity that made it distinctive, even odd or bizarre .We don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hurtado/in-destroyer-of-the-gods-i-focus-on-several-major-features-of-early/) [Larry Hurtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hurtado/) > [Galen's observations reflect one of the distinctive features of early Christianity. 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I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. 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