The Social History of the Early Christian Church

The social history of the early Christian church is closely related to the kinds of documents and the secular, cultural context that was around at the time. Paul was highly influential on early Christian theology as was other people that wrote under his name. Three canonized works have classically been attributed to Paul, but are now known to be forgeries: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. These books are known as “The Pastorals” and they are different from Paul’s authentic works in many fundamental ways. In order to see the historical context in which these letters were written, we must first understand the social history of Christian theology at the time. We will present the social history and changes to early Christian theology that occurred in the time that spans the writing of 1 and 2 Corinthians to the writings of the Pastorals.

The pastorals are generally regarded to have been written sometime in the late 1st or early 2nd century.[1] Thus, by reading these works and by examining other early Christian writings from this time period, we can understand what Christians were most concerned with at this time. In doing so, early Christian theology becomes apparent. We will examine three major changes: the apparent interest in establishing conventional social norms regarding gender roles, the surfacing of the clergy, and how the view of non-believers on Christians changed through the years with writings such as the Pastorals, Galatians, and 1st and 2nd Corinthians to back up our findings.

When we read the Pastorals, we can see that the concerns the author writes about are vastly different than the concerns written about in 1 and 2 Corinthians. For instance, in the Pastorals there appears to be a vested interest in establishing conv...

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...nity and brought the Christian faith into another atmosphere that was more inviting. It portrayed a better image of how the Church of Christ should be.

In comparing Corinthians and the Pastoral it is evident that Christianity has transformed dramatically between the time Paul wrote Corinthians and when the Pastorals were written. in Corinthians the women were seen as inferiors to men, but in the latter Pastorals men were advised to uphold their wives and respect them. The clergy, in the Corinthians are nonexistent with much discourse between the Christians that believed themselves to be empowered by the same united Spirit. In the Pastorals, we see that the clergy has been established with instructions on how to better run the church. Lastly we saw how the views of the church change from a dualism point of view to more a more united focus in the Pastorals.