I totally agree with your concluding statement: "This was a book that certainly helped me understand that studying early Christianity is not just the study of theological ideas, you need to understand ancient religion, and the sociology of ancient religion." Your works have been particularly helpful to me in understanding New Testament backgrounds which I strongly believe is fundament to a proper interpretation of the biblical text. As a side note, I just read Matthew 23:15 yesterday and wondered about the missional activity of the Pharisees.
I totally agree with your concluding statement: "This was a book that certainly helped me understand that studying early Christianity is not just the study of theological ideas, you need to understand ancient religion, and the sociology of ancient religion." Your works have been particularly helpful to me in understanding New Testament backgrounds which I strongly believe is fundament to a proper interpretation of the biblical text. As a side note, I just read Matthew 23:15 yesterday and wondered about the missional activity of the Pharisees.