Richard Last

For decades researchers in various disciplines have studied correlations between migration and social capital, namely, the impact of diversity on neighbour trust and community cohesion. Yet, so far, ancient historians have treated the topics of migration and social capital separately. The present article introduces the relevant empirical studies and social theories from other disciplines. It then applies this research to Roman neighbourhoods. One outcome is a new perspective on the role of collegia in fostering or corroding trust and social capital in urban neighbourhoods: some associations can be understood as ‘bridging’ in that they generated intergroup contact and so social capital, while others (probably most) were a force of division in that they proliferated out-groups and fostered distrust among neighbours. The collegia of port societies and other diverse neighbourhoods such as Regio XIV Transtiberim are more likely to have enhanced social capital in their locales than are the associations of more homogeneous and inland societies.

Paul urged practitioners of Christ worship to abandon their old gods and replace them with Christ.  Justin, Tertullian, and other spokespersons followed Paul’s lead. While current discussions, both in the area of Christian origins and also Roman religion, often portray the “abandon and replace” ideal as reflective of the actual process of embracing Christ, the decision to relinquish old gods as a result of turning to Christ posed risks compared to other methods of embracing new gods. Furthermore, in antiquity, abandoning old gods was neither necessary nor common when individuals adopted new deities. This study highlights underexplored modes of embracing Christ in the Roman principate, and argues that a plurality of Christ-followers maintained connections with the Roman gods. Interpretatio Christiana and various other forms of adding Christ to existing religious practices were likely adopted by a prominent number of Christ-followers prior to Constantine.

The regulations of the collegium of ivory and citrus-wood merchants are best known for their suspected prohibition against outsiders or non-practitioners. The present study argues that the law in question actually prohibits curatores from enrolling outsiders – the text curiously labels such an offense ‘fraud.’ Rather than banning outsiders altogether, the law provides that only quinquennales shall have the authority to admit non-practitioners. It is still a rather unusual law, and since it conveys the impression that this collegium is wildly popular even among non-practitioners, and headed by quinquennales who excel in the virtue of orderliness, its audience and function are both scrutinized here.

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This study examines a peculiar votive dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus by an anonymous domini metuens (‘worshipper of god’) in Rome (CIL 6.390a = 30752, second century CE). It proposes that the epithet dominus in the inscription most likely refers to Christ, and so the altar represents a votive dedicated to Jupiter by a practitioner of Christ worship. Please let me know if you would like the full article emailed.

Scholarship traditionally situates the social lives of NT gospel writers exclusively within the Jesus movement and local Christ groups, showing inadequate consideration for how the gospel writers’ literary abilities might have provided the basis for social interaction and group formation with Greeks, Romans, and Judeans of common occupations and/or cultural interests. In order to provide a fuller portrait of the social and historical setting of gospel literature, this article explores the ranges of social activities practiced, and networks developed, by comparable writers – broadly, Greek historiographers. Data about historiographers’ social practices from the epigraphy help to provide controls for speculations about the setting of NT gospel composition, and raise new questions about this literature possibly emerging from networks and guilds forged between people of similar scribal professions and/or cultural interests that cut through ancient Christianity rather than from within the Jesus movement exclusively. Recent scholarship on the social setting of the Q Gospel (i.e., scribal networks) and the Gospel of Thomas (i.e., philosophical formations) has made arguments in this direction on the basis of other evidence, and that model appears most historically plausible for the narrative gospels, as well.

This article explores the collective process of writing in Greek associations. In doing so, a framework is provided for understanding how and to whom Jesus biographies might have been composed. One proposed outcome is that the ‘all Christians’ theory seems inconsistent with insights from the associations.

Despite the rising popularity of religion and film undergraduate courses and the proliferation of scholarship in the field, this relatively new discipline still lacks methodological sophistication. The present study proposes that instructors and critics should begin to afford attention to the ways in which films articulate meaning through their audio-visual, stylistic dimensions. Film style is an important element of filmmaking that has largely been ignored by scholars of religion. By affording attention to the aspects of film that distinguish it from other artistic media, critics and instructors will be able to better illuminate the manner in which religious material is expressed through the film medium.

Many interpreters cite Paul's preaching task as his primary apostolic concern while underestimating the importance with which he regarded working as a community-builder. The present study builds upon principles established by practice theorists and suggests that Paul's ideas about the purpose of his missionary activities are partially accessible through an analysis of what he reported that he did and planned to do during his career. A list of his 'statements of action' from the undisputed letters are compiled and analyzed. It is found that establishing and maintaining local Christ-groups represented for Paul two central tasks requiring fulfillment before the parousia.

In 2 Thess 3:6-15 Paul turns his attention to members of the Thessalonian church whom he calls periergazomenoi. He describes their behaviour as eating meals for free at the expense of socially-superior affiliates who foot the bills. The participle, periergazomenoi (2 Thess 3:11), is unanimously regarded as ‘busybodies’, and is explored in commentaries and social histories in the context of ancient philosophical discourses attesting to hē polypragmōn and polypragmosynē. Strikingly, these analogies often neither use Paul’s language nor take place in social settings similar to 2 Thess 3:6-15 where food and money are central. Since periergazesthai could mean a variety of things, each dependent on the setting, including ‘haggling,’ ‘investigating,’ and ‘belaboring,’ this paper asks what it meant at meals and when property or money were involved, as in 2 Thess 3:6-15? It analyzes data from the 4,000 occurrences of periergazesthai (and cognates) in literary, papyrological, and epigraphic sources from IV BCE – IV CE.  In light of this new evidence, the ‘busybody’ rendering is ruled unlikely. The most likely meaning in 2 Thess 3:11 is ‘hagglers.’ This generates new questions about money, economic status, and banqueting practices in this early church. A table with relevant sources pulled from TLG, DDDP, and PHI is included.

This paper explores inscriptions honouring the deeds of local and travelling Greek and Roman historians and mythographers. Some were elite politicians and held prominent positions in public temples, in addition to writing narratives about local gods, heroes, and military history. Others were more middling and, according to Lucian, composed historical works in a manner that represented documentary writing more than  proper conventions of history writing.  Whether they traveled often or were stationary, they established rather homogeneous local networks - not cross-sections of ancient society - and in some cases became affiliated with private associations as patrons or full members. The study concludes by exploring possibilities for understanding writers of Jesus narratives in light of the wealth of data on writers of narratives  more generally.