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Essay / The Social History of the Early Christian Church
The social history of the early Christian Church is closely related to the types of documents and the secular cultural context that existed at the time. Paul had a great influence on early Christian theology, as did others who 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 differ from Paul's authentic works in many fundamental respects. In order to understand the historical context in which these letters were written, we must first understand the social history of Christian theology of the time. We will present the social history and changes in early Christian theology that occurred between the writing of 1 and 2 Corinthians through the writings of the Pastorals. The pastorals are generally considered to have been written at the end of the 1st or the beginning of the 2nd. century.[1] So, by reading these works and examining other early Christian writings from this period, we can understand what Christians were most concerned about during 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 emergence of the clergy, and how nonbelievers' views of Christians have changed over the years with writings such as the Pastorals, Galatians and 1st. and 2nd Corinthians to support our findings. When we read the Pastorals, we can see that the concerns the author speaks about are very different from those discussed in 1 and 2 Corinthians. For example, in pastoral care there seems to be a vested interest in establishing a paper community and bringing the Christian faith into another, more inviting atmosphere. It paints a better picture of what the Church of Christ should be. Comparing Corinthians and the Pastoral, it is evident that Christianity transformed dramatically between the time Paul wrote Corinthians and the time the Pastorals were written. In the Corinthians, women were considered inferior to men, but in the latter, men were advised to support their wives and respect them. The clergy, in Corinthians, is non-existent with much discourse between Christians who believed themselves empowered by the same united Spirit. In the Pastorals we see that the clergy were established with instructions on how to better manage the Church. Finally, we have seen how the views of the Church change from a dualistic point of view to a more united vision in pastoral..