Strange Religion - Print

Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling

By Nijay K. Gupta

Soft cover. 240pp.
ISBN 9781587435171
Brazos Press (2024)

[Allow 4 weeks].

The first Christians were weird. Just how weird is often lost on today’s believers.

Brought to life with numerous images, this book shows how the example of the earliest Christians can offer today’s believers encouragement and hope.

Within Roman society, the earliest Christians stood out for the oddness of their beliefs and practices. They believed unusual things, worshiped God in strange ways, and lived a unique lifestyle. They practiced a whole new way of thinking about and doing religion that would have been seen as bizarre and dangerous when compared to Roman religion and most other religions of the ancient world.

Christianity would have been seen as radical in the Roman world, but some found this new religion attractive and compelling. The first Christians dared to be different, pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable, transformed how people thought about religion, and started a movement that grew like wildfire.

“In the twenty-first century, when Christianity has been so dominant for so long, it is hard to imagine a context in which the Christian faith was viewed as out of the ordinary and in some respects dangerously weird. This book packs a punch and is well worth reading.”
Paula Gooder, canon chancellor, St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Keywords

Early Christians, Radical Christianity, Roman Society, Bizarre Religion, Transformation, Encouragement, Hope, Different Thinking, Attractive Religion, Compelling Faith, Dominant Christianity, Contextual Perspective, Dangerously Weird