Paul's Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Cultural Setting

Most of the time we look at the new testament church from a 21st century perspective. Robert Banks does the opposite. The main question throughout the book is: 'what would Paul say about the life in the christian church'. Robert Banks systematically and profoundly discusses the main themes in Paul's theology about church life. What makes this book especially interesting is that the writer's interest is not that of one who intentionally tries to promote a community vision of the church and read it in the biblical text. Robert Bank seems more interested in finding the truth about Paul's idea of church life and by systematically unraveling Paul's theology he draws the conclusion throughout the book that Paul's idea of church life is that of a community. Rober Bank paints a clear picture of what such a community would look like in Paul's opinion. A foundational book that is a must read for anyone who is interested in the New Testament's idea of church life.

An interesting study on the history of the early church from the writings of Paul.

I bought this as a text book of my class, however, the shipment took ridiculously long... the one star missing is purely for the shipment. but the book itself is worth reading.

Saw this book quoted in other articles. Bought the ebook version and has been an excellent source and format for helping with doctoral research.

Banks, I think rightly, recognizes Paul's view of the church as a product and expression of the Gospel. Provocative thinking on broad terms, very helpful.

Dear potential readers, this book is great in that it highlights the community aspect of christians who gathered in the times of Paul. It is quiet academic linguistically but with a little patience you will get a very interesting picture of the first churches. Today we often think that church is very much church buildings and organisation/administration/marketing. However, here we see the family/community side of fellowship spreading from house to house.

Great tool for understanding the easrly church setting

Fantastic! I've read it three times so far. Christianity today is so far removed from the first three centuries.

I first studied this book back in the mid-80s when the first edition came out as part of a house church in Massachusetts. It transformed our already somewhat radical thinking about being church. Now, on re-reading it 25 years later, I still find it to be challenging, fresh, and revitalising.Banks is, first and foremost, a scholar. He does not shy away from the various issues that recent research has raised about the new testament texts of Paul's (such as, which ones are actually his), but nor does he just take the latest ideas as true. He presents a very well thought out and coherent view of Paul's thought, showing him to be a truly radical thinker whose ideas of Christian community fit neither his own times nor ours, but offer a new and better way to all who will dare to accept it.This is not a how-to book. Bank's doesn't give you a list of how to be church. What he does do, very well, is to pull out the themes, the underlying principles, that Paul uses to create his communities. These are the real gems, the unchanging values that need to be re-fleshed in every generation and society.Finally, this is a book by a scholar, but it is not a "scholarly" book. It is written with the serious student in mind and is accessible to anyone willing to think through the issues of the new testament. It won't appeal to those looking for quick answers or to those looking to bolster an existing mindset, but to those who want to know what Paul actually said and thought, it is a must-read.

I have to say in all honesty that this is one of the most important books I've ever read. I'm not really surprized that it is not well known or widely quoted because if it were, like a number of books coming from the 'organic' church stream, it would destabilize the church in it's current form. The subtext of Banks' book is arguably that it needs destabilizing in order for man made ideas to get out of the way and find their proper place....People that aren't ready to have their assumptions challenged and practices critiqued should steer clear of this book. The interesting thing is that Robert Banks doesn't jump in your face with his critiques. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find any real, upfront criticism of church practice. He moreorless leaves that alone. But he puts things in such a way that if you think about the implications of what's actually been said, you may find it difficult to remain the same.In the book, he takes a detailed look at how the apostle Paul came to spell out what a God directed community of people should be. It's in that 'looking at' that the surprizes occur. It also leaves us with the sobering thought that the church as originally envisaged is light years away from what currently exists- for the most part. If you've come to find yourself bored or unsatisfied with your church existence, or simply aware that there's "more" but can't put your finger on it, this is one of a group of books that should take up permanent space on your shelf for the next while.It can be a bit of a heavy read. I struggled to get past the first couple of chapters. But from there on it was rivetting !

Robert Banks has done the church an excellent service in this piece of work. He bases his analsys on the Pauline epistles and Luke's account of Paul's missionary activity, all of which provides most data on house churches and community life for the early Christians.Banks does a good job in correcting a lot of simplistic and populist ideas about the early church and grounds his analsys in first century contemporary culture and the biblical record. Unlike many of his contemporaries he does not restrict himself to the so-called 'seven indubitable texts of Paul but draws on the whole corpus.A thorough work, an accessible and enjoyable style makes this an excellent read.

This isn't light weight reading but if you are exploring Organic Church and what it means to be a community then this book is great read.