Stephen Horton

This is an excellent overview on the way Christianity both absorbed and was original in it's use of various cultural forms in which it gave the Christian message flesh. BUT such a message was not as the author points out merely a seamless development from such ancient culture but a confrontation with it's adherents. Such confrontation came about through both the Bible with it's radical different literary forms (Something which initially the classically educated St Augustine found repellent) but also through liturgical practises. So, what happened in the liturgy, what was preached (Based principally on Biblical texts) was NOT just about words but included God given substance, bread/wine/oil/water and so on. The Christian religion as the author points out is an INCARNATE religion which engages the five senses (God became flesh in Christ) For anyone wishing to learn more about Christianity from Earliest times, THIS is the book to get.