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Book Review

In the Beginning was the Meal: Social Experimentation & Early Christian Identity

Book Review

reviewed by John Shorb

This article was featured in the Summer 2013: Food, Faith and Community print issue. Click here to see the complete table of contents.

Written by John Shorb on June 14, 2013

John Shorb

John Shorb is the founder of Church Health Reader and served as editor from 2008-2011. He is a visual artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Visit him online at johnshorb.com.

See all articles by John Shorb.

In the Beginning was the Meal: Social Experimentation & Early Christian Identity by Hal Taussig

Hal Taussig provides a practical application for modern day Christian worship by delivering a scholarly analysis of Christian identity and origins placed in the context of 1st and 2nd century Greco-Roman meal gatherings. He demonstrates how the first Christians used these meals as opportunities for providing a new social and religious agenda that would give voice

to those who had little or no voice at the time. This ancient “experiment” was a bold and rhetorical way to challenge and resist the then existent empire because Greco-Roman meals provided this platform due to their unique customs and manners. In this way, Christian love feasts were formed that granted egalitarianism to the marginalized, such as slaves, the poor, females, and those of differing ethnicities. Taussig challenges today’s American church to provide greater flexibility in worship gatherings by reflecting on how the early Christians approached the table and incorporated positive societal and religious change as a result.

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Fall 2019 I Building a Vibrant Health Ministry: Mobilize Strengths in Your Congregation

Summer 2019 I Aging and Well-being: Navigating New Pathways for Health and Faith

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