Conceptions of "Gospel" and Legitimacy in Early Christianity

Whether he is asking about the role of New Testament exegesis among other academic disciplines, the suppression of anger in Pauline writings, or at what point came to designate a written Gospel, James A. Kelhoffer's patient and careful exegesis provides an intriguing lens through which to view early Christianity. Many struggles of early Christ believers, he finds, reflect intra-ecclesial struggles to establish the legitimacy of a view or a religious leader vis-a-vis competing ideologies or leaders. Those already familiar with Kelhoffer's Miracle and Mission (2000), The Diet of John the Baptist (2005) and Persecution, Persuasion and Power (2010) will find in this volume refreshing insights suggested but not developed in his other books.