How usefully do distinctly Stoic ideas illuminate the meaning of first- and second-century Christian texts? This book suggests that early Christians–the authors of New Testament and noncanonical writings, including some early apologies–were often more influenced by Stoicism than by Middle Platonism. This insight sheds an entirely new light on the relationship between philosophy and religion at the birth of Christianity. The book will appeal to scholars, graduate students, and libraries interested in New Testament studies and the early church.

Contents
• Introduction to philosophy between Stoicism and Platonism by Troels Engberg-Pedersen
• Chapters on the New Testament by Runar M. Thorsteinsson (on Romans), Niko Huttunen (on Paul and the law), Stanley Stowers (on the Gospel of Matthew), Harold Attridge and Gitte Buch-Hansen (on the Gospel of John), and J. Albert Harrill (on 2 Peter)
• Chapters on other early Christian topics and documents by John Fitzgerald (on slavery), Nicola Denzey (on martyrdom), Esther de Boer (on the Gospel of Mary), Ismo Dunderberg (on Valentinianism), Takashi Onuki (on the Apocryphon of John), and Tuomas Rasimus (on Sethianism and stoicizing Platonism)