Religion Books

Book SynopsisJohn Piper invites readers to turn from the dulling effects of food and other appetites to the all-satisfying glory of God through fasting and prayer. Redesigned with a new foreword by David Platt and Francis Chan.

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Book SynopsisThe New Testament is filled with stories of Jesus eating with peoplefrom extravagant wedding banquets to simple meals of loaves and fishes. The Food and Feasts of Jesus offers a new perspective on life in biblical times by taking readers inside these meals. Food production and distribution impacted all aspects of ancient life, including the teachings of Jesus. From elaborate holiday feasts to a simple farmer's lunch, the book explores the significance of various meals, discusses key ingredients, places food within the socioeconomic conditions of the time, and offers accessible recipes for readers to make their own tastes of the first century. Ideal for individual reading or group study, this book opens a window into the tumultuous world of the first century and invites readers to smell, touch, and taste the era's food.Trade ReviewEveryone knows that Jesus fed thousands with just a few fish and loaves, but what did people of the first century eat on an everyday basis? According to Neel and Pugh, the ancient Middle Eastern diet has much in common with the region’s contemporary foods despite 2,000 years of changing tastes and technological innovations. Jewish dietary proscriptions may have limited consumption of some foods, but the presence in Jerusalem of Roman occupation forces and other gentiles would have meant some diversity at table. The authors inventory available grains, fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish. Holidays of the era, most tied to the cycle of planting and harvesting, had their own specific traditions for feasts. For those who want to recreate a seder, the authors offer a sample Passover meal and its ritual prayers in both Hebrew and English. Recipes enable anyone to recreate entire meals that Jesus might well have enjoyed. * Booklist *Neel, an Episcopal priest, and Pugh, a CPA, are both serious experts on ancient foodways. This enjoyable and tasty book is an insightful culinary study of Jesus’s time and the role played by the preparation of food and its consumption. Their book allows the reader to 'study, taste, and experience the culture of the first century Holy Land.' The 50-plus recipes included permit the reader to incorporate these delicious and healthy foods into their own meals and celebrations. The authors see food as a gift from God and believe that in its preparation and consumption we create community. The authors not only present the recipes but also explore the significance of food in biblical times from everyday repasts to the specific meanings of food choices at rituals such as wedding feasts, religious gatherings, and Shabbat. The recipes feature the fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish, olive oil, and fresh spices that were used at the time and will enable readers to experience this important aspect of biblical studies. VERDICT This book is ideal for anyone looking for different and inspiring recipes as well as an excellent introduction to life in the first-century Holy Land. Highly recommended. * Library Journal *There’s no doubt that food plays a big part in the most important moments of our lives. But have you ever wondered how the meals you share with family and friends today would compare to the food commonly found on the tables where Jesus once dined? In The Food and Feasts of Jesus, Douglas Neel and Joel Pugh open a delicious doorway into first-century kitchens, examining the basic ingredients of the day and serving up mouthwatering recipes for dishes commonly served at both special celebrations and ordinary meals. The authors reveal how preparing and sharing a feast became a key ingredient in defining culture and developing community—and how a return to cooking traditions of the past can bring us closer together in the present. * U.S. Catholic *Most of the recipes in this book are simple enough for the home cook, and are likely to appeal even to eaters who are only slightly adventurous.... The authors’ invitation to ‘join the feast’ is a nuanced and thoughtful one, aimed at separating the reader from ‘our fast-food culture’ and rediscovering the pleasure of creating entire delicious meals from scratch, inviting others to share, remembering those who do not have enough, and, in every bite, relishing the goodness and generosity of God, without whose sustaining hand there is no bread, no life. * Education & Culture *Mr. Neel and Mr. Pugh's book dissects the food of Jesus' time: what people ate on a day-to-day basis, what they ate for religious feasts such as Passover, how social and economic conditions influenced diet, and why any of this still matters. And, as the subtitle suggests, the authors have developed recipes so you could theoretically serve a first-century meal at home, perhaps even on the floor as it might have been served then, with the multigenerational family sitting on cushions around the food. * Pittsburgh Post-Gazette *It is clear from the tone and tempo of this book that Doug and co-author Joel Pugh greatly enjoyed themselves as they researched and wrote it. You should be prepared for the same fun experience as you read. Fair warning: Expect to get thirsty and hungry as you learn about all the food and feasts and peruse the multiple recipes at the end of most of the chapters. The author tell us that this is not a book for scholars. Rather, it is written for ordinary people who want to study, taste and experience the culture of the 1st Century Holy Land....This is much more than a cookbook. It is a reflection of 1st Century Mediterranean life written in an inviting, storytelling style. * Pagosa Sun (Pagosa Springs, CO) *About twelve years ago, the Rev. Doug Neel – an avowed foodie and flyfisherman – was leading a Bible study in his parish in Texas about Luke’s Gospel, when he noticed that in nearly every chapter, Jesus is at a banquet of some sort. This observation, and questions it raised for Neel about what such a banquet might have been like, prompted him to begin an in-depth exploration of the food and culture in the time of Jesus that led to a catering business, another way of teaching the New Testament, and ultimately to a book – co-authored with Joel Pugh – called The Food and Feasts of Jesus....Neel did extensive research for the book, whose chapters are structured around stories from the Bible, the cultural context for those stories, and recipes that high-light either part of the story or an event in the story. He and co-author Pugh consulted a number of sources, including Greek and Roman writings, and a first-century Roman cookbook. They also looked at archaeological findings about what kinds of pots and pans have been found from the first century, and at agricultural records of what kinds of crops were grown, both for internal consumption and for export....Neel’s parish families have played a significant role in the book’s evolution, from his ministry in Dallas prompting the idea for the book in the first place, to the women’s group at St. Patrick’s that helped him test the recipes he was developing and finalizing for the book. He hopes other congregations will use the book to encourage discussion, study and sharing food and conversation. Each chapter stands alone, so groups could take on just one chapter or meal, or they could work through the book, one teaching at a time. The book itself contains recommendations for how congregations and small groups might use it. Neel encourages people to engage the full experience of eating like Jesus and his peers did. 'They ate with their hands,' he says. 'I encourage people to try eating with their hands too – it is a very different experience.' * Colorado Episcopalian *Go back to basics with The Food and Feasts of Jesus. Authors Neel and Pugh give readers an insight into 'the world of first-century fare with menus and recipes.' In addition to understanding life and culture in Biblical times, readers can experience for themselves what Jesus and his disciples ate for their meals. Try out recipes for ordinary meals shared by everyone living in the Holy Land as well as lavish fare eaten during Passover, Thanksgiving, banquets and weddings. * MSN Lifestyle (XIN) *This unusual book is written not for scholars and historians, but for ordinary readers who want to know: W(hat) W(ould) J(esus) E(at)?...Neel and Pugh highlight the ways in which shared meals foster community, define identity, teach history, and reinforce cultural norms. They also place food within the dire socioeconomic conditions of the time, noting vast disparities between the diets of the rich and the poor and the disruption of the Jewish farm and food production occasioned by oppressive policies of Herod the Great. The book prompts readers to reflect on their own culinary habits, e.g., meat-heavy diets and the profound disconnect we moderns have with the growth and production of our own food—an enterprise in which 80 to 90% of the population was engaged in Jesus’ day. Readers will also take from the book a renewed appreciation of the ways in which '[f]ood, feasting, food production, culture, and history are all intricately intertwined.' * Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology *Understanding food in first-century Palestine helps readers better understand the context of Jesus' teaching, the authors write. They include simple, modernized recipes so that a home cook can prepare a daily meal, a light outdoor lunch or one of several special feasts. * The Christian Chronicle *The Food and Feasts of Jesus: The Original Mediterranean Diet, with Menus and Recipes addresses just what the title promises, inviting the reader not only to come to a greater and more intimate understanding of the society of Jesus’ time, but to actually try it out in a 21st century kitchen. * Orange County Catholic *One does not need to be a cook to relish this book. It is as intriguing as it is informative. I hope you will savor it. Goodness only knows, I certainly have. -- Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great EmergenceW(hat)W(ould)J(esus)E(at)? That's the question both posed and answered in this engaging book. Douglas E. Neel and Joel A. Pugh have combined serviceable knowledge of the Bible, a keen grasp of ancient Mediterranean culture and the culinary arts to fine effect. No wonder 'the Son of Man came eating and drinking.' No wonder the psalmist advised 'O taste and see.' -- Rev. Harry T. Cook, Episcopal priest, author of Long Live Salvation by WorksAn excellent book for ordinary people who wish to experience and study the first century meals of Jesus. The recipes are classic for the ancient Mediterranean and the meals of the daily life in ancient Palestine. A feast for Christians and non Christians alike! -- Kathleen E. Corley, University of Wisconsin-OshkoshThis book is a feast of information and thoughtful perspectives on the foods, meals, customs, and teachings about food at the time of Jesus. From religious festivals to weddings to Shabbat to everyday meals, the authors cover it all. They bring to life the eating experiences of rich and poor, men and women, in good times and bad, on feast days and on workdays. Many familiar biblical passages will be illuminated by this book, but the unexpected delight is the full description of foods available in Jesus’ day, and recipes for complete meals so that people today can experience the foods and meals of the Bible. -- Lawrence Wills, Episcopal Divinity SchoolHappy are those who taste the feast of the kingdom of God Douglas Neel and Joel Pugh have prepared for them in The Food and Feasts of Jesus! This book offers a satisfying combination of history, stories, and recipes in a practical way to enhance modern Christian table fellowship. I particularly appreciated the friendly and respectful way the authors preserved the Jewish flavor of Jesus' meals. -- Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, Wheaton CollegeTable of ContentsChapter 1: Why Eat the Food of Jesus and his Followers Chapter 2: The Bounty of the First Century Kitchen Chapter 3: Our Daily Bread Chapter 4: The Farmer, Food, and Social Responsibility Chapter 5: The Sabbath Feast Chapter 6: The Banquet Chapter 7: The Wedding Feast Chapter 8: The Feast of the Passover Supplement to Chapter 8: A First Century Passover Haggadah Chapter 9: The Harvest Feast Chapter 10: Eating with God; The Todah Feast Chapter 11: Picnic at the Beach Chapter 12: What We Have Learned and Why We Join the Feast

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Book SynopsisWe perform ceremonies to mark important events and celebrate holidays—yet our modern approach to ceremony only scratches the surface of its true potential. With The Book of Ceremony, shamanic teacher Sandra Ingerman presents a rich and practical resource for creating ceremonies filled with joy, purpose, and magic. "We are hungry to connect with more than what we experience with our ordinary senses in the material world," writes Sandra. "By performing ceremonies, you will find yourself stepping into a beautiful and creative power you might never have imagined." Weaving shamanic teachings together with stories, examples, and guiding insights, The Book of Ceremony explores: • The elements of a powerful ceremony—including setting strong intentions, choosing your space, preparing ceremonial items, and dealing gracefully with the unexpected • Stepping into the sacred—key practices for leaving behind your everyday concerns and creating a space where magic can happen • Guidance for working alone, in community, and across distances with virtual ceremonies • Invoking spiritual allies—the power of working with the elements, the natural world, ancestor spirits, and the creative energy of the divine • Sacred transitions—including ceremonies for weddings, births, rites of passage to adulthood, funerals, honorable closure, and new beginnings • Ceremonies for energetic balance—healing and blessing, resolving sacred contracts, getting rid of limiting beliefs, creating Prayer Trees, and more • Life as a ceremony—how to infuse your entire life with ceremonial practice, from planting a garden to revitalizing your home or office to helping heal our planet The Book of Ceremony is more than a "how-to" guide—it will inspire you to create original ceremonies tailored to your own needs and the needs of your community. When you invoke the sacred power of ceremony, you tap into one of the oldest and most effective tools for transforming both yourself and the world. As Sandra writes, "If you perform one powerful and successful ceremony for yourself, the principle of oneness ensures that all of life heals and evolves."

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A brilliant, paradoxical figure….In an age of ‘inspirational’ books without inspiration, her writing is unmatched for surprising, sometimes shocking, spiritual insight." —New York Times"The only great spirit of our time." —Albert Camus"The most truly spiritual writer of this century." —André Gide"This beguiling book is a fine introduction to Weil’s work." —Publisher’s Weekly"An excellent introduction to Weil’s writings and also a valuable guide and stimulus for cultivating a life in which intellectual and spiritual honesty are inseparable, and in which the difficulty of attaining them is seriously confronted. It is ideal for classroom use, for introducing a friend to Weil, or for revisiting her long after an earlier encounter to be reminded why she is such a compelling and challenging interlocutor."—Mark Shiffman, Front Porch Republic"Love in the Void is a reminder to neophytes and the experienced alike that Weil’s writing is meant to be concrete, accessible, and useful – more than simply ideas to ponder, but an invitation to change our lives. Plough has done an admirable job in assembling a condensed version of Weil’s most pertinent writing. This is Weil burned down to her essentials." —Scott Beauchamp"An exciting encounter with an extraordinary mind."—Booklist

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Book SynopsisJesus taught his followers that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. This book offers a sweeping intellectual and social history of the vexing problem of wealth in Christianity in the waning days of the Roman Empire.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2012 Gold Medal Book of the Year Award, History category, ForeWord Reviews Winner of the 2012 Award for Excellence in Humanities, Association of American Publishers Winner of the 2012 R. R. Hawkins Award, PROSE Awards, Association of American Publishers Winner of the 2013 Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History, American Philosophical Society Winner of the 2013 Philip Schaff Prize, American Society of Church History Winner of the 2012 PROSE Award in Classics & Ancient History, Association of American Publishers One of Bloomberg's Best Books of 2016 One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013 Honorable Mention for the 2013 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature, McGill University "To compare it with earlier surveys of this period is to move from the X-ray to the cinema... Every page is full of information and argument, and savoring one's way through the book is an education. It is a privilege to live in an age that could produce such a masterpiece of the historical literature."--Garry Wills, New York Review of Books "[O]utstanding... Brown lays before us a vast panorama of the entire culture and society of the late Roman west."--Peter Thornemann, Times Literary Supplement "[I]t's the gloriously ambitious panorama of Through the Eye of a Needle that most impresses. This is a book written in Cinemascope, and like the best intellectual and social history it features a polyphony of voices."--Christopher Kelly, London Review of Books "[M]agisterial... The formidably learned historian challenges commonly accepted notions about the role of wealth in the decline of the Roman empire and examines the roots of charity, two subjects relevant to contemporary economics."--Marcia Z. Nelson, Publishers Weekly "It is exciting to watch a historian who has already written so extensively on Late Antiquity absorb so much new scholarship, revise his old reviews, and re-imagine the world we thought we knew from him... Through the Eye of a Needle is a tremendous achievement, even for a scholar who has already achieved so much. Its range is as vast as its originality, and readers will find everywhere the kinds of memorable apercus and turns of phrase for which its author is deservedly famous... There can be no doubt that we are in the presence of a historian and teacher of genius."--G. W. Bowersock, New Republic "As Brown (Augustine of Hippo), the great dean of early church history, compellingly reminds us in his magisterial, lucid, and gracefully written study, the understanding of the role of wealth in the developing Christian communities of the late Roman Empire was much more complex. Combining brilliant close readings of the writings of Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Paulinus of Nola with detailed examinations of the lives of average wealthy Christians and their responses to questions regarding wealth, he demonstrates that many bishops offered such Christians the compromises of almsgiving, church building, and testamentary bequests as alternatives to the renunciation of wealth... Brown's immense, thorough, and powerful study offers rich rewards for readers."--Publishers Weekly "Brown's goal in this book is patiently to reconstruct the debates on wealth among late Roman Christians: in other words, to set out the context for the tendentious claims of ascetic minorities, which have misled so many later interpreters."--Conrad Leyser, Times Literary Supplement "His sparkling prose, laced with humour and humanity, brings his subjects to life with an uncommon sympathy and feeling for their situation."--Tim Whitmarsh, Guardian "This book should be daunting but it is not; for while the book is heavy to lift, it is even harder to put down. It makes utterly compelling reading."--Eric Ormsby, Standpoint "Brown may be an emeritus professor of history at Princeton, but his research is resolutely up-to-date... A hefty yet lucid contribution to the history of early Christianity."--Kirkus Reviews "[A]n unprecedented resource... Brown creates broad, deep landscapes in which the reader can watch the ancients moving. You can, in places, just crawl in and have a true dream about the ancient world. Moreover, the topic holds fascinating implications about the formation of modern Western culture... It's a significant and suggestive story."--Sarah Ruden, American Scholar "The sheer scope of this history is daunting, but scholars, theologians, and anyone interested in late Roman history or early Christianity will find this a fascinating view not only of the Church's development, but also of the changing concepts of wealth and poverty in the last centuries of the Roman empire."--Kathleen McCallister, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia, Library Journal "This is a masterpiece that more than justifies its length. Peter Brown is the greatest living historian of late antiquity, a periodization which he virtually invented, and Through the Eye of a Needle an achievement which stands to his earlier career as a great cathedral does to a pilgrimage route."--Tom Holland, History Today "[N]o other scholar could have produced Brown's characteristically intricate, spectacular and joyous synthesis... One of the captivating qualities of Brown's new book is the sheer energy and intellectual excitement that sparkle through it. He might, in recent years, have rested of his laurels--perhaps, like his beloved Augustine, written his memoirs. Instead, he celebrates the continuing expansion of the field and demonstrates his continued mastery of it in a groundbreaking study of wealth in the late antique Church... Towards the end of the book, Brown describes how a basilica might have looked around the year 600: glowing with candles, glittering with mosaics, gleaming with gold and silver vessels. 'The church itself', he says, 'had become a little heaven, filled with treasures.' It is a description irresistibly applicable to Peter Brown's own book: as rich a monument to the life of the mind as was any late Roman basilica to the life everlasting."--Teresa Morgan, Tablet "[A] predictably brilliant re-appraisal of the Roman world during the fourth to sixth centuries... Through the Eye of a Needle is a vast book, but is remarkably readable. Brown's intimate knowledge of Augustine and his times is presented with human empathy and a sense of the relevance of these long-ago events... [T]he latter chapters of Through the Eye of a Needle contain much essential information about the establishment of Christian influence throughout Europe following Rome's fall... [A] wonderful book."--Ed Voves, California Literary Review "Peter Brown, professor emeritus at Princeton University and the leading historian of late antiquity, has written a masterful study... His book is characterized by lively prose, mastery of the primary sources and original languages, comprehensive use of changes in the study of antiquities (especially the 'material culture' of archaeology), gorgeous plates, nearly 300 pages of bibliographic end material, and a number of important revisions to the standard historiography."--Dan Clendenin, JourneywithJesus.net "Through the Eye of a Needle (Princeton University Press) is the crowning masterpiece of Peter Brown, the great historian who virtually invented late antiquity as a periodisation. The book's theme might seem specialised: the evolution of attitudes towards wealth in the last century and a half of the Roman empire in the west, and the century that followed its collapse. In reality, like so many of Brown's books, it gives us a world vivid with colour and alive with a symphony of voices. It is not only the most compassionate study of late antiquity in the west ever written, but also a profoundly subtle meditation on our own tempestuous relationship with money."--Tom Holland, History Magazine "Brown, in this masterful history, makes the writings of Augustine, Ambrose and Jerome more accessible to the average reader, and scholars will welcome the voluminous notes and index."--Ray Saadi, Gumbo "[D]eliriously complicated... As usual, Brown leaves no stone unturned in his search for insight and evidence... He paints a colorful social setting for early church debates about theology and ethics without becoming reductively sociological, and often overturns accepted mytho-history in the process. He quietly draws on contemporary theory but typically lets ancients speak for themselves because his aim is to introduce us to an exotic world. Through it all, he focuses on the masses of details by treating attitudes, beliefs, and practices about wealth as a 'stethoscope' to hear the heartbeat of late Roman and early Christian civilization... Brown has captured the rough texture of real history. It is testimony to the success of Brown's subtle, provocative, and beautifully written book."--Peter Leithart, Christianity Today "A fascinating book by the great historian of late antiquity, Peter Brown, on the development of Christianity in Rome... Through the Eye of a Needle is a serious work of scholarship and an important study about how Rome became Christian."--John Roskam, Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs "Thoroughly researched, making use of the new materials that have emerged in the recent years, The Eye of the Needle is a scholarly work not just on early Christianity but relates its growth to the later developments and offers a new reading of the old sayings. It definitely is a source book for readers on religion and society."--R. Balashankar, Organiser "Its achievement is plain. It explores, with Brown's characteristically profound empathy, the great paradox of how a church with a world- and wealth-denying ideology came to acquire temporal riches and respectability... [H]is approach is to offer the reader extraordinarily vivid portraits of individual Christian thinkers faced with the moral contradictions of worldly riches... This much anticipated book, described by Brown as 'the most difficult book to write that I have ever undertaken,' fulfils expectations. Its success is grounded in its unerring moral balance. Perhaps for the first time, the problem of wealth in early Christianity is treated in full, with no righteous fury at blatant hypocrisy nor any apology for a church that rationalized its enrichment by feeding the poor... It is the virtue of Through the Eye of a Needle that it prompts and enables one to think about the largest questions. It is a gift to have such a beautiful, authoritative, and humane study that cuts to the heart of all that is most challenging in the relationship between the spiritual and the material in late antiquity."--Kyle Harper, Bryn Mawr Classical Review "Brown ... offers a masterful study on how converting to Christianity transformed the ways that economic elites in Europe and North Africa viewed their own wealth's source and purpose. A vivid storyteller, Brown transforms evidence from written, archaeological, and material sources into compelling portraits of early Christian leaders like Ambrose and Augustine... [Through the Eye of a Needle] will quickly become required reading for students of early Christianity and late ancient history, but others interested in history and theological studies also will find it engaging."--Choice "Compelling... One can see in Brown's narrative that the disputes of the fourth century stand between the old civic generosity and a new concern for otherworldliness. Perhaps that transitory radicality could not be sustained. But it has bequeathed to the church a 'conglomerate of notions' that link the wealth of the church, the care of the poor and the fate of the soul."--Walter Brueggemann, Christian Century "Peter Brown's achievement is not least in having placed us all in his debt with so rich a work... [D]o not be put off by thinking that this is a book only for academics; all of us can enjoy what is, simply, accessible and well-written reading matter that does not require the possession of academic qualifications. It deserves to be enjoyed on the beach, as well as in the Bodleian!"--John Scott, Fairacres Chronicle "[B]oth masterful and friendly... Through the Eye of a Needle, an important revisionary account for scholars of the ancient world, should also be read by a general public and by beginning undergraduates as an example of the humanity, the generosity, and the clarity of scholarship at its best."--Caroline Walker Bynum, Common Knowledge "Through the Eye of a Needle demonstrates Brown's mastery of an enormous range both of source material and of secondary work. It is crammed with stimulating ideas, and striking, very Brownian observations and metaphors... Brown has taken us on a long and highly informative journey with numerous fascinating detours through late antiquity. We can only be grateful."--J. H. W. G. Liebeschuetz, American Historical Review "Through the Eye of a Needle, an important revisionary account for scholars of the ancient world, should be read by a general public and by beginning undergraduates as an example of the humanity, the generosity, and the clarity of scholarship at its best... It is both masterful and friendly."--Caroline Walker Bynum, Common Knowledge "[T]his book, like Brown's many others, has done [much] to illuminate the late-ancient world, and he has opened many avenues for others to continue exploring."--Michael Kulikowski, Catholic Historical Review "Through the Eye of a Needle challenges the widely held notion that Christianity's growing wealth sapped Rome of its ability to resist the barbarian invasions, and offers a fresh perspective on the social history of the church in late antiquity."--World Book Industry "In typical fashion, Peter Brown has delivered a text that is masterly in scale, broad in scope, ... and admirable in readability for a large audience."--M.A. Gaumer, Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses "In addition to vast erudition formed by a range of reading in well over a dozen languages, Brown has something of the cinematographer's ability to compose a narrative by moving between panoramas and individual close-ups. The results are often dazzling."--Patrick Cook, Cambrdige Humanities Review "[T]his is an impressive and monumental piece of scholarship that casts western late antiquity into clearer relief than it has received. It will long be required reading for anyone wanting to understand the social realities of Christianity in the late antique West."--Geoffrey D. Dunn, Journal of Early Christian Studies "Through the Eye of a Needle is Peter Brown at his best, his very best: a thoughtful and thought-provoking travel-guide whose beautiful prose opens up previously unseen horizons of real people living in a variety of landscapes around the Mediterranean at different moments in a period of epochal change that was fundamental for the making of Western European civilization. Using a fine brush and a light touch, Brown paints his pictures with a palette of an astonishingly broad and erudite up-to-date scholarship."--John Behr, Marginalia "[C]learly a magisterial achievement. Through the Eye of a Needle should be read by anyone interested in the late Roman Empire, ancient Christianity, or the complex origins of attitudes towards wealth and poverty in the modern world."--Benjamin H. Dunning, European Legacy "Through the Eye of the Needle will remain ... as massive and reassuringly immovable landmarks in the horizon of our understanding."--Kate Cooper, Journal of Roman Studies "Elegantly written and amply sign-posted, this long book is a pleasure to read."--Alexander Skinner, Journal for Late Antique Religion and Culture "Those readers interested in the evolution of the Western church or in a good social approach or both will find this book a splendid treatment... This thorough work will become the standard go-to study of the early Christian church in the West."--Lee L. Brice, The Historian "Magisterial... Brown's newest monograph belongs on the bookcase of every late ancient and medieval historian... A stunning accomplishment."--Elizabeth DePalma Digesner, H-Net ReviewsTable of ContentsList of Maps xv List of Illustrations xvii Preface xix Part I Wealth, Christianity, and Giving at the End of an Ancient World 1 *Chapter 1 Aurea aetas - Wealth in an Age of Gold 3 *Chapter 2 Mediocritas - The Social Profile of the Latin Church, 312-ca. 370 31 *Chapter 3 Amor civicus - Love of the city - Wealth and Its Uses in an Ancient World 53 *Chapter 4 "Treasure in Heaven" - Wealth in the Christian Church 72 Part II An Age of Affluence 91 *Chapter 5 Symmachus - Being Noble in Fourth-Century Rome 93 *Chapter 6 Avidus civicae gratiae - Greedy for the good favor of the city - Symmachus and the People of Rome 110 *Chapter 7 Ambrose and His People 120 *Chapter 8 "Avarice, the Root of All Evil" - Ambrose and Northern Italy 135 *Chapter 9 Augustine - Spes saeculi - Careerism, Patronage and Religious Bonding, 354-384 148 *Chapter 10 From Milan to Hippo - Augustine and the Making of a Religious Community, 384-396 161 *Chapter 11 "The Life in Common of a kind of Divine and Heavenly Republic" - Augustine on Public and Private in a Monastic Community 173 *Chapter 12 Ista vero saecularia - Those things, indeed, of the world - Ausonius, Villas, and the Language of Wealth 185 *Chapter 13 Ex opulentissimo divite - From being rich as rich can be Paulinus of Nola and the Renunciation of Wealth, 389-395 208 *Chapter 14 Commercium spiritale The spiritual Exchange - Paulinus of Nola and the Poetry of Wealth, 395-408 224 *Chapter 15 Propter magnificentiam urbis Romae - By reason of the magnificence of the city of Rome - The Roman Rich and their Clergy, from Constantine to Damasus, 312-384 241 *Chapter 16 "To Sing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land" - Jerome in Rome, 382-385 259 *Chapter 17 Between Rome and Jerusalem - Women, Patronage, and Learning, 385-412 273 Part III An Age of Crisis 289 *Chapter 18 "The Eye of a Needle" and "The Treasure of the Soul" - Renunciation, Nobility, and the Sack of Rome, 405-413 291 *Chapter 19 Tolle divitem - Take away the rich - The Pelagian Criticism of Wealth 308 *Chapter 20 Augustine's Africa - People and Church 322 *Chapter 21 "Dialogues with the Crowd" - The Rich, the People, and the City in the Sermons of Augustine 339 *Chapter 22 Dimitte nobis debita nostra - Forgive us our sins - Augustine, Wealth, and Pelagianism, 411-417 359 *Chapter 23 "Out of Africa" - Wealth, Power and the Churches, 415-430 369 *Chapter 24 "Still at that Time a More Affluent Empire" - The Crisis of the West in the Fifth Century 385 Part IV Aftermaths 409 *Chapter 25 Among the Saints - Marseilles, Arles and Lerins, 400-440 411 *Chapter 26 Romana respublica vel iam mortua - With the empire now dead and gone - Salvian and His Gaul, 420-450 433 *Chapter 27 Ob Italiae securitatem - For the security of Italy - Rome and Italy, ca. 430-ca. 530 454 Part V Toward Another World 479 *Chapter 28 Patrimonia pauperum - Patrimonies of the poor - Wealth and Conflict in the Churches of the Sixth Century 481 *Chapter 29 Servator fidei, patriaeque semper amator - Guardian of the Faith, and always lover of [his] homeland - Wealth and Piety in the Sixth Century 503 Conclusion 527 Abbreviations 531 Notes 533 Works Cited * Primary Sources 641 * Secondary Sources 654 Index 719

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Book SynopsisCompiled and translated in large part by St. Jerome, the Vulgate Bible influenced Western literature, art, music, education, theology, and political history through the Renaissance. Professors at Douay, then at Rheims, translated it into English to combat Protestant vernacular Bibles. Volume VI presents the entire New Testament.

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