<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"></span></b><span
style="font-size:11.0pt"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Dear Colleagues:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">It’s my pleasure
to announce the publication of the book <i>Christian
Intellectuals and the Roman Empire: From Justin Martyr to
Origen.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><img
style="width:2.4895in;height:3.75in" id="_x0000_i1025"
src="cid:part1.28A1DA72.FD4E9444@gmail.com" width="239"
height="360" border="0"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> From the
publisher: </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Early in the
third century, a small group of Greek Christians began to gain
prominence and legitimacy as intellectuals in the Roman Empire.
Examining the relationship that these thinkers had with the
broader Roman intelligentsia, Jared Secord contends that the
success of Christian intellectualism during this period had very
little to do with Christianity itself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">With the
recognition that Christian authors were deeply engaged with the
norms and realities of Roman intellectual culture, Secord
examines the thought of a succession of Christian literati that
includes Justin Martyr, Tatian, Julius Africanus, and Origen,
comparing each to a diverse selection of his non-Christian
contemporaries. Reassessing Justin’s apologetic works, Secord
reveals Christian views on martyrdom to be less distinctive than
previously believed. He shows that Tatian’s views on Greek
culture informed his reception by Christians as a heretic.
Finally, he suggests that the successes experienced by Africanus
and Origen in the third century emerged as consequences not of
any change in attitude toward Christianity by imperial
authorities but of a larger shift in intellectual culture and
imperial policies under the Severan dynasty.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Original and
erudite, this volume demonstrates how distorting the myopic
focus on Christianity as a religion has been in previous
attempts to explain the growth and success of the Christian
movement. It will stimulate new research in the study of early
Christianity, classical studies, and Roman history.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">You can find <i>Christian
Intellectuals and the Roman Empire: From Justin Martyr to
Origen</i> on the Penn State University Press web site at this
URL: <a
href="https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-08707-8.html">https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-08707-8.html</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Take 30% off with code NR20 when
you order through psupress.org</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">All best,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Jared Secord<br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"></span></p>
</body>
</html>