A comprehensive survey of the doctrine and practice of baptism in the first five centuries of Christian history, arranged geographically within chronological periods.

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It might be assumed that Christian preachers have always proclaimed the same unchanging message in the same unchanging way to similarly comprised and receptive congregations. But this assumption is far from accurate. Throughout history the style and subject matter of sermons have repeatedly changed to meet the shifting needs of congregations molded by contemporary events. "A Mirror for the Church" explores this dynamic as it developed in the early church. In examining sermons preached during the first five centuries of church history, David Dunn-Wilson answers some important questions: Who were the first preachers? What did they preach about, and what methods did they use? What kinds of people made up the first congregations, and how did they relate to the world around them? In the process, Dunn-Wilson uncovers the homiletic themes that remained constant in early church history and shows how preachers and their churches adapted to waves of social change. He also suggests ways in which the priorities of the early church might inform preaching and Christian practice today.

This fascinating and lively book provides the first comprehensive discussion of the production, circulation, and use of books in early Christianity. It explores the extent of literacy in early Christian communities; the relation in the early church between oral tradition and written materials; the physical form of early Christian books; how books were produced, transcribed, published, duplicated, and disseminated; how Christian libraries were formed; who read the books, in what circumstances, and to what purposes. Harry Y. Gamble interweaves practical and technological dimensions of the production and use of early Christian books with the social and institutional history of the period. Drawing on evidence from papyrology, codicology, textual criticism, and early church history, as well as on knowledge about the bibliographical practices that characterized Jewish and Greco-Roman culture, he offers a new perspective on the role of books in the first five centuries of the early church.