The Child-Parent Relationship in the New Testament and Its Environment

What was family life like in the early church? How did early Christians treat their parents? Would early Christian families have been admired or scorned by their neighbors? Did the relationships between early Christian children and their parents mirror those in the families around them? What characteristics were typical of the first few generations of followers of Jesus?

Marshalling the evidence from both New Testament and nonbiblical texts, Peter Balla offers fresh insight into the first Christian families.