{"product_id":"roman-virtue-in-the-early-christian-thought-of-lactantius-9780197667750","title":"Roman Virtue in the Early Christian Thought of Lactantius","description":"Known since the Renaissance as the 'Christian Cicero, ' Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was a professor of Latin rhetoric, Christian apologist, and theologian at the court of Emperor Constantine. Jason M. Gehrke provides an historical study of Lactantius' major work, \u003cem\u003eThe Divine Institutes of the Christian Religion\u003c\/em\u003e, focusing on its core notion of \u003cem\u003evirtus\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGehrke's volume uncovers the Roman political and philosophical traditions that informed arguments about \u003cem\u003evirtus\u003c\/em\u003e in early Latin Christian writers -- especially Tertullian, Minucius Felix, and Cyprian. Their works illuminate the fundamental meaning of \u003cem\u003evirtus\u003c\/em\u003e in the \u003cem\u003eDivine Institutes\u003c\/em\u003e and enable a new historical portrait of Lactantius' Christology and ethics. Gehrke goes on to discuss practical moral arguments about wealth, sexuality, and warfare that Lactantius developed as an expression of true \u003cem\u003evirtus\u003c\/em\u003e revealed in Christ. In this, the \u003cem\u003eDivine Institutes \u003c\/em\u003eappears as the first attempt at a complete synthesis of third-century Christian thinking about the implications of God's revelation in Christ for traditional Roman beliefs about the divine and moral order. As an expression of traditional Latin Christian theology, Lactantius' \u003cem\u003eDivine Institutes\u003c\/em\u003e reveal the significant influence of classical Roman literature, philosophy, and politics upon the Christian development of doctrine in the Latin west. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cem\u003eRoman Virtue in the Early Christian Thought of Lactantius\u003c\/em\u003e explores the character, sources, and logic of Lactantius' important work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJason M. Gehrke\u003c\/strong\u003e is Assistant Professor of History at Hillsdale College, where he teaches courses in the intellectual, religious, and military history of the Roman Empire. He holds a PhD from Marquette University, where he studied the history of ancient Christianity in the Roman world.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51318817292562,"sku":"9780197667750","price":137.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_25cf8488-70f2-45c6-9d20-520c28130b82.jpg?v=1748516289","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/roman-virtue-in-the-early-christian-thought-of-lactantius-9780197667750","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}