Irish Jesus, Roman Jesus : the formation of early Irish Christianity /

A retired New Testament professor with "absolutely no background on the Irish," Snyder (Chicago Theological Seminary; Inculturation of the Jesus Tradition) comes to his subject from an interest in the cultural assimilation of the Christian message. How, he wants to know, did the original Pauline gospel tradition get to Ireland, and how was it reshaped by Celtic culture? This volume focuses on those questions and discuses some of the ways Celtic and Roman Christianity differed. For those familiar with Celtic Christianity, Snyder's work breaks little new ground. The earlier portion-which discusses Paul's Epistle to the Galatians and the migration of Christianity from Asia Minor to Ireland-is rooted in equal parts fact and speculation. The latter portion of the narrative summarizes material available elsewhere (e.g., the role of Celtic high crosses in illustrating Christian stories). Still, the work will be useful for those new to the subject, as well as to those who wish to explore how Christianity was assimilated into various cultures. Recommended for theological libraries and general academic collections with holdings in Christian history.-Christopher Brennan, SUNY Coll. at Brockport Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.