Jewish Glass and Christian Stone

Eric C. Smith is Assistant Professor of the History of Christianity and New Testament Studies at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, USA.

• Preface: The Geographies of Identity1: Mountains, Valleys, and Stones2: Mountains: The Construction of World Religions3: Valley: Intersectional, Material Antiquity4: Glass: The Identities of Things5: Clay: The Economics of Belonging6: Marble: Stories in Stone7: Paint: The Hollowness of Symbols8: Vellum: ‘Relations’ in Miniature9: Papyrus: The Practice of Text10: The Mountains from the Valley

"This well-written and stimulating book fills a significant gap in current scholarship by focusing on material evidence for the relationships between Jews and Christians in late antiquity... Smith makes an excellent case for the inclusion of materiality in any consideration of the parting of the ways and other issues in the study of Jews and Christians in antiquity... The interaction with contemporary thinkers outside the field of biblical studies, archaeology, or ancient history demonstrates persuasively and concretely the ways in which the study of the ancient world is relevant to and also inflected by the currents of contemporary society." - Adele Reinhartz, Review of Biblical Literature 2019"In this creative and groundbreaking study, Smith places material culture front and center as he explores the rich contact zone of the figurative "valley" between the "mountain peaks" that represent late Roman Judaism and Christianity as clearly distinct religions. Building on the recognition that modern concepts of religion, and with it understandings of Judaism and Christianity, distort our understanding of the Roman world, Smith rethinks early Christian/Jewish "relations" through a deep engagement with critical race theory, hybridity, and intersectionality. This accessible and engaging book contributes significantly to the study of early Christianity, Roman Judaism, identity-construction, and religion, and demonstrates clearly the value of the materialist turn." - Christina Shepardson, University of Tennessee, USA"What can the physical remains of the past teach us about religion and community in antiquity? In this exquisitely crafted materialist reexamination of the so-called Parting of the Ways between Judaism and Christianity, Eric Smith reorients our thinking about the "raucous reality" of ancient lives on the ground. Stripping away the modern colonialist impositions of our "world religions" frameworks, Smith cogently pushes us to view ancient objects--glass, clay, marble, paint, vellum, and papyrus--not as evidence for clearly bounded religions, as singularly "Jewish" or "Christian" things, but rather as witnesses to the messy intermingling of identities in late antiquity." - Andrew Jacobs, Scripps College, USA"The value of this easy-to-read book is that it looks at the intertwined identities of ancient Jews and Christians through a diverse range of material objects. Smith analyzes ancient objects—each made of different materials—that at first seem to be distinctly Jewish or Christian, to challenge the assumptions that elite texts make when they describe Jews and Christians as separate religious groups with clear-cut boundaries. Smith studies these artifacts through critical race theory, intersectionality, hybridity, and consumer theory to discuss the intersectional identity of things and people to open a window 'into the lives of everyday persons, who did not recognize or respect textual boundaries'... Smith’s monograph is a much-needed addition to the literature that studies Jewish-Christian relationships and the 'parting of the ways'"- Bryn Mawr Classical Review