Abstract
It is customary for scholars to depict Christian and Jewish groups as 'sects' in a sociological sense, stressing conflict with and separation from society. But this ap proach often obscures other evidence concerning a variety of possibilities in the involvements of some of these groups in certain facets of civic life, involvements that are comparable to those of other 'pagan' associations in the same context. In this paper, a comparison of associations (Jewish, Christian and other) with respect to particular dimensions of society in Roman Asia—especially imperial aspects of the polis—illustrates the complexities of group—society relations. Viewing the Apoca lypse in light of such evidence helps to locate John's sectarian perspective within the range of 'pagan', Jewish and Christian viewpoints and practices in Asia, shed ding further light on the opponents addressed in the opening letters.
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