Conflict has been an inescapable facet of religion from its very beginnings. This volume offers
insight into the mechanisms at play in the centuries from the Jesus-movement's first attempts
to define itself over and against Judaism to the beginnings of Islam. Profiling research by
scholars of the Centre for Early Christian Studies at Australian Catholic University the
essays document inter- and intra-religious conflict from a variety of angles. Topics relevant
to the early centuries range from religious conflict between different parts of the Christian
canon types of conflict the origins of conflict strategies for winning for conflict
resolution and the emergence of a language of conflict. For the fourth to seventh centuries
case studies from Asia Minor Syria Constantinople Gaul Arabia and Egypt are presented. The
volume closes with examinations of the Christian and Jewish response to Islam and of Islam's
response to Christianity. Given the political and religious tensions in the world today this
volume is well positioned to find relevance and meaning in societies still grappling with the
monotheistic religions of Judaism Christianity and Islam.
