Outworking the “Birds of the Air”: Early Christians’ Attitudes Toward Labor and Work
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 38
Special Issue Editors
Interests: early Christianity; historical Jesus; Nag Hammadi codices; Gnosticism
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
“The Kingdom of Heaven has come near” (Mk 1:15). Therefore, “do not worry about your life—what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear” (Mt 6:25). Instead, “sell your possessions and give the money to the poor” (Mt 19:21). Apocalypticism, sabbatical/jubilee ideals, and voluntary poverty were likely the basis of the historical Jesus’ message of salvation. Much has been written about why, how, and through whom Christianity diverged so rapidly and radically from this Galilean preacher’s ethical agenda. However, comparatively little attention has been paid to how the dignity of materially gratifying labor persisted despite such eschatological and transcendentalist devaluation, allowing for Christ-believers to outwork “the birds of the air” (Mt 6:26) while still believing in the resurrection. Was this shift merely a pragmatic response to the tension between eschatological expectations and their deferral, compensated by beneficial in-group practices like assembly patronage and redemptive almsgiving? Or, in the absence of a unified Christian work ethic and shared apocalyptic framework, did Jesus’ followers simply respond to economic necessities and conform to prevailing cultural norms in ways that were socially adequate and materially viable? Was Christian-ness ever a relevant quality and salient factor when it came to making money or divesting of riches, expanding or selecting investments, protecting or exploiting laborers, bettering work conditions, or downing tools? Or did it evolve into such an ambivalent factor only for the few and at a later stage? This Special Issue invites papers that explore these questions through a wide range of sources from the 1st to the 4th century CE. Authors can adopt various methodological perspectives to investigate the early Christians’ attitudes toward work, production, and the transformation of the environment.
Prior to submitting a manuscript, we request that interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors, Andrea Annese (andrea.annese@unibo.it) and Emiliano R. Urciuoli (emiliano.urciuoli@unibo.it). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring a proper fit within the scope of this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.
Dr. Andrea Annese
Dr. Emiliano Rubens Urciuoli
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- early Christianity
- labor and work
- eschatological expectations
- apocalypticism
- delay of the eschaton
- early Christ groups
- early Christians and ethics
- attitudes toward the environment
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