The Subversive Role of Visions in Early Christian Martyrs

During the persecution of the early church, the stories of the witness of the martyrs-later known as the Acts of the Martyrs--became a critical part of the church's reading and devotional material. Why? This book argues that the reading of the Acts, and especially their visions, did more than just encourage the persecuted church; they reveal a nuanced view of God, the world, power, and powerlessness, death and life that at times subverts what may have been construed as normal or dominant by either church or the Greco-Roman society. This nuanced view may in fact reflect an underlying grass-roots or "popular theology" not readily available to the reader through other early church literature.