In a remarkable burst of energy over the last few years, social historians and social scientists have brought their scholarship to bear on the texts of the New Testament and early Church with a hope of reconstructing the world in which their authors and readers lived. What are They Saying About the Social Setting of the New Testament? brings to the general reader the results of a decade of scholarly research on this aspect of the New Testament that is crucial to a well-grounded understanding of the biblical text. How the first Christians related to one another, structured their community life, and perceived their world inevitably had a profound effect on how they expressed their faith. This survey presents the major results of their findings to date.