Ebook: Illiterate Apostles: Uneducated Early Christians and the Literates Who Loved Them

Allen Hilton examines how pagan critics ridiculed the early Christians for being uneducated and how a few literate Christians took up pen to defend the uneducated members of their churches. Hilton sheds light on the peculiarity of this “defense” in which the authors openly admit that the critics have the facts on their side, noting that the Book of Acts even calls two of its heroes, Peter and John, illiterates. Why did these authors, intent on presenting Christianity in a positive light, volunteer such a negative detail? The answer to this question reveals a fascinating social exchange that surrounded education levels in antiquity and made its way into the New Testament.
Hilton provides a useful window onto the social construction of ancient education and ushers readers into the everyday experience of ancient Christians and those who disdained and defended them.