The development of theology in the first centuries of the Church goes hand in hand with educational practices: Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian (for example) all present themselves in the guise of teachers - not as clergy. Their literary production and claims to authority rest within the educational structures of antiquity, and are best understood in the contest of Greco-Roman agonistic paideia. Early Christianity was not a religious outsider, but an educational competitor - along with rhetorical and philosophical schools - for the allegiance of the wealthy international youth who expected through their education to taste a variety of different teachers and sects before settling into final allegiance and/or professional life.