Jewish identity in the Greco-Roman world =Jüdische identität in der griechisch-römischen welt /
:
The articles discuss various aspects of Jewish identity in the Greco-Roman period. Was there a common 'Jewish' identity, and how could it be defined? How could different groups develop and maintain their identity within the challenge of Hellenistic and early Roman culture? What about the images of 'others'? How could some of those 'others' adopt a Jewish lifestyle or identity, whereas others, abandoned their inherited identity? Among the questions discussed are the translation of Ioudaios, Jewish and universal identity in Philo, the status of women and their conversion to Judaism, the participation of non-Jews in the temple cult, the practice of Emperor worship in Judaea, and the image of Egypt and the Nile as 'others' in Philo. Two articles enter the debate whether Jewish identity had an ongoing influence within early Christianity, in Paul and in the rules known as the Apostolic Decree.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047421559 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Transformations of the Inner Self in Ancient Religions /
:
This collection of papers from two workshops - held in Heidelberg, Germany, in July 1996 and Jerusalem, Israel, in October 1997 - is concerned with anthropological rather than theological aspects of the Near Eastern and Mediterranean religions, ranging from the 'primary' religions of the archaic period and their complex developments in Egypt and Mesopotamia to the 'soteriological' movements and 'secondary' religions that emerged in Late Antiquity. The first part of the book focuses on \'Confession and Conversion\', while the second part is devoted to the topic of \'Guilt, Sin and Rituals of Purification\'. The primary purpose of this volume is to convey a sense of the dynamics and dialectical relationships between the various Near Eastern and Mediterranean religions from the archaic period to Late Antiquity.
:
Two contributions in German, one in French. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004379084 :
0169-8834 ;
Other worlds and their relation to this world : early Jewish and ancient Christian traditions /
:
Is there a future after death and what does this future look like? What kind of life can we expect, and in what kind of world? Is there another, hopefully better world than the one we live in? The articles collected in this volume, all written by leading experts in the field, deal with the question how ancient Jewish and Christian authors describe "otherworldly places and situations". They investigate why various forms of texts were created to address the questions above, how these texts functioned, and how they have to be understood. It is shown how ancient descriptions of the "otherworld" are taking over and reworking existing motifs, forms and genres, but also that they mirror concrete problems, ideas, experiences, and questions of their authors and the first readers.
:
Proceedings of a conference held Mar. 21-23, 2007 at Radboud University. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004190733 :
1384-2161 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Der Paradox Eine : antignostischer Monarchianismus im zweiten Jahrhundert /
:
These essays propose a new dating of, and historical setting for the letters of \'Ignatius of Antioch\'. In so doing this volume forms an important contribution to the study of Monarchianism and early church history as well. An examination of the fragments of Noëtus of Smyrna, the founder of Monarchianism, leads to the discovery of the oldest Regula fidei , and of its origin as part of anti-gnostic polemics. On the ground of late second-century parallels, especially Melito and Irenaeus, this Regula can be dated between 160 and 180 CE. It is within this context that the so-called Letters of Ignatius fit seamlessly. As a result of these findings this volume argues for a significant revision of our understanding of early church history. Monarchianism (\'Sabellianism\', \'Patripassianism\'), later considered heretical, is shown to have been the almost universally accepted belief within the Church up to the period of the Roman bishops Zephyrinus and Callistus.
:
1 online resource (xviii, 332 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 317-332) and index. :
9789004313163 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The apostolic age in patristic thought /
:
This volume deals with how Christians of the first centuries looked back on the period of the nascent Church. Thanks to the incomparable stature of its founder, Jesus Christ, who had descended from heaven and commissioned his Apostles, this period was authorative for all Christians in matters of doctrine, institutions, rites and morality, a new phenomenon in the Graeco-Roman world. Its implications are explored in sixteen essays dealing with various subjects such as liturgy, the canon of Scriptures, the role of miracles, art, monasticism, and ministry. All contributions, taking into account both the views of individual Church fathers and Gnostic and Manichaean texts, make a large amount of primary material available.
:
1 online resource (xi, 257 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047404293 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Die Namen des Vaters : Studien zu ausgewählten neutestamentlichen Gottesbezeichnungen vor ihrem frühjüdischen und paganen Sprachhorizont /
:
This book brings together studies on the most common designations for God in the New Testament, considering their use in ancient Jewish tradition as well as in Greek religion and Roman imperial cult. The introducing chapter on "the Father" is followed by studies on "the Lord" and different designations expressing sovereignty (pantokrator, basileus, despotes, dynastes et cetera), on "the Creator", "the living God" and "the life giving God" as well as on the genuine Christian designation "God, who has risen Jesus from the dead". The two final chapters are on "the one and only God" and on "the highest God". This compendium is not only a reference work full of interesting philological and religio-historical material, but also lays the foundation for future studies on the way in which the different New Testament- and other early Christian texts express their views on God. Conclusions at the end of each chapter facilitate the reading of the book, which aims to sharpen the view on the long neglected importance of God in the scriptures of the New Testament. *** "Die Namen des Vaters" geben einen Überblick über die häufigsten neutestamentlichen Gottesbezeichnungen unter Berücksichtigung ihrer frühjüdischen Tradition, aber auch der zeitgenössischen paganen Sprachkonvention in der griechischen Religion und im römischen Herrscherkult. Nach der Behandlung der "Vater"-Bezeichnung folgen die Analyse der Bezeichnungen Gottes als "Herr" und "Herrscher" (Allherrscher, König, Despotes, Dynastes et cetera), als "Schöpfer", als "lebendiger" und "lebendigmachender" sowie Gott als dem, "der Jesus von den Toten auferweckt hat" als genuin christlicher Redeweise. Den Abschluss bilden Studien zu "Der einzige Gott" und "Der höchste Gott". Dieser grundlegende Überblick eignet sich nicht nur als materialreiches Nachschlagewerk, sondern bildet zugleich einen hilfreichen Ausgangspunkt für alle weiteren Untersuchungen zu den Gottes-Vorstellungen einzelner Autoren der neutestamentlichen und weiterer frühchristlicher Schriften. Zahlreiche Zusammenfassungen erleichtern die Lektüre dieses Werks, das den Blick für die - lange vernachlässigte - Bedeutung Gottes in den neutestamentlichen Texten schärfen möchte.
:
Revision of the author's Habilitationsschrift--Humboldt-Universität Berlin, 2005. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [617]-674) and index. :
9789047420026 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Die Würde des Menschen : ein Beitrag zur Anthropologie in der alten Kirche /
:
There can be no doubt that there is a link between early Christian statements on human dignity and the corresponding modern concept, as it appears ever more frequently in current bioethical debates. This study attempts to throw light on the surprisingly complex process of the emergence of such a Christian concept of human dignity in antiquity and portrays it as a process governed by contradictions and antagonisms: between biblical and platonic anthropology; between a platonic and a stoic perception of humanity; between gnostic and antignostic cosmology; between biblically based criticism of human culture on the one hand and heilsgeschichtlichem cultural optimism on the other hand; between Greek and Roman thinking. This history of the idea of the "dignity of man" is being recounted taking into consideration the complex matrix of Christian theory and practice (including issues such as worship, contraception and abortion), piety and theological reflection, ethics, liturgy and theological as well as cutural anthropology. *** Bei dieser Studie handelt es sich um den Versuch einer zusammenfassenden Darstellung der christlich-antiken Auseinandersetzung mit der Würde des menschlichen Lebens Diese wird nicht nur gegenwärtig etwa in der Bioethik wieder kontrovers diskutiert, sondern ist auch in der Antike ein Feld philosophischer und theologischer Überlegungen gewesen. Volp fragt, inwieweit sich in den Schriften der antiken christlichen Denker die Vorstellung einer mit einer besonderen Würde ausgestatteten gemein-menschlichen Natur findet, die Menschen von Tieren und von belebter und unbelebter Materie unterscheidet, und wie diese Natur gefaßt und begründet wird. Ausgehend von der These, daß diese Überlegungen nicht nur Auswirkungen auf die ethische und religiöse Praxis der Alten Kirche hatten, sondern umgekehrt auch entscheidend von ihr geprägt wurden, konzentriert sich die Arbeit nicht nur auf die theoretischen Äußerungen der Kirchenväter, sondern bezieht ethische Konkretionen (Schwangerschaftsabbruch, Umgang mit Menschen mit Behinderungen, Krieg) und den christlichen Kult mit in die Untersuchung ein. Zum Vorschein kommt ein überraschend komplexes Bild einer alles andere als selbstverständlichen geistesgeschichtlichen Entwicklung, deren Folgen bis in die heutige Zeit nachwirken.
:
1 online resource (466 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 375-427) and indexes. :
9789047411277 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.