The Virgin Goddess, Studies in the Pagan and Christian Roots of Mariology.
:
The contemporary search for the feminine face of God is requiring a re-examination of the relationship of Christianity to the pagan world in which it came to birth. Stephen Benko approaches this study as both an historian and a Christian believer. Inquiring into extra-biblical sources of Marian piety, belief and doctrine, he proposes 'that there is a direct line, unbroken and clearly discernible, from the goddess-cults of the ancients to the reverence paid and eventually the cult accorded to the Virgin Mary.' Chapter by chapter he seeks to establish his conclusion that 'in Mariology the Christian genius preserved and transformed some of the best and noblest ideas that paganism developed. Rather than being a 'regression' into Paganism, Mariology is a progression toward a clearer and better understanding of the feminine aspect of the divine and the role of the female in the history of salvation.' This publication has also been published in hardback, please click here for details.
:
1 online resource. :
9789047412588
Magical hymns from Roman Egypt : a study of Greek and Egyptian traditions of divinity /
:
"This interdisciplinary study investigates the divine personas in the so-called magical hymns of the Greek magical papyri which, in a corpus usually seen as a significant expression of religious syncretism with strong Egyptian influence, were long considered to be the 'most authentically Greek' contribution. Fifteen hymns receive a line-by-line commentary focusing on religious concepts, ritual practice, language and style. The overarching aim is to categorise the nature of divinity according to its Greek or Egyptian elements, examining earlier Greek and Egyptian sources and religious-magical traditions in order to find textual or conceptual parallels. Are the gods of the magical hymns Greek or Egyptian in nature? Did the magical hymns originate in a Greek or Egyptian cultural background? The book tries to answer these questions and to shed light on the religious plurality and/or fusion of the two cultures in the treatment of divinity in the Greek magical papyri"--
:
xxi, 457 pages ; 22 cm. :
Includes bibliographical references (pages 393-430)and index. :
9781107108387
Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity /
:
In Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity , Matthew V. Novenson brings together thirteen state-of-the-art essays by leading scholars on the various ways ancient Jewish, Christian, and classical writers conceive of God, Christ, Wisdom, the demiurge, angels, foreign gods, and other divine beings. In particular, the book revisits the "early high Christology" debates of the 1990s, identifying the lasting contributions thereof as well as the lingering difficulties and new, emerging questions from the last thirty years of research. The essays in this book probe the much-touted but under-theorized distinctions between monotheism and polytheism, Judaism and Hellenism, Christianity and paganism. They show how what we call monotheism and Christology fit within the Greco-Roman world of which they are part.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004438088
9789004437975
Early Christians Adapting to the Roman Empire : Mutual Recognition /
:
In Early Christians Adapting to the Roman Empire: Mutual Recognition Niko Huttunen challenges the interpretation of early Christian texts as anti-imperial documents. He presents examples of the positive relationship between early Christians and the Roman society. With the concept of "recognition" Huttunen describes a situation in which the parties can come to terms with each other without full agreement. Huttunen provides examples of non-Christian philosophers recognizing early Christians. He claims that recognition was a response to Christians who presented themselves as philosophers. Huttunen reads Romans 13 as a part of the ancient tradition of the law of the stronger. His pioneering study on early Christian soldiers uncovers the practical dimension of recognizing the empire.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004428249
9789004426153
Speech-In-Character, Diatribe, and Romans 3 : Who's Speaking When and Why It Matters.
:
In Speech-in-Character, Diatribe, and Romans 3:1-9 , Justin King argues that the rhetorical skill of speech-in-character ( prosopopoiia, sermocinatio, conformatio ) offers a methodologically sound foundation for understanding the script of Paul's imaginary dialogue with an interlocutor in Romans 3:1-9. King focuses on speech-in-character's stable criterion that attributed speech should be appropriate to the characterization of the speaker. Here, speech-in-character helps to inform which voice in the dialogue speaks which lines, and the general goals of diatribe help shape how an "appropriate" understanding of the script is best interpreted. King's analyses of speech-in-character, diatribe, and Romans, therefore, make independent contributions while simultaneously working together to advance scholarship on a much debated passage in one of history's most important texts.
:
Description based upon print version of record. :
1 online resource (xiii, 333 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004373297 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christian origins and Greco-Roman culture : social and literary contexts for the New Testament /
:
In Christian Origins and Greco-Roman Culture , Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts assemble an international team of scholars whose work has focused on reconstructing the social matrix for earliest Christianity through the use of Greco-Roman materials and literary forms. Each essay moves forward the current understanding of how primitive Christianity situated itself in relation to evolving Hellenistic culture. Some essays focus on configuring the social context for the origins of the Jesus movement and beyond, while others assess the literary relation between early Christian and Greco-Roman texts.
:
1 online resource (vii, 751 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004236219 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Strategies of polemics in Greek and Roman philosophy /
:
Strategies of Polemics in Greek and Roman Philosophy brings together papers written by specialists in the field of ancient philosophy on the topic of polemics. Despite the central role played by polemics in ancient philosophy, the forms and mechanisms of philosophical polemics are not usually the subject of systematic scholarly attention. The present volume seeks to shed new light on familiar texts by approaching them from this neglected angle. The contributions address questions such as: What is the role of polemic in a philosophical discourse? What were the polemical strategies developed by ancient philosophers? To what extent did polemics contribute to the shaping of important philosophical doctrines or standpoint?
:
1 online resource (i, 248 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004323049 :
1570-078X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Greco-Roman culture and the New Testament : studies commemorating the centennial of the Pontifical Biblical Institute /
:
Since a number of scholars at the Pontifical Biblical Institute have made important contributions to the study of the New Testament in the context of the Greco-Roman world, it seemed appropriate to devote this volume commemorating the centennial of the Biblicum (1909-2009) to that subject. This book contains nine essays by scholars from Europe, the United States, Australia and Jerusalem, each exploring the ways in which aspects of the New Testament can be illuminated by recourse to Greco-Roman texts.
:
1 online resource (xii, 218 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004226548 :
0167-9732 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Rhetorical Functions of Scriptural Quotations in Romans, Paul's Argumentation by Quotations.
:
Quotations from Jewish scriptures play a crucial role in the Letter to the Romans. The Rhetorical Functions of Scriptural Quotations in Romans explores their rhetorical functions in Paul's argumentation. It offers a careful text-critical analysis of the 51 quotations in Romans, and asks questions such as: does Paul quote accurately according to a wording known to him or does he adapt it himself? Moreover, to what extent does Paul strive to preserve the sense that the quoted words have in their original context? Katja Kujanpää's approach of combining rhetorical matters with close textual study results in a more comprehensive picture of quotations in Romans than has been previously seen. Thus, the book opens new perspectives on Paul's argumentation, rhetoric and theological agenda.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004382930
Hippolytus and the Roman church in the third century : communities in tension before the emergence of a monarch-bishop /
:
Allen Brent examines the significance of the Hippolytan events in the life of the Roman Church in the early third century. Developing the thesis of at least two authors in the Hippolytan corpus, he proposes a new, redactional explanation of the relation between these different authors and the theological and social tensions to which their work bears witness. Brent reconstructs a picture of the community that contextualizes both the Hippolytan literature and in particular the Statue, for which he proposes a new interpretation as a community artefact though universally misjudged as a monument to an individual. Tertullian's relationship with Callistus is finally re-assessed. This work is thus an important contribution to new understandings of a period critical both for the development of Church Order and embryonic Trinitarian Orthodoxy.
:
1 online resource (xii, 611 pages, [24] pages of plates) : illustrations, facsimiles. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 541-569) and indexes. :
9789004312982 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Knowledge of God in the Graeco-Roman world /
: Papers presented at an international symposium at the University of Utrecht, 1986 on the occasion of the University's 350th anniversary. : 1 online resource (vi, 290 pages) : Includes bibliographical references and indexes. : 9789004296671 : 0531-1950 ; : Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Temples, Religion and Politics in the Roman Republic /
:
A study of the construction of new temples in the Roman Republic, a process which illuminates key features of both their political and religious systems. It offers an analysis of the relationship between the individual and the community, both human and divine, and their responsibilities toward one another. The book examines in detail each of the three main stages in the construction of a new temple: the vow, the placing of a contract, and the dedication. Special attention is paid to the ability of a Roman magistrate to enter into building obligations on behalf of the state, and the role of the general's share of the spoils of war, his manubiae. In contrast to previous studies, this work emphasizes the significant role played by the Roman Senate, and thus offers a new interpretation of the symbolic meaning of this process. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004329898
9789004107083
The cult of Mithras in the Roman provinces of Gaul /
: Originally presented as the author's thesis (M.A.), Manchester. : 1 online resource (xiii, 175 pages, 40 leaves of plates) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references and indexes. : 9789004296336 : Available to subscribing member institutions only.