The earliest history of the Christian gathering : origin, development and content of the Christian gathering in the first to third centuries /
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Recent research has made a strong case for the view that Early Christian communities, sociologically considered, functioned as voluntary religious associations. This is similar to the practice of many other cultic associations in the Greco-Roman world of the first century CE. Building upon this new approach, along with a critical interpretation of all available sources, this book discusses the social and religio-historical background of the weekly gatherings of Christians and presents a fresh reconstruction of how the weekly gathering originated and developed in both form and content. The topics studied here include the origins of the observance of Sunday as the weekly Christian feast-day, the shape and meaning of the weekly gatherings of the Christian communities, and the rise of customs such as preaching, praying, singing, and the reading of texts in these meetings.
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Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Leiden University, 2009. :
1 online resource (xvii, 342 pages) : illustrations, plans. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 301-321) and indexes. :
9789004190702 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Tradition and Innovation: Baptismal Rite and Mystagogy in Theodore of Mopsuestia and Narsai of Nisibis.
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In Tradition and Innovation , Nathan Witkamp convincingly argues that Narsai of Nisibis' (d. circa 503) baptismal rite and mystagogy, as portrayed in his Liturgical Homilies 21-22, are much less dependent on Theodore of Mopsuestia (ca. 350-ca. 428) than scholars have previously supposed. Narsai's baptismal rite turns out to represent a particular East Syrian liturgical tradition, independent of Theodore. In his mystagogy, Narsai uses Theodore's Baptismal Homilies 1-3 as just one source among others to create the artwork he desires. This detailed comparative study contributes to our understanding of rite and mystagogy in Theodore and Narsai within the broader early Syrian context, as well as to the reception of Theodore by Narsai and the East Syrian Church.
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1 online resource. :
9789004377868
A Holy People : Jewish and Christian Perspectives on Religious Communal Identity /
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A Holy People investigates the various ways in which Jews and Christians define their religious identity, people or community, as being holy. Keeping in mind that historical studies can offer food for thought regarding contemporary issues, the study offers a large collection of essays, relating to the biblical, patristic and medieval period and especially to the modern period. The obvious question of many in the modern world as to whether the attribute of the 'holiness' allows for acknowledgement of authentic religion outside the own religious community, deserves an honest answer and well-documented study: too easily the claim of holiness intertwines with claims of power, whether by rivalling groups within the religious community, by groups divided along gender lines, or on the level of territorial claims. It will be of special importance to scholars and general readers interested in an interdisciplinary approach to theology, rabbinics, history, political science, and much more.
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1 online resource :
9789047409236
9789004150522
Christian identity amid Islam in medieval Spain /
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In Christian Identity amid Islam in Medieval Spain Charles L. Tieszen explores a small corpus of texts from medieval Spain in an effort to deduce how their authors defined their religious identity in light of Islam, and in turn, how they hoped their readers would distinguish themselves from the Muslims in their midst. It is argued that the use of reflected self-image as a tool for interpreting Christian anti-Muslim polemic allows such texts to be read for the self-image of their authors instead of the image of just those they attacked. As such, polemic becomes a set of borders authors offered to their communities, helping them to successfully navigate inter-religious living.
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1 online resource (x, 296 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004192294 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Eingeordnete Freiheit : Freiheit und Vorsehung bei Origenes /
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Eingeordnete Freiheit compares Origen's notion of freedom of choice with the concepts of contemporary philosophers. The first chapter deals with the philosophical problem of freedom of choice throughout the history of Greek philosophy. In the second chapter Origen's writing on this topic is assembled, translated, analyzed and commented upon. The comparison between Origen and his contemporaries leads in chapter three to the conclusion that Origen's concept of freedom differs especially from the philosophical perspective, since human freedom does not stand in opposition to the inevitable pattern of the pronoia or heimarmene but to Gods care for every individual. Chapter four shows that the notion of oikonomia in Christian theology is based on the concept of providence in Origen.
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1 online resource (ix, 225 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-222) and index. :
9789004312951 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Trade and Finance in Global Missions (16th-18th centuries) /
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"The book was drafted by Jesuits and their students of the Flemish province to commemorate the Society of Jesus's hundred years of existence. It was as much a homage to the Society's founders as a celebration of the spiritual and material achievements of its members over the century, with a particular emphasis on the order's missionary vocation. From the moment of its publication, the Imago was attacked by the Jesuits' enemies: both Protestants and Jansenists denounced the Society's arrogance as well as its casuistical methods. Here is not the place to relate the history of the work or its reception, but it seemed essential to us to highlight the significance of the emblems illustrating the book's"--
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004444195
9789004444171
Faith and human reason : a study of Paul's method of preaching as illustrated by 1-2 Thessalonians and Acts 17, 2-4 /
: Originally presented as the author's thesis, Cambridge, 1973. : 1 online resource (xii, 225 pages) : Includes bibliographical references (p. 212-225). : 9789004266223 : Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Tyconius' Book of Rules : An Ancient Invitation to Ecclesial Hermeneutics /
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"In Tyconius' Book of Rules Matthew R. Lynskey explores the church-centric interpretation of ancient biblical exegete Tyconius in his hermeneutical treatise Liber regularum. Influential within his Donatist tradition and the broader context of early North African Christianity, Tyconius wrote one of the earliest works on exegetical theory and praxis in Latin Christianity. By investigating five key concepts undergirding Tyconius's theology of church, Lynskey demonstrates how Tyconius' ecclesiology shaped his hermeneutical enterprise. Through careful readings and close analysis of Liber regularum, this study seeks to describe Tyconius' exegesis on its own terms, reflecting on notable historical, theological, formational, and missiological implications of his ecclesial exegesis as it concerns the ancient and contemporary church"--
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004456532
9789004454835
Revelation, truth, canon, and interpretation : studies in Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho /
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This volume treats the concepts of revelation, truth, canon, and interpretation as four pillars of early Christian theology. Using Justin Martyr as a case-study, his \'Dialogue with Trypho\' is examined with a view toward discerning how a second century Christian father understands and develops these concepts. Justin's intellectual background is discussed within the nuanced context of Middle Platonism. Particular attention is paid to his use of biblical sources which is grounded in the foundational chapter on revelation in Justin. Justin is placed within the wider context of theological developments in pre-Nicene Christianity, and includes a warning against judging Justin by anachronistic post-Nicene developments.
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1 online resource (xv, 311 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004313293 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
History as a theological issue /
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These days no one believes in the redemptive essence of history (Lyotard). The individual of today lives without culture, history, social engagement and moral norms (Lasch). It is in this intellectual climate that History as a Theological Issue has been written. Nico Bakker analyses seminal conceptions of history from the past and from our day, and compares them with the newest notions of history in biblical and systematic theology. In so doing he engages in conversation with thinkers from Augustine to Popper, along with many others. His thinking is informed in particular by the work of Barth, Pannenberg, and the Dutch reformed theologians Miskotte and Breukelman. Of central significance is his ability to apply basic theological notions to culture. In this way he connects the present-day crisis of culture with the permanent alienation of church and Christianity from its own origins in the scriptures. Now that since the 1950s a new awareness structure is beginning to emerge (Gebser), the author considers that theology is in need of a radical rethink. History as a Theological Issue is written primarily for theologians, historians, biblical critics and philosophers of religion and is recommended reading for all who are seriously interested in the present-day crisis of culture and in the widespread alienation from the Bible, Church and Christianity.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [289]-294) and indexes. :
9789004397354
Christianity under Islam in Jerusalem : The Question of the Holy Sites in Early Ottoman Times /
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A major issue in nineteenth-century world politics, the question of Christianity's holiest shrines in Jerusalem is covered by a large body of literature. Most of this scholarship, however, concentrates on the period when the question of the Holy Sites has already evolved from a domestic Ottoman problem into an all-European issue. Much less is known about this problem in earlier times, when the Ottoman Empire was still a dominant power able to propose solutions free of foreign interference and outside pressures. Based on official Ottoman records found in the registers of the kadi's court in Jerusalem as well as the Prime Ministry's Archives in Istanbul, the present study offers a thorough treatment of Ottoman policy with respect to the Holy Sites during the first two centuries of Ottoman rule in Jerusalem. It focuses on three principal issues: (a) The legal status of the Holy Sites under Ottoman rule; (b) The Ottoman state and the inter-church struggle over the Holy Sites; (c) The Holy Sites as a source of income to the Ottoman state. The discussion of these issues sheds new light on one of the most obscure and controversial chapters in the history of Christianity under Islam in Jerusalem.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047400806
9789004120426
Tribulationis Tempore : The Latin Church of Jerusalem in the Palestine War and Its Aftermath, 1946-56 /
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The history of Palestine War does not only concern military history. It also involves social, humanitarian and religious history, as in the case of Jerusalem's Roman Catholic diocese. Tribulationis Tempore offers a complex narrative on this church, commonly portrayed as monolithically aligned with anti-Zionist and anti-Muslim positions during the "long 1948". Making use of largely unpublished archives in the Middle East, Europe and the United States, including the recently released Pius XII papers, Maria Chiara Rioli depicts a church engaged in multiple and sometimes contradictory pastoral initiatives amid battles, relief missions for Palestinian refugees, theological reflections on Jewish converts to Catholicism, political relations with the Israeli and Jordanian authorities and liturgical responses to this fluid and uncertain scenario.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004423718
9789004423725
Esoteric teaching in the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria /
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The Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria (c.150-215 CE) has received much scholarly debate over whether it can be accorded the role of the third and highest phase of his pedagogy. This was a treatise that promised an account of the true philosophy of Christ set down for Christians seeking higher knowledge of doctrine. This book takes a new approach to deciphering the nature and purpose of these enigmatic books concentrating on the close relationship between method and doctrine, and the number and sequence of the texts as they have come down to us. The outcome is a concise summary of current scholarship on Clement's method and a fresh picture of how he applies it to the transmission of esoteric doctrines.
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1 online resource (xviii, 233 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-228) and index. :
9789047428282 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Establishing boundaries : Christian-Jewish relations in early council texts and the writings of Church Fathers /
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This book addresses the ongoing close relations between ordinary Christians and Jews on a daily basis at a time when church leaders were increasingly trying to establish boundaries between Christians and other religious groupings, especially Jews. Until recently, most historical studies of late antique Christian-Jewish relations had been primarily based on the writings of the church fathers.This new study makes use of a new type of source material: fourth to late sixth century council documents in which clear indications are given of the daily relationships between Christians and Jews. The texts from the eastern and western Mediterranean describe contacts between Christianity and Judaism at the level of ordinary people. These contacts remained close for a much longer period than the church leaders would have liked.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [177]-198) and index. :
9789004190658 :
1388-2074 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The mission of the church in Paul's letter to the Philippians in the context of ancient Judaism /
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Paul seemingly nowhere in his letters commands his congregations to preach the gospel. Therefore many scholars have concluded that Paul's thinking had little or no place for a mission of the church. This study undertakes a fresh investigation of the question by devoting close attention to a text hitherto overlooked in discussion of early Christian mission, Paul's letter to the Philippians. The Jewish context of Paul's thought in Philippians is the key to unlocking his understanding of church and mission in the letter. The study accordingly begins in Part One with an investigation of conversion of gentiles in ancient Judaism. Part Two, drawing upon this Jewish context, focuses on close exegesis of Philippians, revealing the crucial place of the mission of the church in Paul's thought. The questions addressed by this study go to the heart of our understanding of Paul and of mission in earliest Christianity.
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1 online resource (xv, 380 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047415831 :
0167-9732 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The imperial cult and the development of church order : concepts and images of authority in paganism and early Christianity before the Age of Cyprian /
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Recent studies have re-assessed Emperor worship as a genuinely religious response to the metaphysics of social order. Brent argues that Augustus' revolution represented a genuinely religious reformation of Republican religion that had failed in its metaphysical objectives. Against this backcloth, Luke, John the Seer, Clement, Ignatius and the Apologists refashioned Christian theology as an alternative answer to that metaphysical failure. Callistus and Pseudo-Hippolytus gave different responses to Severan images of imperial power. The early, Monarchian theology of the Trinity was thus to become a reflection of imperial culture and its justification that was later to be articulated both in Neo-Platonism, and in Cyprian's view of episcopal Order. Contra-cultural theory is employed as a sociological model to examine the interaction between developing Pagan and Christian social order.
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1 online resource (xxii, 369 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 331-343) and indexes. :
9789004313125 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Sinicizing Christianity /
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Chinese people have been instrumental in indigenizing Christianity. Sinizing Christianity examines Christianity's transplantation to and transformation in China by focusing on three key elements: Chinese agents of introduction; Chinese redefinition of Christianity for the local context; and Chinese institutions and practices that emerged and enabled indigenisation. As a matter of fact, Christianity is not an exception, but just one of many foreign ideas and religions, which China has absorbed since the formation of the Middle Kingdom, Buddhism and Islam are great examples. Few scholars of China have analysed and synthesised the process to determine whether there is a pattern to the ways in which Chinese people have redefined foreign imports for local use and what insight Christianity has to offer. Contributors are: Robert Entenmann, Christopher Sneller, Yuqin Huang, Wai Luen Kwok, Thomas Harvey, Monica Romano, Thomas Coomans, Chris White, Dennis Ng, Ruiwen Chen and Richard Madsen.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004330382 :
0924-9389 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Der letzte Kampf des Heidentums in Rom /
: Includes Latin texts of Relatio III of Symmachus and Epistles 17, 18, and 57 of Ambrosius with German translation. : 1 online resource (xiii, 387 pages, [12] leaves of plates) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references (p. ix-xiii) and index. : 9789004295292 : Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite : an introduction to the structure and the content of the treatise On the Divine Names /
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This book proposes a reading of Dionysius the Areopagite's longest and most important treatise 'On the Divine Names' from a philosophical point of view, rather than from a theological point of view which dominates the secondary literature. More in particular, it proposes an interpretation of the puzzling structure of the treatise which takes its starting point from earlier interpretations of medieval and modern scholars. The new reading of Dionysius' main text achieves more coherence than they did precisely because of the philosophical angle, which is meant to serve as a complement, not an alternative, to theological and historical interpretations. Thus the book can be read as an introduction to the philosophy of Dionyius as it shows how the author makes original moves in introducing the Christian concepts of peace and creation as philosophical concepts in a Platonic framework.
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1 online resource (xvi, 212 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-204) and indexes. :
9789047409441 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.