Other worlds and their relation to this world : early Jewish and ancient Christian traditions /
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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.
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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.
Exegeting the Jews : the early reception of the Johannine Jews /
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In Exegeting the Jews: The Early Reception of the Johannine \'Jews\' , Michael G. Azar analyzes the rhetorical function of the Gospel of John's \'Jews\' in the earliest surviving full-length expositions of John in Greek: Origen's Commentary on John (3rd century), John Chrysostom's Homilies on John (4th century), and Cyril of Alexandria's Commentary on John (5th century). While scholarship often has portrayed the reception history ( Wirkungsgeschichte ) of the Gospel's "Jews" as simply and uniformly anti-Jewish or antisemitic, Azar demonstrates that these three writers primarily read John's narrative typologically, employing the situation and characters in the Gospel not against contemporary Jews with whom they regularly interacted, but as types of each patristic writer's own intra-Christian struggle and opponents.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004316164 :
1542-1295 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Jewish identity in the Greco-Roman world =Jüdische identität in der griechisch-römischen welt /
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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.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047421559 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Die Würde des Menschen : ein Beitrag zur Anthropologie in der alten Kirche /
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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.
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1 online resource (466 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 375-427) and indexes. :
9789047411277 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Tod und Ritual in den christlichen Gemeinden der Antike /
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The development of Early Christian rituals in connection with death and burial has so far not sufficiently been explored. Volp's study focuses on the surviving literary sources-both pagan and Christian-, together with inscriptions and other archaeological remains while taking into account recent results from science and humanities. A summary of death and ritual in the ancient Mediterranean religions is followed by detailed analyses of the Christian sources from the 2nd to the 5th century. Thus, basic developments are being discovered which led to and accompanied the forming of Christian rituals, such as ritual purity or the social structure of family and society. Being the first such interdisciplinary approach, it also represents the first monographic work on the topic since 1941.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Universität Bonn, 2001. :
1 online resource (xii, 337 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-309) and indexes. :
9789004313309 :
0920-623X ; :
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.
Grace and the Will According to Augustine.
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The doctrine on grace, one of the most discussed themes in his later years, was regarded by Augustine as the very core of Christianity. This book traces the gradual crystallisation of this teaching, including its unacceptable consequences (such as double predestination, inherited guilt which deserves eternal punishment, and its transmission through libidinous procreation). How did the reader of Cicero and "the books of the Platonists" reach the ideas that appear in his polemic against Julian (and which remind one of Freud rather than the Stoics or Plotinus)? That is the point of departure of this book. It surely cannot be expected that there is a definite answer to the question; rather, the aim is to follow and understand the development.
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Part Three: Introduction. :
1 online resource (442 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-378) and indexes. :
9789004229211 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Didache in modern research /
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This volume makes available a collection of the most important and influential modern articles on the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles , many of them appearing in English for the first time. Leading Jewish and Christian scholars in the field represented in the volume include G. Alon, J-P. Audet, E. Bammel, J. Betz, J.A. Draper, D. Flusser, A. de Halleux, E. Mazza, K. Niederwimmer, W. Rordorf, G. Schöllgen, H.R. Seeliger and C.M. Tuckett. Essays included provide a representative sample of most aspects of study of this first-century Christian writing, documenting an increasing scholarly interest in its importance for the understanding of Christian origins. The editor provides an extensive review of scholarship on the Didache in the past fifty years, outlining its major trends and implications.
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1 online resource (xviii, 445 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 383-412) and indexes. :
9789004332492 :
0169-734X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christologische Schriftargumentation und Bildersprache : zum konflikt zwischen Metapherninterpretation und dogmatischen Schriftbeweistraditionen in der patristischen Auslegung des...
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This volume examines the early Church's methods of theological argumentation concerning the metaphorical texts of the Bible. Ps 45 presents some of the oldest biblical evidence for the divinity of Christ and was often cited in christological and trinitarian controversies. In the 4th century the conflict between the traditional interpretation of the Church and linguistic methods erupted. In the course of the debate with Arian exegesis the significance of metaphor and the possibility of speaking of God were conceived anew. This study is based on dogmatic, exegetical and spiritual texts ranging from Justin to Cyril of Alexandria and Theodoret of Cyrus. It shows how the various forms of argumentation interact: how scholarly theology was mediated through preaching, and pastoral and catechetical interests affected christological reflection.
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1 online resource (xxi, 438 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 415-428) and indexes. :
9789004312937 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
La perte de l'Esprit Saint et son recouvrement dans l'Église ancienne : la réconciliation des hérétiques et des pénitents en occident du IIIe siècle jusqu'à Grégoire le Grand /...
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Quand Dieu fait don de l'Esprit aux croyants, comment l'Esprit est-il conféré ? L'Esprit peut-il être perdu ? Laurence Decousu s'attache à répondre à ces questions en étudiant comment l'Église ancienne réconciliait les pénitents et ceux qui s'étaient séparés d'elle. Depuis le Moyen-Âge, la théologie catholique pense que l'Esprit est donné à travers des rites célébrés une fois pour toutes : baptême, confirmation, ordre. Or l'Église des Pères n'a pas vu ces rites comme transmettant l'Esprit et ses effets. Pour eux, recevoir l'Esprit dépendait d'une initiative divine, à la fois directe, libre et souveraine. Cette étude représente une contribution importante pour renouveler la pneumatologie, la pastorale, et les relations œcuméniques. When God gives the Spirit to believers, how is the Spirit conferred ? Can the Spirit be lost ? Laurence Decousu answers these questions by studying the reconciliation of penitents and those who have separated themselves from the Church. Ever since the Middle Ages, theology has held that the Spirit is given through rites celebrated once for all : Baptism, Confirmation, Order. The Church Fathers did not see these rites as transmitting the Spirit and the effects of the Spirit. For them, reception of the Spirit depended on a divine initiative that was direct, free and sovereign. This study is an important contribution to the renewal of pneumatology, pastoral practice and ecumenical relations.
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1 online resource (xiii, 545 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004291683 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Human nature in Gregory of Nyssa : philosophical background and theological significance /
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This volume explores Gregory Of Nyssa's concept of human nature. It argues that the frequent use Gregory makes of phusis -terminology is not only a terminological predilection, but rather the key to the philosophical and theological foundations of his thought. Starting from an overview of the theological landscape in the early 360's the study first demonstrates the meaning and relevance of universal human nature as an analogy for the Trinity in Cappadocian theology. The second part explores Gregory's use of this same notion in his teaching on the divine economy. It is argued that Gregory takes this philosophical theory into the service of his own theology. Ultimately the book provides an example for the mutual interaction of philosophy and Christian theology in the fourth century.
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Revision of the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of Oxford in Michaelmas, 1997. :
1 online resource (ix, 271 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004274327 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The apostolic age in patristic thought /
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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.
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1 online resource (xi, 257 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047404293 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Demons and the Devil in ancient and medieval Christianity /
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This collection of essays approaches the role of demons and the devil in ancient and medieval Christianity from a variety of scholarly perspectives: historical, philosophical, and theological as well as philological, liturgical, and theoretical. In the opening article Gerd Theissen presents a wide-ranging overview of the role of the devil, spanning the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and patristic literature. The contributions that follow address texts on the devil, demons, and evil, and are drawn from ancient philosophy, the New Testament, early Christian apologetics, hagiography, and history. Covering primarily the patristic period, the volume also contains articles on medieval sources. The introduction discusses the different angles of approach found in the articles in an effort to shed fresh light on this familiar but also uniquely troubling theme.
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Based on a conference held Oct. 6-7, 2006 in Heeze, Netherlands. :
1 online resource (xii, 257 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004208056 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Pre-Nicene christology in paschal contexts : the case of the divine Noetic anthropos /
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In Pre-Nicene Christology in Paschal Contexts Dragoş A. Giulea re-examines the earliest texts related to the festival of Easter in light of Second Temple traditions. Commonly portrayed as sacrificial lamb, the key actor of the paschal narrative is here designated as heavenly Kabod , Divine Image, King of the Powers, celestial Anthropos, Demiurge, Son of Man, each of these divine names implying a corresponding soteriological function. Dragoş A. Giulea indicates as well that the Greek philosophical vocabulary and certain idioms of the mystery religions inspired new categories which reshaped the traditional way of describing the nature of celestial entities and the epistemological capacities able to access these realities. Thus, the King of the Powers, or the Son of Man, is several times described as a noetic Anthropos, while initiation and noetic perception become the appropriate methods of accessing the divine.
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1 online resource (xviii, 400 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004251700 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Physicalist soteriology in Hilary of Poitiers /
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In Physicalist Soteriology in Hilary of Poitiers , Ellen Scully presents Hilary as a representative of the "mystical" or "physical" trajectory of patristic soteriology most often associated with the Greek fathers. Scully shows that Hilary's physicalism is unique, both in its Latin non-Platonic provenance and its conceptual foundation, namely that the incarnation has salvific effects for all humanity because Christ's body contains every human individual. Hilary's soteriological conviction that all humans are present in Christ's body has theological ramifications that expand beyond soteriology to include christology, eschatology, ecclesiology, and Trinitarian theology. In detailing these ramifications, Scully illumines the pervasive centrality of physicalism in Hilary's theology while correcting standard soteriological presentations of physicalism as an exclusively Greek phenomenon.
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Revision of the author's thesis (Ph.D.)--Marquete University, 2011. :
1 online resource (x, 299 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-293) and indexes. :
9789004290815 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The constancy and development in the Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus /
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In The Constancy and Development of the Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus Vasilije Vranic offers an assessment of the involvement of Theodoret of Cyrrhus in the Nestorian and Miaphysite controversies of the fifth century. Theodoret's Christological language and concepts are examined in their historical contexts. The study is based on the comparison between the early period of Theodoret's Christological output ( Expositio rectae fidei and Refutation of the Twelve Anathemas ) and his mature period ( Eranistes ). Theodoret's Christology is ultimately vindicated and his position as a credible theologian who anticipated the definition of the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) is assured, while proposing that challenges to the consistency of his Christology ought to be reconsidered.
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1 online resource (xiii, 245 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-239) and index. :
9789004290808 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Augustine and the Functions of Concupiscence.
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Augustine's ideas of sinful desire, including its sexual manifestations, have fueled controversies for centuries. In Augustine and the Functions of Concupiscence , Timo Nisula analyses Augustine's own theological and philosophical concerns in his extensive writings about evil desire ( concupiscentia, cupiditas, libido ). Beginning with a terminological survey of the vocabulary of desire, the book demonstrates how the concept of evil desire was tightly linked with Augustine's fundamental theological views of divine justice, the origin of evil, Christian virtues and grace. This book offers a comprehensive account of Augustine's developing views of concupiscence and provides an innovative, in-depth picture of the theological imagination behind disputed ideas of sex, temptation and moral responsibility.
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1 online resource (433 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004233447 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Adventus Domini : eschatological thought in 4th-century apses and catecheses /
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Translation of: Kristus på keisertronen.
Translated from the Norwegian. :
1 online resource (xxiv, 309 pages, [37] pages of plates) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 286-304) and index. :
9789004304208 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Theoria-Unendlichkeit-Aufstieg : philosophische Implikationen zu "De vita Moysis" von Gregor von Nyssa /
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The relationship between theology and philosophy in Gregory of Nyssa's thought is a subject of great controversy. This study on one of Gregory's key writings does not however focus on the study of the source material, but discusses instead the philosophical implications of Gregory's ideas. Thus it is possible to place Gregory's principles in a broader context while maintaining the differences with philosophy. In the first part of the work, the Prooemium of the De Vita Moysis is examined. Following the classical rhetorical tradition, Gregory here starts off with the central themes of the entire work. The second part is devoted to the concept of theoria . This is explored through discussions of the eternity of God, \'language theory\', human striving towards God, and biblical interpretation. In the last chapter these structures of the notion of theoria are further examined in the light of the theophany in the De Vita Moysis .
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1 online resource (xii, 348 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-317) and indexes. :
9789004313026 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Angelomorphic christology : antecedents and early evidence /
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This study demonstrates that angel and angel-related traditions, especially those growing from the so-called "Angel of the Lord" in the Hebrew Bible, had a significant impact on the origins and early development of Christology to the point that an Angelomorphic Christology is discernable in several first century texts. Significant effort is given to tracing the antecedents of this Christology in the angels and divine hypostases of the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Jewish literature. The primary content of this volume is the presentation of pre-150 CE textual evidence of Angelomorphic Christology. This religio-historical study does not spawn a new Christology among the many scholarly "Christologies" already extant. Instead, it shows the interrelationship of various Christological trajectories and their adaptation from Jewish angelomorphic traditions.
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1 online resource (xvi, 403 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 352-370) and indexes. :
9789004332447 :
0169-734X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.