Fake prophecy and polluted sacraments : ecclesiastical and imperial reactions to Montanism /
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During the four centuries of its existence (ca. 165-550), Montanism, an early-Christian prophetic movement, stirred up considerable controversy. Known to its adherents as the 'New Prophecy,' its opponents viewed it as a ' fake prophecy' with 'polluted sacraments.' Accused of introducing novelty and heresy into Christianity. Montanism, in the post-Constantinian era, was also persecuted by Christian emperors. This book identifies all known opponents of Montanism, analyzes and classifies the various charges leveled against Montanism, and describes the methods used to counteract and ultimately destroy the movement. Also described are the ways in which the Montanists reacted to the opposition against them, revealing that the picture painted of the New Prophecy by its opponents was grossly distorted. Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments provides an insightful case-study of the treatment of a minority Christian movement by Church and State both before and after 'catholic' Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
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1 online resource (xxxvii, 485 pages) : maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 425-444) and indexes. :
9789047421313 :
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.
Reflections on the early Christian history of religion = Erwägungen zur frühchristlichen religionsgeschichte /
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Reflections on the Early Christian History of Religion documents the results of two recent workshops on Martin Hengel's and Maria Schwemer's first volume of first volume of Geschichte des frühen Christentums ( Jesus und das Judentum [title of volume 1], Tübingen 2007) and Larry Hurtado's Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity (Grand Rapids 2003). The contributors, including Hengel himself, focus on problems and possibilities of studying and presenting Christian religion in Roman Antiquity. They discuss distinctive features of these two remarkable publications and some material aspects that illustrate the relationship between the historical study of early Christian religion, religious studies in general and New Testament studies in particular. Mit den Erwägungen zur frühchristlichen Religionsgeschichte liegen die Ergebnisse zweier Fachtagungen vor, die sich mit dem ersten Band der Geschichte des frühen Christentums von Martin Hengel und Maria Schwemer ( Jesus und das Judentum , Tübingen 2007) und Larry Hurtados Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity (Grand Rapids 2003) beschäftigt haben. Die Beiträge, u.a. von Hengel selbst, diskutieren Probleme und Möglichkeiten der Erforschung und Darstellung christlicher Religion in der römischen Antike. Sie setzen sich mit den Zugangsweisen dieser beiden Bücher auseinander und zeigen an verschiedenen Sachfragen die Bezüge, die sich bei der historischen Erforschung der frühchristlichen Religion zwischen Geschichtswissenschaft, Religionswissenschaft und Neutestamentlicher Wissenschaft ergeben.
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Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 3, 2012). :
1 online resource (xiv, 374 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004230675 :
1871-6636 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A wandering Galilean : essays in honour of Seán Freyne /
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Starting his career as a scholar of the New Testament, Seán Freyne's work became synonymous with the study of Galilee in the Greek and Roman periods. His search for a deeper and more nuanced understanding of Judaism in the Greek and Roman periods and the development of the early Christian movement has led him to interface with scholars in many related disciplines. In order to do justice to the breadth of Seán Freyne's interests, this volume includes contributions from scholars in the fields of Archaeology, Ancient History, Classics, Hebrew Bible, Early Judaism, Rabbinic Judaism, Early Christianity, New Testament, and Medieval Judaism. The resulting volume demonstrates not only the honoree's interdiciplinary interests, but also the interconnectedness of these disciplines.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047427018 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Studies in ancient Judaism and early Christianity /
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Over the past 45 years Professor Pieter W. van der Horst contributed extensively to the study of ancient Judaism and early Christianity. The 24 papers in this volume, written since his early retirement in 2006, cover a wide range of topics, all of them concerning the religious world of Judaism and Christianity in the Hellenistic, Roman, and early Byzantine era. They reflect his research interests in Jewish epigraphy, Jewish interpretation of the Bible, Jewish prayer culture, the diaspora in Asia Minor, exegetical problems in the writings of Philo and Josephus, Samaritan history, texts from ancient Christianity which have received little attention (the poems of Cyrus of Panopolis, the Doctrina Jacobi nuper baptizati, the Letter of Mara bar Sarapion), and miscellanea such as the pagan myth of Jewish cannibalism, the meaning of the Greek expression 'without God,' the religious significance of sneezing in pagan antiquity, and the variety of stories about pious long-sleepers in the ancient world (pagan, Jewish, Christian).
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004271111 :
0169-734X ;
Explaining Christian origins and early Judaism : contributions from cognitive and social science /
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Cognitive science of religion is a radically new paradigm in the study of religion. Apart from psychology and anthropology of religion, also historians of religion have shown increasing interest in this approach. This volume is groundbreaking in combining cognitive analysis with historical and social-scientific approaches to biblical materials, Christian origins, and early Judaism. The book is in four parts: an introduction to cognitive and social-scientific approaches, applications of cognitive science, applications of conceptual blending theory, and applications of socio-cognitive analyses. The book will be of interest for historians of religion, biblical scholars, and those working in the cognitive science of religion.
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Proceedings of a symposium held Aug.-Sept. 2005 at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047431961 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Jewish and Christian communal identities in the Roman world /
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Jews and Christians under the Roman Empire shared a unique sense of community. Set apart from their civic and cultic surroundings, both groups resisted complete assimilation into the dominant political and social structures. However, Jewish communities differed from their Christian counterparts in their overall patterns of response to the surrounding challenges. They exhibit diverse levels of integration into the civic fabric of the cities of the Empire and display contrary attitudes towards the creation of trans-local communal networks. The variety of local case studies examined in this volume offers an integrated image of the multiple factors, both internal and external, which determined the role of communal identity in creating a sense of belonging among Jews and Christians under Imperial constraints.
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"This volume presents revised versions of lectures given in October 2013 at a Jerusalem symposium on Jewish and Christian Communal Identities in Antiquity. The Hebrew University's Scholion Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Humanities and Jewish Studies together with the editorial board of Brill's Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity series kindly co-sponsored the symposium in memory of our colleague Friedrich Avemarie."--Preface. :
1 online resource (xi, 286 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004321694 :
1871-6636 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The impact of scripture in early Christianity /
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One of the most conspicuous innovations of early Christianity within Greco-Roman culture is its reliance upon a collection of authoritative texts. The ultimate author of Scripture was thought to be God Himself, whose will could and should be sought and found in these holy writings. For this reason it is not surprising that very soon these texts not only became the object of careful attention and scholarly study, but also put their stamp on the various forms and manifestations of early Christian life, such as martyrdom, asceticism, liturgy, art, and literature. This multifarious influence of Scripture is the subject of The Impact of Scripture in Early Christianity . It contains fourteen contributions, predominantly in English, by Belgian and Dutch scholars which have been gathered in a thematically ordered collection.
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1 online resource (xiii, 278 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004313118 :
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.
The missions of James, Peter, and Paul : tensions in early Christianity /
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The Missions of James, Peter, and Paul investigates the nature, diversity, and relationship of three early and important expressions of Judaic Christianity. It is the conviction of the contributors that the Judaic origins of the Christian movement have not been sufficiently understood in both ecclesiastical and academic circles. Comparison with contemporary Judaism is foundational and leads to the question that guides discussion: How did James relate to such prominent figures as Peter and Paul? Given James' own eminence, those relationships must have been hallmarks of his own stance and status, and they open the prospect that we might delineate James' theological perspective more precisely than otherwise possible by means of this contrast with Peter and Paul. That is the reason for the division of the present volume into two parts. The Missions of James, Peter, and Paul is presented in two parts: James and Peter, and James Paul. Several studies investigate the literary and archaeological evidence that clarifies the world in which James, Peter, and Paul lived, while other studies probe exegetical and theological aspects of the discussion.
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1 online resource (xiv, 534 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047414742 :
0167-9732 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A companion to second-century Christian "heretics" /
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The book illuminates "the other side" of early Christianity by examining thinkers and movements that were embraced by many second-century religious seekers as legitimate forms of Christianity, but which are now largely forgotten, or are known only from the characteristics attributed to them in the writings of their main adversaries. The collection deals with the following teachers and movements: Basilides, Sethianism, Valentinus' school, Marcion, Tatian, Bardaisan, Montanists, Cerinthus, Ebionites, Nazarenes, Jewish-Christianity of the Pseudo-Clementines , and Elchasites. Where appropriate, the authors have included an overview of the life and significant publications of the "heretics," along with a description of their theologies and movements. Therefore, this volume can serve as a handbook of the second-century "heretics" and their "heresies." Since all the chapters have been written by specialists who wrestle daily with their research themes, the contributions also offer new perspectives and insights stimulating further discussion on this fascinating-but often neglected-side of early Christianity.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004186866 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Fair play : diversity and conflicts in early Christianity : essays in honour of Heikki Räisänen /
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This collection of essays in honour of Heikki Räisänen, New Testament professor at the University of Helsinki, consists of 22 essays written by his colleagues and students on Jesus, the gospels, Paul, early Christianity, and biblical interpretation. Räisänen's own research has been characterized by methodological awareness combined with a keen interest in ethical issues. Both these aspects come to expression in his insistence on \'fair play\' as a correct scholarly attitude involving an honest dialogue, a real encounter, and a recognition of diverging opinions. In this spirit, most of the essays in this book lay emphasis on issues related to early Christian diversity and conflicts, and to their challenge in modern society. The book is useful for scholars, academic teachers and students interested in various aspects of the New Testament, early Christianity, and hermeneutics.
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1 online resource (xii, 592 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004268210 :
0167-9732 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christians shaping identity from the Roman Empire to Byzantium : studies inspired by Pauline Allen /
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The essays collected in Christians Shaping Identity celebrate Pauline Allen's significant contribution to early Christian, late antique, and Byzantine studies, especially concerning bishops, heresy/orthodoxy and christology. Covering the period from earliest Christianity to middle Byzantium, the first eighteen essays explore the varied ways in which Christians constructed their own identity and that of the society around them. A final four essays explore the same theme within Roman Catholicism and oriental Christianity in the late 19th to 21st centuries, with particular attention to the subtle relationships between the shaping of the early Christian past and the moulding of Christian identity today. Among the many leading scholars represented are Averil Cameron and Elizabeth A. Clark.
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1 online resource (xv, 520 pages) :
"Publications by Pauline Allen"--Pages 13-21.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004301573 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christian Origins and the Establishment of the Early Jesus Movement.
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Christian Origins and the Establishment of the Early Jesus Movement explores the events, people, and writings surrounding the founding of the early Jesus movement in the mid to late first century. The essays are divided into four parts, focused upon the movement's formation, the production of its early Gospels, description of the Jesus movement itself, and the Jewish mission and its literature. This collection of essays includes chapters by a global cast of scholars from a variety of methodological and critical viewpoints, and continues the important Early Christianity in its Hellenistic Context series.
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1 online resource. :
9789004372740
Crisis management in late antiquity (410-590 CE) : a survey of the evidence from episcopal letters /
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Pauline Allen and Bronwen Neil investigate crisis management as conducted by the increasingly important episcopal class in the 5th and 6th centuries. Their basic source is the neglected corpus of bishops' letters in Greek and Latin, the letter being the most significant mode of communication and information-transfer in the period from 410 to 590 CE. The volume brings together into a wider setting a wealth of previous international research on episcopal strategies for dealing with crises of various kinds. Six broad categories of crisis are identified and analysed: population displacement, natural disasters, religious disputes and religious violence, social abuses and the breakdown of the structures of dependence. Individual case-studies of episcopal management are provided for each of these categories. This is the first comprehensive treatment of crisis management in the late-antique world, and the first survey of episcopal letter-writing across the later Roman empire.
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1 online resource (xiii, 284 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [231]-239) and index. :
9789004254824 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Gospel of Thomas and Christian origins : essays on the Fifth Gospel /
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The essays collected in The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Origins offer a series new chapters in the history of Christianity's first century. Stephen J. Patterson, whose work on the Gospel of Thomas has circulated widely for more than two decades, argues that taking this new source seriously will require rethinking a number of basic issues, including the assumed apocalyptic origins of early Christian faith, the supposed centrality of Jesus' death and resurrection, and the role of Platonism in formulation of both orthodox and heterodox Christian theology.
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A collection of previously published essays; dates of original publication range from 1991 to 2013. :
1 online resource (xiv, 311 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004256217 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Sacred scripture and secular struggles /
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Twelve leading scholars have collaborated on this unique volume, bringing their biblical and patristic expertise together to show how the first followers of Jesus used their own canonical scriptures to address concerns central to life in the Roman Empire. Sacred Scripture and Secular Struggles offers an overview of how early Christians approached and appropriated biblical texts in addressing wider societal issues of imperial power, slavery, the use of wealth, suicide and other fundamental issues brought about by the convergence of empire and ecclesia.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004304567 :
1542-1295 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Reading religions in the ancient world : essays presented to Robert McQueen Grant on his 90th birthday /
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Astutely reading the writings of early Christianity as part of the lively conversation of the Graeco-Roman world, Robert M. Grant helped reshape the study of the New Testament and early Christianity for scholars in the United States and Europe. Reading Religions in the Ancient World honors his work with sixteen essays by his colleagues and students, arranged under the headings of Classical Studies, New Testament Studies and Patristic Studies. These essays reflect and extend the research interests of the honoree; signal the breadth and depth of Professor Grant's own scholarly interests and productivity; and contribute to each of these important aspects of religion in the ancient world.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047422761 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The expansion of Christianity : a gazetteer of its first three centuries /
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This volume covers the geographical spread of Christianity in its first three centuries. It is arranged by continents - Asia, Europe and Africa - to show the gradual development of Christian communities down to the Council of Nicaea in 325. The area surveyed stretches from Wales to the borders of India, and from the Northern coasts of the Black Sea to the plains of Morocco. The result is a picture not only of the outward development of early Christianity but of the variety that existed within it as well.
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1 online resource (x, 407 pages) : maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 347-385) and index. :
9789047402329 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.