Augustine's Confessions : communicative purpose and audience /
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This book is about the communicative purpose and the audience of the Confessions . It illuminates the degree to which the communicative purpose of the work is to convert its readers, id est a protreptic purpose, and the degree to which the target audience may be identified as Augustine's potential Manichaean readers. A brief survey of possible literary antecedents points to the existence of other works that consist of the same combination of an autobiographical section (a conversion story) with a polemical and exegetical section (an argument that aims to convince the reader of the merits of a specific point of view) that characterizes the Confessions . The book provides a new perspective on the meaning and structure of Augustine's often misunderstood masterpiece.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral). :
1 online resource (x, 278 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-270) and indexes. :
9789047405696 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Martha from the margins : the authority of Martha in early Christian tradition /
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In the popular imagination Martha has become synonymous with the harried housewife, fretting over excessive preparations. The Martha known to early Christians is far removed from this stereotype. Martha was better known for her role in the story of the raising of Lazarus and as apostle and witness of the resurrection. This book gathers and assesses the early traditions about Martha in text, liturgy and iconography. It shows that the significance of Martha has been seriously underestimated and recovers an important and widespread tradition of Martha as apostle and authority figure for early Christians. The analysis of Martha traditions with attention to issues of gender and authority render this book an important contribution to studies on women in early Christianity.
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1 online resource (xix, 369 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 307-340) and indexes. :
9789004186873 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.