Mani at the court of the Persian kings : studies on the Chester Beatty Kephalaia Codex /
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In Mani at the Court of the Persian Kings the authors explore evidence arising from their project to edit the Chester Beatty Kephalaia codex. This new text presents Mani at the heart of Sasanian Iran in dialogue with its sages and nobles, acting as a cultural mediator between East and West and interpreter of Christian, Iranian, and Indian traditions. Nine chapters study Mani's appropriation of the 'law of Zarades' and of Iranian epic; suggest a new understanding of his last days; and analyse his formative role in the history of late antique religions. These interdisciplinary studies advance research in several fields and will be of interest to scholars of Manichaeism, Sasanian Iran, and the development of religions in Late Antiquity.
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1 online resource (viii, 320 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-307) and index. :
9789004282629 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
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.
Christian faith and Greek philosophy in late antiquity : essays in tribute to George Christopher Stead, Ely Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge (1971-1980), in celebrati...
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This volume is a collection of thirteen essays offered in dedication to Professor C.G. Stead on his 80th birthday. Their theme is the philosophy underlying the presentation of Christian teaching in Late Antiquity. The essays deal with individual theologians (Augustine, Ambrose, Dionysius the Areopagite, Gregory of Nyssa), with ideological background (Christian and Roman universalism), and with the discussion of particular texts. A bibliography and brief appreciation of Professor Stead's contribution to Patristic studies are included.
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English and German. :
1 online resource (x, 266 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-255) and indexes. :
9789004312852 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Jerusalem and Babylon : a study into Augustine's City of God and the sources of his doctrine of the two cities /
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Although many studies have been devoted to Augustine's City of God and its most important theme, viz. the antithesis between the civitas Dei and the terrena civitas ,until now no consensus has been reached concerning the sources of this doctrine. Was Augustine decisively influenced by Manichaeism, by (Neo)Platonism, the Stoa or Philo, by the Donatist Tyconius? Or should we look in another direction and refer to preceding Christian, Jewish, and especially to archaic Jewish-Christian traditions? This lucidly written books opens with a survey of the research carried out so far on the aim, structure and central theme of the City of God . Chapter 2 analyzes the essentials of Augustine's life, of his City of God , and of his doctrine of the two cities. Making use of one of the recently discovered letters of Augustine in Chapter 3 the author describes the City of God as an apology and as a catechetical work. Chapter 4 provides an investigation into the possible sources of Augustine's doctrine of the two cities in Manichaeism, in (Neo)Platonism, the Stoa and Philo, and in the works of Tyconius. The idea of two antithetical cities proves to be present most clearly in writings in which, closely related to Jewish thinking, archaic Christian concepts occupy an important place. In a final chapter some pertinent remarks are made on Jewish and Jewish-Christian influences on pre-Augustinian Christianity in Africa.
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"English version of my doctoral thesis, which was originally submitted to the Theological Faculty of the University of Utrecht in September 1986 and published in Dutch"--Preface. :
1 online resource (ix, 427 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 375-405) and indexes. :
9789004253346 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.