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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.
Verleiblichung und Synergie : Grundzüge der Bibelhermeneutik bei Maximus Confessor /
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This volume examines the biblical hermeneutics of Maximus the Confessor (579/580-662). Although some aspects of the Confessor's hermeneutical approach had already been tackled, a comprehensive analysis was still missing. Accordingly, this book fills a gap in Patristic studies. The study consists of three chapters. The first one deals with the logoi theory of Maximus being the ontological nucleus around which his whole theological thinking is organized. The second chapter examines Maximus' understanding of mystical ascension. Equipped with the \'ontological\' and \'mystical\' foundation, the third chapter analyzes thoroughly the hermeneutics of Maximus as such, attempting to show its coherence and rootedness in the general christological perspective of the Confessor. This book will be of benefit not only for byzantinists and patrologists, but also for biblical scholars interested in the history of hermeneutics and exegesis as well as for historians of philosophy and medieval ideas.
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1 online resource (lxv, 323 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 281-315) and indexes. :
9789004313286 :
0920-623X ; :
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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 ; :
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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.
Die Eucharistie ist Jesus : Anfänge einer Theorie des Sakraments im koptischen Philippusevangelium (NHC II 3) /
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Given the concept of salvation through knowledge in Valentinian Gnosis, which is basically anti-materialist, one would not expect concrete physical rituals to play a large role in its practice. The Nag Hammadi Gospel of Philip is widely recognized as a Valentinian text, yet it contains portions of a treatise on the value of baptism, anointing, and the eucharist. The text, which arguably comes from the end of the second century, presents the first developed theory and justification of these sacraments in Early Christianity. The present study reconstructs this theory from the fragmentary text and considers its consequences for the organization of the community. Thus, the book is also an attempt to address the problem of institutionalization in early Christian communities.
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Slightly Revision of the author's thesis--Universität München, 2005. :
1 online resource (xii, 550 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 505-531) and indexes. :
9789047421634 :
0920-623X ; :
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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.
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.
Intellectus gratiae : die erkenntnistheoretische und hermeneutische Dimension der Gnadenlehre Augustins von Hippo /
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This is the first large scale study on the link between the concepts of intellect and grace in the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo. Its five chapters deal with Augustine's writings on grace as they focus on questions concerning epistemology and hermeneutics. Already non-Christian ancient philosophers identified intellectual perfection with salvation as caused by divine grace. Under their influence (I) Augustine developed also his biblical thought (II). The culmination of his concept of intellectus gratiae , however, came in the later works on sacraments (III), hermeneutics (IV) and against Pelagius and Julian of Eclanum (V). This study highlights that development and recommends the concept of intellectus gratiae as a possible key to Augustine's theological thought as a whole.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis--Regensburg, 1996. :
1 online resource (xii, 501 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 427-466) and indexes. :
9789004313057 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ps-Athenagoras De Resurrectione : Datierung und Kontextualisierung der dem Apologeten Athenagoras zugeschriebenen Auferstehungsschrift /
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The authorship of De Resurrectione traditionally ascribed to the apologist Athenagoras, and its dating are controversial to this day. Nikolai Kiel proves in this study that the resurrection treatise is pseudonymous. By positioning the text within the intellectual-historical context of early resurrection debates, its origin can be dated to the first half of the Third century. The discourse horizon of the discussed tractate has been determined more precisely by means of a reconstruction of the constituent opposing position. Through his interpretative survey of De Resurrectione , the author has advanced the study of apologetic literature from the early patristic Era. Die Verfasserschaft der traditionell dem Apologeten Athenagoras zugeschriebenen Schrift De Resurrectione und ihre Datierung sind bis heute umstritten. Nikolai Kiel weist in dieser Studie nach, dass der Auferstehungstraktat ein Pseudonym darstellt. Durch eine Verortung des Textes im ideengeschichtlichen Kontext der altkirchlichen Auferstehungsdebatten kann seine Entstehung auf die erste Hälfte des dritten Jahrhunderts datiert werden. Hierzu wird auch der Diskurshorizont des untersuchten Traktats mittels einer Rekonstruktion der in der Leugnung der Totenauferstehung bestehenden gegnerischen Position näher bestimmt. Ausgehend von einem interpretierenden Durchgang durch De Resurrectione leistet der Verfasser einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur patristischen Forschung des apologetischen Zeitalters.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004305373 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Die Lehre von der Oikonomia Gottes in der Oratio catechetica Gregors von Nyssa /
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This volume deals with Gregory of Nyssa's († 394 C.E.) soteriology as set forth in his handbook for catechetes. In part I-III the aim, method and structure of the Oratio catechetica are examined and the results are compared with Gregory's examples (Origen, Athanasius). Part IV presents the relationship between his theology ( theologia ) and soteriology ( oikonomia ) as well as the interrelated topics of that soteriology, thus describing the concept of oikonomia in the Oratio catechetica . Part V contrasts this concept with earlier works of Gregory and shows the developments of his thought. Part VI compares the teachings of Gregory with those of Methodius and Athanasius. The book is important for all those interested in early Christian thought and literature.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis, Göttingen, 1993. :
1 online resource (x, 339 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 323-336) and indexes. :
9789004312975 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.