christianae » christian (Expand Search), christians (Expand Search), christianity (Expand Search)
Marriage in the Western Church : the Christianization of marriage during the patristic and early medieval periods /
:
Marriage in the Western Church examines how marriage acquired a specifically Christian identity in the Western Church from the patristic through Carolingian periods. It shows how theologians came to regard marriage as an ecclesiastical institution and how they developed a Christian theology of marriage. The first part of the book deals with marriage and divorce in Roman and Germanic law. Other parts deal with marriage and divorce in ecclesiastical law, with the Latin Fathers' distinction between the divine and human laws of marriage, and with the customary stages by which persons became married. Several chapters are devoted to Augustine's views on marriage and sexuality. The author shows how the doctrine of indissolubility became the West's chief means of christianizing marriage, and how theologians found here their preferred arguments for affirming the holiness and the 'sacramentality' of marriage. The author argues that the Western regime of indissolubility was the product of a fourth century reform movement. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.
:
1 online resource (xxx, 436 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 420-427) and index. :
9789004312913 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Augustine and the Functions of Concupiscence.
:
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.
:
1 online resource (433 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004233447 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Typologie spatio-temporelle de l'ecclesia byzantine : la Mystagogie de Maxime le Confesseur dans la culture philosophique de l'antiquité tardive /
:
This study addresses the philosophical context of the Mystagogy of Maximus the Confessor. It examines how the Byzantine monk integrates Neoplatonist topics when exposing one of the most important feature of his religious conception of the physical world or cosmology. The volume contains three chapters. The first one compares the purpose of the Mystagogy and the program of the philosophical training in late Antiquity. The second consists of two parts : (1) study of the use of the Aristotelian categories of 'when' and 'where' in the 'Ambiguum 10' of Maximus in order to analyse the status of ecclesiastical architecture and the nature of the liturgical 'synaxis' of the church (chapter 3); (2) study of the development of the categories of space and time in the works of the Neoplatonist Greek commentators of Plato and Aristotle such as Jamblichus, Proclus, Simplicius and Damascius. The third chapter offers the first extended examination of the metaphysical status of the 'ecclesia' and its dynamic activity compared to the metaphysical status of space and time required for the explanation of the Neoplatonist physical world system. Henceforth, the 'ecclesia' of the Mystagogy can be considered as the type of the providential action of God. This book provides many important new perspectives for reading the works of Maximus the Confessor, especially the Mystagogy, not only for theologians, but also for scholars interested in late Antique and Byzantine philosophy. Cette étude, consacrée au contexte philosophique de la Mystagogie de Maxime le Confesseur, examine comment le moine byzantin intègre certains concepts tirés du Néoplatonisme quand il expose les plus importantes lignes de sa conception religieuse du monde physique. Ce volume contient trois chapitres. Le premier compare l'objectif de la Mystagogie et le programme philosophique des écoles de l'Antiquité tardive. Le second comporte deux parties : (1) une étude de l'emploi des catégories 'quand' et 'où' dans l' Ambiguum 10 ' de Maxime avec pour objectif l'analyse du statut de l'architecture ecclésiale et l'analyse de la nature de la synaxe liturgique (chapitre 3); (2) une étude du développement des catégories de lieu et de temps dans les Oeuvres des Commentateurs néoplatoniciens de Platon et d'Aristote, tels Jamblique, Proclus, Simplicius et Damascius. Le troisième chapitre offre la première étude approfondie du statut métaphysique et dynamique de l' ecclesia compare au statut métaphysique du lieu et du temps requis par l'explication néoplatonicienne du monde physique. L' ecclesia de la Mystagogie sera ainsi considerée comme le type de l'action providentielle de Dieu dans le monde créé. Ce livre fournit une nouvelle perspective de lecture des Oeuvres de Maxime le Confesseur et devrait intéresser tant les théologiens que les scientifiques consacrant leurs travaux à l'Antiquité tardive et à la philosophie byzantine.
:
1 online resource (ix, 215 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-211) and indexes. :
9789047406853 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christians shaping identity from the Roman Empire to Byzantium : studies inspired by Pauline Allen /
:
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.
:
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.
Die Würde des Menschen : ein Beitrag zur Anthropologie in der alten Kirche /
:
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.
:
1 online resource (466 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 375-427) and indexes. :
9789047411277 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Violence in ancient Christianity : victims and perpetrators /
:
Ancient Christianity had an ambivalent stance toward violence. Jesus had instructed his disciples to love their enemies, and in the first centuries Christians were proud of this lofty teaching and tried to apply it to their persecutors and to competing religious groups. Yet at the same time they testify to their virulent verbal criticism of Jews, heretics and pagans, who could not accept the Christian exclusiveness. After emperor Constantine had turned to Christianity, Christians acquired the opportunity to use violence toward competing groups and pagans, even though they were instructed to love them personally and Jewish-Christian relationships flourished at grass root level. General analyses and case studies demonstrate that the fashionable distinction between intolerant monotheism and tolerant polytheism must be qualified.
:
1 online resource (viii, 252 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004274907 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Grace and the Will According to Augustine.
:
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.
:
Part Three: Introduction. :
1 online resource (442 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-378) and indexes. :
9789004229211 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Origen : cosmology and ontology of time /
:
Origen's Cosmology and Ontology of Time constitute a major catalyst and a massive transformation in the development of Christian doctrine. The author challenges the widespread impression about this theology being bowled head over heels by its encounter with Platonism, Gnosticism, or Neoplatonism, and casts new light on Origen's grasp of the relation between Hellenism, Hebrew thought and Christianity. Against all ancient and modern accounts, the ingrained claim that Origen sustained the theory of a beginningless world is disconfirmed. He is argued to be the anticipator and forerunner of critical notions, with his innovations never having been superseded. While some of the accounts afforded by subsequent Christian writers were more extended, they were not fuller. Of them, Augustine just fell short of even accurately echoing this Theory of Time, since he introduced affinity with Platonism at points where Origen had instituted a radical dissimilarity. With his background fruitfully brought into the study of these questions, Origen's propositions are genuine innovations, not mere advances, however massive.
:
1 online resource (xiii, 417 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 377-392) and indexes. :
9789047417637 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Origen : philosophy of history and eschatology /
:
A common accusation made against Origen is that he dissolves history into intellectual abstraction and that his eschatology (if this is recognized at all) is notoriously obscure. In this new work, the author draws on an impressive range of bibliography to consider Origen's Philosophy of History and Eschatology in the widest context of facts, documents and streams of thought, including Classical and Late Antiquity Greek Philosophy, Gnosticism, Hebraism and Patristic Thought, both before Origen and well after his death. Against claims that he causes history to evaporate into barren idealism, his thought is shown to be firmly grounded on his particular vision of historical occurences. Confronting assertions that Origen has no eschatological ideas, his eschatology is shown rather to have made a distinctive mark throughout his works, both explicitly and tacitly. In Origen's view, history was the foundation of scriptural interpretation, a teleological process determined by factors and functions such as providence - prophecy - promise - expectation - realization - anticipation - faith - anticipation - hope - awaiting for - fulfilment - end . Since 1986, the author has argued for the unpopular thesis that Origen is, in many respects, an anti-Platonist. Nevertheless, the author casts light upon the Aristotelian rationale of Origen's doctrine of apokatastasis , arguing that its validity is bolstered by ontological rather than historical premises. The extent of Origen's influence upon what is currently regarded as 'orthodoxy' turns out to be far wider and more profound than has hitherto been acknowledged.
:
1 online resource (xvii, 498 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 439-460) and indexes. :
9789047428695 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Evil--freedom--and the road to perfection in Clement of Alexandria /
:
This study deals with Clement of Alexandria's interpretation of evil and free will in the context of the rising Christianity, the influence of Near Eastern and Greek thought on him, his differences from St. Augustine, and how his interpretation affected the rise of the Eastern Christian thought. The book also treats briefly the subject of man's personal aim in life perceived by Clement as the supersession of his nature. Failure to realize this personal aim in life leads to alienation from God, and death. The moral dilemma of Clement's interpretation of evil as failure of life's aim is not a conventional explanation of good and evil but something much more: the option between real life and death. Consequently, Clement's idea of evil refers to existential problems and ontological realities.
:
1 online resource (xii, 192 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-186) and index. :
9789004313101 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Intellectus gratiae : die erkenntnistheoretische und hermeneutische Dimension der Gnadenlehre Augustins von Hippo /
:
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.
:
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.
Revelation, truth, canon, and interpretation : studies in Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho /
:
This volume treats the concepts of revelation, truth, canon, and interpretation as four pillars of early Christian theology. Using Justin Martyr as a case-study, his \'Dialogue with Trypho\' is examined with a view toward discerning how a second century Christian father understands and develops these concepts. Justin's intellectual background is discussed within the nuanced context of Middle Platonism. Particular attention is paid to his use of biblical sources which is grounded in the foundational chapter on revelation in Justin. Justin is placed within the wider context of theological developments in pre-Nicene Christianity, and includes a warning against judging Justin by anachronistic post-Nicene developments.
:
1 online resource (xv, 311 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004313293 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Tod und Ritual in den christlichen Gemeinden der Antike /
:
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.
:
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.
Community building in the Shepherd of Hermas : a critical study of some key aspects /
:
In Community Building in the Shepherd of Hermas , Mark Grundeken investigates key aspects of Christian community life as reflected upon in the early Christian writing the Shepherd of Hermas (2nd century C.E.). Grundeken's thematic study deals with various topics: the community's identity, including its (alleged) 'Jewish Christianness', (lack of) resurrection belief, sectarian tendencies and its relation to the authorities and to the emperor cult; social features, encompassing gender roles and charity; and rituals such as baptism, metanoia , Eucharistic meals, the Sunday collection, dancing (and singing), the 'holy kiss' and reading of Scripture. The many fruitful entries prove Hermas to be one of the main texts for studying the development of community building in the early church.
:
1 online resource (vi, 235 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-209) and index. :
9789004299634 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ideas on language in early Latin Christianity from Tertullian to Isidore of Seville /
:
In Ideas on Language in Early Latin Christianity , Tim Denecker investigates, in a comprehensive and systematic way, the views held on the history, diversity and properties of language(s) by Christian Latin authors from Tertullian (b. c.160) to Isidore of Seville (d. 636). This historical period witnessed various sociocultural changes, affecting linguistic situations and the ways in which these were perceived. Christian intellectuals were confronted with languages other than Latin in the context of the propagation of faith, and in reflecting on language were bound to comply with the relevant biblical accounts. Whereas previous research has mostly focused on the (indeed vital) contribution of Augustine, the present study reveals the diversified and dynamic nature of linguistic reflection in early Latin Christianity.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004276659 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
La restauration de la création : quelle place pour les animaux? : actes du colloque de l'ERCAM tenu à Strasbourg du 12 au 14 mars 2015 /
:
La restauration de la création se propose d'examiner le statut des animaux dans la pensée chrétienne ancienne et médiévale selon une perspective eschatologique, centrée sur la question du salut des animaux dans le projet divin. L'ouvrage est organisé en trois parties : les sources bibliques, notamment la promesse du renouvellement de la création dans Rm 8, 21 ; les élaborations doctrinales dans la période patristique puis au Moyen Âge ; enfin, des réflexions contemporaines à propos du statut des animaux dans nos sociétés. Souvent absente du débat sociétal à propos des animaux, la perspective historique chrétienne proposée dans ce volume se veut une contribution originale à la réflexion actuelle sur le statut juridique et éthique des animaux. La restauration de la création aims to examine the status of animals in ancient and medieval Christian thought following an eschatological perspective, that is, focusing on the question of the salvation of animals according to the divine plan. The volume is articulated in three parts: Biblical sources, in particular the promise of the renewal of creation according to Rm 8, 21; Patristic and medieval doctrinal elaborations on the question; finally, contemporary considerations regarding the status of animals in our societies. Often absent from the current social debate on the subject, the historical Christian perspective which this volume proposes is intended as an original contribution to today's ongoing reflexion on the legal and ethical status of animals.
:
Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed January 3, 2018). :
1 online resource (xix, 340 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004357389 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.