Saint Stephen and Early Alexandrian Christianity

The message of Stephen and its relationship to flrst-century Judaism and early Christian theology has recently been the subject of several studies. It is, I suppose, universally agreed that Stephen was a hellenistic Jew of the Diaspora who came into acute conflict with other Diaspora Jews of a more conservative kind domiciled in Jerusalem and that these took the initiative in effecting his arrest and trial. But that is as far as agreement goes. The attempt to understand further Stephen's message and influence has produced the widest divergence of opinion. To some he is the originator of the mission to the Gentiles and Christian universalism whose conception of Christianity was adopted by later preachers and teachers with momentous consequences for Christian history. To others he remained in essence a Jew, albeit of a liberal kind, even after his conversion, whose aim was to propagate a type of Judaism which was strongly anti-Temple and anti-cultus. On this view Stephen stands in the line of Nathan, Hosea, Trito-Isaiah, the Rechabites, some Essene circles and the Ebionites, as pictured in the Pseudo-Clementine writings, in asserting a non-material form of worship, independent of the Temple cultus, as being authentic Judaism. Still others believe that Stephen cleverly preached Jesus in his interpretation of Joseph, Moses and Joshua; on this view he is a typologist whose aim is to show that Jesus' passion has been pre-figured in the persecutions which God's righteous servants have always had to endure. It is not our purpose here to examine and criticize these conflicting opinions in detail but to seek to answer two questions, namely (i) Was Stephen's position an isolated ine in first-century Judaism and in the early Church? (ii) And, if so, is it yet possible to trace his influence on Alexandrian Christianity when it comes into historical perspective in the early second century of our era?

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Pseudoepigraph 'Epistula Apostolorum' and its place in the development of early church theology

Sabornost ◽

10.5937/sabornost2115015d ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 15-30

Author(s):

Aleksandar Đakovac

Keyword(s):

Second Century ◽

Christian Theology ◽

Early Church ◽

Church Fathers ◽

Insight Into

The Epistle Apostolorum is a pseudo-epigraph created in the middle of the second century, which provides opportunities for insight into the developmental path of Christian theology. In this paper, we will try to show how the Christians of the first centuries tried to express their faith and the content of the tradition. The goal was to preserve both divine unity and divine multiplicity, while at the same time opposing Gnostic speculations and doctrinal attitudes. This process was not easy, nor was it devoid of many temptations and deviations, which this document confirms. It is precisely the theological shortcomings and ambiguities that we observe in this writing that can help us better understand the achievements of later generations of Church Fathers and theologians.

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PERSEPSI TEOLOG MASA KINI DI INDONESIA TERHADAP PIKIRAN TEOLOGI BAPAK-BAPAK GEREJA ABAD PERTAMA SAMPAI KETIGA

10.31227/osf.io/prkd4 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Detty Manongko

Keyword(s):

Literature Review ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Church History ◽

Second Century ◽

First Century ◽

Christian Theology ◽

Third Century ◽

Church Fathers ◽

The Third ◽

The Church

The research of exploring the Church History have not been many studies done in Indonesia. Though this field is related to the theology, especially the development of Christian Theology for centuries. One area of Church History that needs to be examined are the Christian Thought of the Church Fathers from first to third centuries. The field is often called “Patrology” which is the study of Church Fathers from first to third centuries. Who are they, what are the results of their work, why they have produced such theological thoughts, and what they thoughts are still influencing to the contemporary theologians in Indonesia?The main problem in this research is how does the perception of contemporary theologians in Indonesia to the Chruch Father’ s theological thoughts? Through a literature review of Soteriology, Christology, and Eschatology, then this research has yielded important principles concerning to the Church Fathers’s theological thoughts at the Early Church period. And then through the field research has proven that the majority of contemporary theologians in Indonesia have a positive perception to the Church Fathers’s theological thought from first to the third centuries. Therefore, the reasons of why this research is conducted and how it is done are described in the first chapter of these book. The second chapter of this writing contains a literature review of the theological thoughts of the church fathers from the first century to the third. There are four groups of Church Fathers from the first century to the third. There are four groups of Church Fathers that are described in this chapter, i.e., The Apostolic Fathers (from the first to the middle of second century), The Aplogists (second century), The Anti-Gnostic Fathers (second and third century), and The Alexandrian Fathers (third century). The third chapter discusses the quantitative methods used in this research including statistical models to prove the validity and reliability of the data acquisition method that is used in the field of this research. It desperately needs accuracy and diligence in order to display a quality and useful research reports for the development of Church History studies. Discussion of the results of this study, along with the evidence that reinforces the result of this research is presented in the fourth chapter. Finally, the fifth chapter of this study elaborates the main thoughts that are generated in this study, which also expected to be important principles in conducting futher research.The results obtained in this study are not yet maximal on account of various constraints, such as limited time, facilities, funding, and so forth. However, the writer wishes that the results achieved in this study will give a valuable contribution to all readers of this writing and that it will be a motivation for a further research in the field of Church History in the future.

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The Origins of Kalᾱm

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies ◽

10.1017/s0041977x00110511 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 43 (1) ◽

pp. 32-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

M. A. Cook

Keyword(s):

Second Century ◽

First Century ◽

Christian Theology ◽

Starting Point

That the dialectical technique of Muslim kalām is a borrowing from Christian theology is no secret. Its extra-Islamic origin has indeed been asserted by van Ess with great forthrightness in the context of his recent publication of an early kalām text. The text in question is an anti-Qadarite polemic ascribed to al-Hasan b. Muhammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya (d. c. 100 A.H.); it lacks a title, but may conveniently be designated Questions against the Qadarites. Van Ess accepts the ascription, and dates the tract to the 70s of the first century of the Hijra. Since the text contains no contemporary historical reference or colour, and. the ascription rests on the sole authority of the Zaydī imāam al-Hādī (d. 298), the case for so early a dating rests heavily on the theological style and content of the tract. Many of the arguments advanced by van Ess are questionable, and the result could not be said to constitute proof. But it would be churlish to reject the case for an early dating out of hand, and difficult to sustain one later than the first half of the second century. The text is thus an archaic one, and provides an appropriate starting-point for an inquiry into the origins of kalām.

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Imitation in Johannine Christianity

The Expository Times ◽

10.1177/0014524620946610 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 132 (3) ◽

pp. 101-110

Author(s):

Cornelis Bennema

Keyword(s):

Second Century ◽

First Century ◽

Early Christian

Studies in Johannine ethics have flourished in recent times, but scholars have yet to reach the heart of the matter. My contention that imitation is central to Johannine ethics is perhaps surprising because the concept is not immediately evident in the Johannine writings. I will therefore explain how we can recognize and understand Johannine imitation, followed by an account of how John’s ‘imitation ethics’ works. Our findings will discover a tradition of imitation from Jesus in the early first century to Johannine Christians in the late first century, and on to the early Christian martyrs in the second century.

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THE SATYRICA AND THE GOSPELS IN THE SECOND CENTURY

The Classical Quarterly ◽

10.1017/s0009838820000488 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 70 (1) ◽

pp. 356-367

Author(s):

Robyn Faith Walsh

Keyword(s):

Second Century ◽

First Century ◽

Circumstantial Evidence ◽

The Novel ◽

General Consensus ◽

Pliny The Younger ◽

Terminus Post Quem ◽

The Subject ◽

Greek Novel

The Satyrica has long been associated with a Neronian courtier named Petronius, mentioned by Tacitus in his Annals. As such, the text is usually dated to the mid first century c.e. This view is so established that certain scholars have suggested it is ‘little short of perverse not to accept the general consensus and read the Satyrica as a Neronian text of the mid-60s ad’. In recent years, however, there has been a groundswell of support for re-evaluating this long-held position. Laird, after comparing the ‘form and content’ of the text to the Greek novel, came to the ‘unattractive’ conclusion that the text may be second century. Similarly, in two recent pieces in CQ, Roth argues that the manumission scene in the Cena establishes a new terminus post quem for the text; she suggests that the freedoms granted by Trimalchio closely parallel—and parody—descriptions of awarding ciuitas found in the letters of Pliny the Younger. Indeed, the three slaves manumitted in the novel are associated with a boar (Sat. 40.3–41.4), Dionysus (Sat. 41.6–7) and a falling star (Sat. 54.1–5); likewise, the three slaves that are the subject of Pliny's letter are C. Valerius Aper (boar), C. Valerius Dionysius (god of wine) and C. Valerius Astraeus (stars). Roth's argument suggests that the author of the Satyrica was not Nero's contemporary but a member of Pliny's intellectual circle, offering strong circumstantial evidence that troubles the accepted tradition on the work's authorship and date.

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The Acts of the Apostles and the Beginnings of Simonian Gnosis

New Testament Studies ◽

10.1017/s0028688500014363 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 420-426 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Gerd Lüdemann

Keyword(s):

Acts Of The Apostles ◽

Second Century ◽

First Century ◽

Early Church ◽

Great Power ◽

Test Case ◽

Historical Criticism ◽

History Of Research ◽

History Of ◽

German Origin

The person of Simon encountered in Acts 8 has been a controversial figure ever since the rise of historical criticism. The range of opinions in the history of research varies from denying his existence to regarding him as the instigator of the gnostic movement that threatened the nascent early church in the second century. These contradictory results reflect the particular difficulty of the Simon question, which consists not least in the span of time that lies between the two oldest sources (Acts and Justin). Furthermore, an orderly report of Simon's gnostic teaching is encountered first in Irenaeus. In modern research, Simon Magus has been treated more or less as a test case for the larger question about gnostic backgrounds of the NT or about the existence of a first century Gnosis. With conscious or unconscious reference to this first century Gnosis, the majority of investigators (especially of German origin) has affirmed the existence of a first-century Gnostic Simon, and has neglected the above mentioned chronological problem. Only recently has the following judgement begun to gain dominance: ‘All attempts so far made have failed to bridge the gap between the Simon of Acts and the Simon of the heresiologists.’ This statement points to the lack of Simon's companion Helen (= ἔννοια) in Acts 8 and to the fact that the expression ‘great power (of God)’ (Acts 8. 10b) is not gnostic as such.

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The Ravenous Wolf: The Apostle Paul and Genesis 49.27 in the Early Church

New Testament Studies ◽

10.1017/s0028688516000187 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 62 (4) ◽

pp. 610-627 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Darrell D. Hannah

Keyword(s):

Second Century ◽

First Century ◽

Early Church ◽

Apostle Paul ◽

Roman World

Jacob's blessing of his youngest son Benjamin (Gen 49.27) was widely understood in the early Church as a prophecy of that most (in)famous Benjaminite, the apostle Paul. This exegesis enjoyed enduring popularity and can be traced to every corner of the Roman world. It is also early: it was already well established by the time of its earliest surviving witnesses at the end of the second century. But if it predates the late second century, when did it originate? While we can only speculate, this paper offers reasons for supposing that this exegesis may reach back into the first century.

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On the question of psalmody in the ancient synagogue

Early Music History ◽

10.1017/s0261127900000784 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 159-191 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

James W. McKinnon

Keyword(s):

Old Testament ◽

Present Author ◽

Fulfillment in Continuity: The Orthodox Christian Theology of Biblical Israel

Review of Ecumenical Studies Sibiu ◽

10.2478/ress-2019-0016 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 209-236

Author(s):

Demetrios E. Tonias

Keyword(s):

Christian Theology ◽

Current Understanding ◽

Early Church ◽

Christian Faith ◽

Orthodox Christian ◽

Early Christian ◽

Orthodox Theology ◽

The Church

Abstract Concentrating on the Orthodox theology of biblical Israel within the context of fulfillment theology, the argument is that the early Church envisioned itself as the continuation of Israel of the Jewish Bible rather than its replacement. In the author’s view, the current understanding of the distinction between replacement and fulfillment theology, the early Christian theological conception of the Church as Israel, and the ways in which both contemporaneous pagans and Jews viewed the nascent Christian faith support this assertion.

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Tell us no secrets: St. Irenaeus’ contra-gnostic doctrine of communion

Vox Patrum ◽

10.31743/vp.3332 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 68 ◽

pp. 85-94

Author(s):

Don W. Springer

Keyword(s):

Second Century ◽

Church Fathers ◽

People Of God ◽

Mystical Union ◽

Early Christian ◽

The Subject ◽

Union With God ◽

The Church

Discussion related to the potential for mystical union with God was largely absent from the writings of the Church Fathers prior to the late-second century. Toward the end of that century, however, the concept of communion with God emerged as a topic of interest in both early Christian and Gnostic literature. St. Irenaeus of Lyons was among the earliest Christian writers to critically reflect on the subject. He argued that participation with the divine was possible only in the “orthodox” churches and required three key elements: a life lived in connection to the Spirit of God, in community with the true people of God, while bearing evidence of godly piety and virtue. Whereas Gnostic conceptions of communion frequently included an emphasis on the reception of an exclusive, secret gnosis, Irenaeus’ paradigm offered a public, progressive path of ascent to God.

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