'The Roman Family' in Recent Research: State of the Question

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beryl Rawson
Keyword(s):  
Family Relationships ◽  
Domestic Space ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Cultural Differentiation ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
The City

AbstractIn the past two decades of rapid expansion,the study of ‘the Roman family’ has developed from its early focus on the city of Rome and on legal, literary and epigraphical sources to a wider geographical canvas and to more extensive use of archaeological material. The whole range of sources is now being applied to particular problems, providing different perspectives and a better chance of contextualising specific details. Of the new methodologies available, demography and the archaeology of domestic space are proving most productive. Questions most frequently debated are the Romans’ concept of ‘the family’ and the nature of family relationships. There is a growing recognition that regional and cultural differentiation must be taken into account: generalisations about ‘the Mediterranean world’ or even ‘Greco-Roman culture’ are seldom useful. Similarly, regional differentiations in early Christianity are being recognised: Christian communities were likely to share many of the characteristics of the city or area in which they were developing. This makes the growing dialogue between Romanists and Early Christian scholars profitable and stimulating, and topics of particular fertilisation are those of family relationships and domestic space.

scholarly journals Prve kršćanske zajednice / First Christian communities

2019 ◽  
pp. 181-193
Author(s):  
Drago Župarić
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
Roman Province ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
New Religion

Christianity, having developed in a Jewish setting, quickly separated from Judaism and opened itself to the aspirations of the Greco-Roman world. This paper will explore the first Christian communities in Jerusalem, Antioch and Rome, from whence Christianity spread to the ends of the Mediterranean basin, that is to say, through the Roman Empire. Each of the aforementioned  communities, which were very well respected, will be discussed with regards to  the date of their foundation, the source material concerning these communities, and their prominent characteristics. In other words, this paper will discuss  the spread of Christianity, with reference to the question of the triumphant  campaign of the young Church from Jerusalem to Rome. After the acceptance of pagans into their communities, Christianity as a new religion began to gain importance, and the number of adherents grew quickly. The Christian community was declared an opposition to imperial government, and was already heavily repressed by the mid-1  century. The communities that survived repression sought peace; that is, collaboration between the  Roman state and the “early Church”, which was seen as a new institution. The  cult opened itself more and more to the outside world and different cultures,  which led to the mingling of Christians and pagans, leading to many theological disputes, especially concerning the “divinity” of Jesus Christ. Between the 1st  and 2nd st  century the beginnings of Christianity should be viewed as an organization in which commissions and administrations are present, as the number of believers grew and the need for better organization arose. The basis of the rapid expansion of Christianity in the old world should  certainly be viewed in its universality. The author of this paper touches upon  the question of the beginnings of Christianity in Dalmatia and Pannonia, side by side with Roman culture. Christianity was not very influential in the Roman province of Dalmatia until the mid-3  century, even though it is likely that there were smaller Christian groups here, as well as organized Christian communities.

Jesus and Paul

2021 ◽  
pp. 139-170
Author(s):  
Donald Senior
Keyword(s):  
Literary Form ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Pastoral Letters ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Paul's Letters

The writings of Paul form a major part of the New Testament. This includes not only the so-called undisputed letters of Paul but also other letters attributed to him in antiquity that might have been written by later disciples of Paul citing him as author to evoke his apostolic authority. This chapter describes what we know of Paul’s life, beginning with his strong Jewish identity as well as his roots in the Greco-Roman world. Paul himself cites his inaugural visionary experience of the Risen Jesus as a decisive turning point in his life, leading him ultimately to be an ardent proclaimer of the gospel to the Gentile world. Paul’s letters to various early Christian communities in the Greco-Roman Mediterranean world served as extensions of his missionary efforts. Although fashioned in a different literary form than the gospel narratives, Paul’s letters also portray Jesus’s identity as both rooted in Judaism and exhibiting a unique transcendent character and purpose. Paul’s Christology focuses intensely on the significance of Jesus’s death and resurrection. The so-called deutero-Pauline Letters extend Paul’s theological vision; in the case of Colossians and Ephesians, situating the redemptive and reconciling role of Christ within the cosmos, and, in the case of the Pastoral Letters, bringing Paul’s exhortations about the life of the Christian community to some of the developing challenges of the late first-century church.

scholarly journals City of Dog

2020 ◽  
pp. 009614422091013
Author(s):  
Sam Ottewill-Soulsby
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Urban Settings ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
The City

To be fully human in the Greco-Roman world was to be a member of a city. This is unsurprising as cities were the building blocks of Greek and Roman culture and society. The urban landscape of post-Roman Western Europe looked dramatically different, with smaller, less economically diverse cities which played a smaller role in administration. Despite this, Greco-Roman ideas of humans as city-beings remained influential. This article explores this by investigating early medieval descriptions of cynocephali, which sought to determine whether the dog-headed men were human or not. Accounts of the cynocephali that presented them as human showed them living in urban settlements, whereas in reports of non-human cynocephali there are no cities. In exploring interactions between cynocephali and urban settings through ethnographic portrayals and hagiography, this article traces the lingering importance of the city for concepts of humanity.

Embodiment, Heresy, and the Hellenization of Christianity: The Descent of the Soul in Plato and Origen

2015 ◽  
Vol 108 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter W. Martens
Keyword(s):  
Way Of Life ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
Early Christian Studies

The Hellenization of Christianity is a long-standing and notoriously contentious historiographical construct in early Christian studies. While it has been deployed in surprisingly fluid ways, most scholars associate the thesis with Adolf von Harnack, for whom it acquired a decidedly critical valence. The “Hellenic spirit”—a concept Harnack usually left undefined—constituted a threat to the undogmatic gospel of Jesus. Whenever this adversarial Hellenic spirit triumphed, as it inevitably did, it corroded an authentic living Christianity into an institutionalized, dogmatic religion. For many others, both before and after Harnack, the Hellenization of Christianity has signaled a similar narrative of decline. The teachings and way of life that marked an authentic Christianity often stood in a disjunctive relationship with Greco-Roman culture, especially its philosophies. The influence of the latter precipitated a debasement of Christianity, the ossification of its teachings, or more seriously, the infiltration of heresy.

Philosophers, Scribes, Rhetors … and Paul? The Educational Background of the New Testament

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Riley Estep
Keyword(s):  
Christian Education ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
History Of

Of increasing interest to New Testament scholars is the educational background of Paul and the early Christians. As evangelical educators, such studies also engage our understanding of the Biblical and historical basis of Christian education. This article endeavors to ascertain the early Christian community's, and particularly Paul's, assessment of education in first-century A.D. Greco-Roman culture as one dimension of the interactions between the early Christian community and its culture. It will (1) provide a brief review of passages in the New Testament that reflect or interact with the educational community of the first-century A.D., (2) Conjecture Paul's assessment of education in Greco-Roman culture, with which early Christians interacted, (3) Itemize implications of Paul's opinion on Greco-Roman education for our understanding on the formation and history of Christian education, and finally (4) Address the need for further study of the subject.

scholarly journals O Gênero Epistolar na Antiguidade: a importância das Cartas de Cipriano para a História do Cristianismo Norte Africano (século III d.C.) * The Epistolary Genre in Antiquity: the importance of Letters of Cyprian for North African History of Christianity...

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
CAROLLINE DA SILVA SOARES
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Third Century ◽  
North African ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ancient Christianity ◽  
The City

<p><strong>Resumo: </strong>Ao nos debruçarmos nos estudos acerca do cristianismo antigo percebemos que algumas análises ainda se pautam numa leitura teológica e doutrinal e tendem a deixar de lado os aspectos político-administrativos e disciplinares da organização das comunidades cristãs, bem como o cotidiano dos cristãos nas <em>ciuitates</em> greco-romanas. As epístolas de Cipriano, bispo de Cartago entre os anos 249 e 258, nos dão importantes informações acerca da constituição das comunidades cristãs africanas e do cotidiano dos cristãos cartagineses de meados do século III d. C., sobretudo durante o período das perseguições dos imperadores Décio e Valeriano. Nosso objetivo nesse artigo é discutir as informações contidas nas epístolas de Cipriano como fontes primordiais para a percepção do processo de desenvolvimento do cristianismo no norte da África, especificamente na cidade de Cartago durante o século III, momento no qual a crença cristã ainda é considerada uma <em>religio illicita</em>.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave: </strong>Cristianismo – Cipriano – Cartas – Cristãos – Norte da África.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Abstract: </strong>By examining studies about ancient Christianity we realize that some analyzes are still in a guided reading theological and doctrinal, and tend to leave out the political and administrative aspects of the organization and discipline of the Christian communities, as well as the daily life of Christians at <em>ciuitates </em>Greco- Roman. The Epistles of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage between the years 249 and 258 , provides important information about the formation of the African Christian communities and the daily lives of Christians Carthaginians from the mid- third century A.D., especially during the period of the persecutions of the emperors Decius and Valerian. Our goal in this article is to argue the information contained in the epistles of Cyprian as main sources for the perception of the development of Christianity in North Africa, specifically in the city of Carthage during the third century, at which Christian belief is yet considered a <em>religio illicita.</em></p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Christianity – Cyprian – Letters – Christians – North Africa.</p>

The Early Codex Book

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-398
Author(s):  
Timothy Stanley
Keyword(s):  
History Of The Book ◽  
Biblical Literature ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
Sacred Literature ◽  
Common Era ◽  
Made In

In 1933 Frederic Kenyon was one of the first to note the early Christian addiction to codex books. As later scholars confirmed, Christian communities reproduced their sacred literature in a way that differed from the largely scrolled Greco-Roman bibliographic cultures of the first centuries of the Common Era. Book historians and scholars of biblical literature alike have developed a range of competing theories in order to better understand this peculiarity. By evaluating their claims, a number of clarifications can be made in order to demonstrate the codex’s sensitivity to Jewish scribal practices as well as its capacity to include a cosmopolitan diversity of texts. Through these clarifications the codex book form itself can provide vital interpretative insights into early biblical literature and the longer history of the book today.


Subverting Slavery: Philemon, Onesimus, and Paul’s Gospel of Reconciliation

2014 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-115
Author(s):  
Bernardo Cho
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
First Century ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Cultural Expectations

The lack of a taxonomic exposition by Paul on the issue of slavery in the Roman Empire has led modern scholars to regard the apostle as a socially disengaged religious figure. However, given the risks of anachronistically employing modern categories to describe Paul’s social stance, it seems imperative that interpreters take seriously the context of the first-century Roman Empire when exegeting Paul’s view of the specific issue of slavery. By taking Paul’s Epistle to Philemon as a case study, this paper examines Paul’s particular request to Philemon in light of the concurrent Greco-Roman sources, and analyses how the apostle’s stance towards slavery intersected with the cultural expectations of his time. The intended outcome of this study is both to elucidate how Paul addressed the problem of slavery in the early Christian communities and to provide modern readers with a theological framework through which to engage their own social struggles.

scholarly journals Gender topic in the Corinthian sermons and epistles of the apostle Paul

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-277
Author(s):  
Konstantin Sharov
Keyword(s):  
Julius Caesar ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Culture

In the paper, several well-known passages from the Epistles of the Apostle Paul are studied that raise the women’s issue in Corinth and still cause many discrepancies and contradictory assessments from masculine bias and chauvinism in early Christian preaching to St Paul’s personal misogyny. The author shows that these places should be interpreted as a continuation of the Corinthian sermons of the Apostle, deliberately composed by Paul in the context of non-Christian Greco-Roman culture of Corinth revived by Julius Cæsar. At the heart of this Corinthian culture, there was the famous temple of Aphrodite, sacred prostitution and the exquisitely hedonistic hetæras society.

Divine Guidance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Jillions
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
First Century ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Rational Thought ◽  
Lively Debate ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Intertestamental Literature ◽  
Divine Guidance

How are claims to God’s guidance to be understood against the background of fears, fundamentalism, and violence inspired by religious belief? But equally, how are acts of humanity, love, and sacrificial service to be understood, when they also claim to be inspired by God? How is healthy religion to be distinguished from unhealthy religion? Questions like these were the subject of lively debate in the first-century world of Corinth, where the views of Greek, Roman, Jewish, and early Christian residents mixed continually, and where Paul established one of the first Christian communities. While their differences were real, there was also common ground and a shared critique of destructive religion. This study looks at how believers and unbelievers confront questions about divine guidance, discernment, delusion, and rational thought. Part I looks at Greco-Roman views, focusing on the archeology of ancient Corinth and the writings of Homer, Virgil, Lucretius, Posidonius, Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, and others. Part II surveys Jewish attitudes by looking at Philo and Josephus, Qumran, early rabbinic writers, and other intertestamental literature. Part III unpacks Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians to show that issues of divine guidance and discernment are woven throughout as Paul shapes a distinctly Christian approach. Part IV brings the historical strands together and considers religious experience research to draw some conclusions about discernment and delusion today in the hope that rational and mystical need not be mutually exclusive.

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