From Jesus to the New Testament: Early Christian Theology and the Origin of the New Testament Canon, written by Jens Schröter

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 298-300
Author(s):  
Arthur G. Patzia
2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Myllykoski

James the Just, the brother of Jesus, is known from the New Testament as the chief apostle of the Torah-obedient Christians. Up to the last quarter of the twentieth century, Jewish Christianity was regarded as an unimportant branch of the early Christian movement. Correspondingly, there was remarkably little interest in James. However, in the past two decades, while early Christianity has been studied as a form of Judaism, the literature on James has grown considerably. Now some scholars tend to assume that James was a loyal follower of his brother right from the beginning, and that his leadership in the church was stronger than traditionally has been assumed. Fresh studies on Acts 15 and Galatians 2 have opened new questions about the Christian Judaism of James and social formation of the community which he led. Part II of this article, to be published in a later issue of Currents, will treat the rest of the James tradition—James's ritual purity, martyrdom and succession, and his role in the Gnostic writings and later Christian evidence. It will conclude with reflections concerning James and earliest Jewish-Christian theology.


Author(s):  
Alison G. Salvesen

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the Handbook and its consciously wide-ranging approach. Part I defines and explains the term Septuagint, and describes the development of the study of this significant corpus from the early modern period to the present day. Part II gives an overview of the socio-historical setting of the Septuagint, setting out prominent aspects of its nature as a translation including its incorporation of religious ideas and discussing the influence of the myth of Septuagint origins in the so-called Letter of Aristeas. It also surveys its early transmission in papyri, inscriptions, and manuscripts. Part III sets out in separate chapters the nature of the individual books of the Septuagint. Part IV looks at the Jewish reception and usage of the translated books, including revisions to the texts and the creation of alternative Greek versions. Part V turns to Christian use of the Septuagint, from the New Testament through to Greek and Latin writers. Part VI explains the significance of the ‘daughter’ versions rendered from Greek into a number of languages for the purposes of early Christian communities, and also some recent major scholarly translations of the Septuagint into modern European tongues. The last section, Part VII, provides some reflections on the significance of the Septuagint for biblical studies, especially textual criticism and New Testament, and for Christian theology. It finally looks at how illustrations in Septuagint manuscripts have interpreted the biblical text.


2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-57
Author(s):  
John-Christian Eurell

Abstract The Christian views on the significance of Mary have developed over a long time. This article studies what Mariological developments can be detected in the canonical New Testament and what they might tell us concerning the significance of Mary in early Christian theology.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-376
Author(s):  
Mike Duncan

Current histories of rhetoric neglect the early Christian period (ca. 30–430 CE) in several crucial ways–Augustine is overemphasized and made to serve as a summary of Christian thought rather than an endpoint, the texts of church fathers before 300 CE are neglected or lumped together, and the texts of the New Testament are left unexamined. An alternative outline of early Christian rhetoric is offered, explored through the angles of political self-invention, doctrinal ghostwriting, apologetics, and fractured sermonization. Early Christianity was not a monolithic religion that eventually made peace with classical rhetoric, but as a rhetorical force in its own right, and comprised of more factions early on than just the apostolic church.


Numen ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 56 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 282-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitris Kyrtatas

The paper re-examines the evidence concerning the early Christian conceptions of punishment of sinners in the afterlife. It commences with the New Testament and the ideas attributed to Jesus and moves on to the apocryphal Apocalypse of Peter , composed about a generation later, which enjoyed great popularity among several early Christian circles and was seriously considered for inclusion in the New Testament canon. It is claimed that as it now reads, Apoc. Pet. advances ideas about hell that sharply contrast those presented in the New Testament. To solve this riddle, it is proposed that the Apoc. Pet. , as it has been preserved, was reorganized at a much later stage to meet the needs of the developing Church. Its original meaning was consequently twisted almost beyond recognition. In its earliest layers, the apocryphal document appears to have been mostly concerned, just like the New Testament, with salvation rather than everlasting chastisement.


2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-250
Author(s):  
Bärbel Bosenius

During the last 40 years New Testament scholarship did not apply the term “apostolic letter” consistently. All early Christian letters and only the New Testament or Pauline respectively Deutero-Pauline letters were called “apostolic letters” by New Testament scholars. Since the term from the sources ἀπόστολος in the undisputed Pauline letters refers to Paul’s function as founder of early Christian communities but not to his function as their leader, New Testament scholars should avoid the misleading term “apostolic letter.” Within the corpus of New Testament letters one should rather differentiate between “kerygmatic letters,” “pseudepigraphic Pauline letters” and “early Christian Diaspora letters.”


2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-124
Author(s):  
Jonathan Cahana

The recently discoveredGospel of Judashas created much controversy among scholars. While it is clear that Judas is liable for Jesus' crucifixion in this text, it is much debated whether his actions should be understood positively or negatively. This article suggests that focusing on how theGospel of Judasevaluates the salvific meaning of Jesus' crucifixion alongside the New Testament gospels and other early Christian writings may provide a key for solving this problem. In this way, theGospel of Judascan be seen as a rare attempt to unravel what Irenaeus aptly termed ‘the mystery of the betrayal’.


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