EDESSAN RELIGION, PAGANISM IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE, AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY

1980 ◽  
pp. 175-196 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Early Christianity

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Otto
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Text Production ◽  
Church Father ◽  
Intellectual Formation ◽  
The Relationship

Between the second and the sixteenth centuries CE, references to the Jewish exegete Philo of Alexandria occur exclusively in texts written by Christians. David T. Runia has described this phenomenon as the adoption of Philo by Christians as an “honorary Church Father.” Drawing on the work of Jonathan Z. Smith and recent investigations of the “Parting of the Ways” of early Christianity and Judaism, this study argues that early Christian invocations of Philo reveal ongoing efforts to define the relationship between Jewishness and Christianness, their areas of overlap and points of divergence. The introduction situates invocations of Philo within the wider context of early Christian writing about Jews and Jewishness. It considers how Philo and his early Christian readers participated in the larger world of Greco-Roman philosophical schools, text production, and the ethical and intellectual formation (paideia) of elite young men in the Roman Empire.

Power, Exile, and Religion in the Roman Empire

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maren R. Niehoff
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
First Century ◽  
Jerusalem Temple ◽  
Civic Virtues

This chapter examines how Philo emerged as a central author in the discourse on power, exile, and religion in first-century Rome. Highly aware of the tyrannical features of Claudius's rule, he develops a sophisticated language of projecting criticism onto Claudius's predecessor Gaius. Like his contemporary Seneca, Philo connects the loss of power—namely, exile—with philosophy, suggesting that it is a space for reasserting and refashioning one's identity. Close parallels appear between the Roman version of exile, exemplified by Flaccus, and the Jewish version of exile, exemplified by the Alexandrian Jews during the pogrom in their city. Within this distinctly Roman context, Philo develops a fascinating new notion of Judaism, which he defines by nobility of mind, the Jerusalem Temple, urbanity, and civic virtues. This dramatic refashioning of Judaism has significant implications for early Christianity and subsequent Greek authors in the Roman Empire.

scholarly journals The figure of Jesus Christ in the context of religious studies

2003 ◽  
pp. 146-157
Author(s):  
Pavlo Yuriyovych Pavlenko
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Bruno Bauer

The study of the origins of the Christian religion has always been one of the most difficult problems. This is due, first of all, to the almost complete absence of specific historical evidence of early Christianity and of its founder, which in turn led to the emergence of the so-called "mythological theory" according to which Christianity emerged "spontaneously" in Palestine and is unknown in any way. F. Engels, who borrowed from Bruno Bauer the date of writing the Book of the Annunciation of John the Theologian, the last book of the New Testament canon, played a significant role in the formation of such views. In accepting this date, understanding of Christianity as a "spontaneous" phenomenon, initially representing the movement of the underprivileged masses of the Roman Empire, played a role. In this sense, any "spontaneity" automatically excluded the historicity of virtually all evangelical characters (according to Engels, all of them are nothing but mythological images). If neither Jesus nor his apostles existed, then the gospel narrative of Christ evolved from the myth of Christ as God to the myth of Jesus as God-man.

scholarly journals CONSERVATIVE AND LIBERAL, HIERARCHICAL AND EGALITARIAN: SOCIAL-POLITICAL USES OF THE CONCEPT OF “HOME” IN GRECO-ROMAN ANTIQUITY AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY

Phronimon ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Strijdom
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
House Churches ◽  
The Family ◽  
George Lakoff ◽  
The One ◽  
Roman Antiquity ◽  
Point Of Departure

The cognitive linguist George Lakoff has argued that in the human brain two concepts of the family are mapped onto two contrasting political concepts, which reveal two kinds of systemic morality: a hierarchical, strict and disciplining father morality of conservatives on the one hand, and an egalitarian, nurturing parent morality of progressives or liberals on the other. Taking Lakoff’s thesis as point of departure, I offer a critical comparison of social-political uses of the concept of “home” in the early Roman Empire and Pauline Christianity. For this case study I engage primarily with the work of John Dominic Crossan, a prominent scholar of early Christianity within its Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts. Although “home” does not constitute the focus of his analysis, a close reading of his oeuvre does allow us to identify and highlight this as a crucial theme in his work. The focus will be on the patriarchal home under Greco-Roman imperial conditions as model of the imperial system, the Pauline egalitarian concept of the Christian home and house churches, and the deutero-Pauline return to the imperial model. By comparing these case studies from another epoch and another culture, thevalidity of Lakoff’s thesis will be tested and our understanding of the concepts “liberal” and “conservative” will be enriched.

scholarly journals An inquiry into socio-historical factors contributing to poverty within the Early Church in Palestine

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Kakwata
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Historical Factors ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Causes Of Poverty

This article seeks to investigate the root causes of poverty in the early Christian community.The view that is put forward and argued in this article is that poverty was widespread in early Christianity with particular reference to the converted Jews in Palestine. This was the result of socio-historical factors, namely the Israelites’ contact with Canaanites during the conquest,and the implementation of the secular leadership paradigm derived from those paga n nations around Israel, which led to their subjugation under the oppressive and exploitative and economic structures of the Roman Empire. For that reason many believers, newly converted Jews, at that time were destitute and impoverished as they belonged to the lower classes in society. In spite of this state of affairs, the early Christians in Jerusalem seemed to have faced the challenges of poverty with a measure of success as can be attested by the statement ‘for there was no needy person amongst them …’ (Ac 4:34).’n Ondersoek na sosio-historiese faktore wat tot armoede binne die vroeë Christelikekerk in Palestina bygedra het. Die doel van hierdie artikel is om die grondoorsake van armoede in die vroeë Christelike gemeenskap te ondersoek met spesifieke verwysing na die bekeerde Jode in Palestina. Die standpunt wat in hierdie artikel gestel en beredeneer word, is dat armoede algemeen in die vroeë Christendom voorgekom het. Dit was as gevolg van verskeie sosio-historiese faktore, waaronder die Israeliete se kontak met die Kanaäniete ná die inname, asook die instelling van die sekulêre paradigma oor leierskap wat Israel aan die naburige heidennasies ontleen het en wat op hulle verknegting onder die Romeinse Ryk se onderdrukkende en uitbuitende strukture uitgeloop het. ’n Groot aantal gelowiges, bekeerde Jode, was in daardie tyd behoeftig en armoedig omdat hulle deel van die laer klasse in die samelewing was. Tog, ten spyte van hierdie omstandighede, het die vroeë Christene in Jerusalem klaarblyklik die uitdaging van armoede met ’n mate van sukses gehanteer, soos die stelling getuig: ‘Nie een van hulle het gebrek gely nie …’ (Hand 4:34).

Kaisertum und Kaiserkult: Ein Vergleich zwischen PhilosLegatio ad Gaiumund derOffenbarung des Johannes

2009 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-138
Author(s):  
Hans-Georg Gradl
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
The Self ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Social Self

In face of the religious and cultic claims of the Roman emperors, Philo (Legatio ad Gaium) and Revelation develop contrasting perspectives in positioning their respective religious communities within the cultural majority of their day. The Alexandrian Jew Philo opts for critical integration and social cohabitation—a solution that is conventionally ascribed to early Christianity. John pleads strongly for the self-isolation of the Christian minority groups in the Province of Asia—a solution conventionally ascribed to Jewish self-definition in the Tannaitic period. The article illustrates this remarkable exchange of religious and social self-conceptualisations in both authors. Social rather than religious boundaries determine the framework in which the Roman Empire and its ruler are conceptualised, literary reactions are developed, and strategic alternatives are formed.

scholarly journals Da Diáspora à Palestina: novas concepções sobre a localização dos evangelhos sinóticos

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Marcelo Da Silva Carneiro
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Literary Theory ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Contextual Analysis ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Cultural Proximity ◽  
Principal Points

Resumo: Este artigo pretende mostrar as mudanças teóricas sobre a localização dos evangelhos sinóticos. O objetivo é demonstrar como a localização dos evangelhos sinóticos foi por muito tempo fundamentada na Tradição, e não em análise contextual. Desde os Pais da Igreja os evangelhos sinóticos foram situados em diferentes pontos do império romano, em geral fora da região siro-palestinense. Novas tendências, no entanto, tem demonstrado que Marcos, Mateus e Lucas pertencem a um gênero literário vinculado ao mundo judaico da Palestina, e seus evangelhos refletem essa proximidade cultural. A partir disso é possível chegar a duas conclusões principais: por um lado, os evangelhos sinóticos surgiram para responder a demandas de comunidades judaico-cristãs que estavam em situação de crise e usaram a memória sobre Jesus para dar fundamento às suas respostas. Por outro lado, as novas tendências indicam a proximidade entre o cristianismo primitivo e o judaísmo, como expressão da pluralidade deste. Palavras-chave: Cristianismo Primitivo. Teoria Literária. Evangelhos Sinóticos. Tradição Oral. Abstract: This paper wants show the theoretical changes about the Synoptic Gospels locus. The object is show that the Synoptic Gospels locus are based just in Tradition, and not in contextual analysis. Since the Later Fathers, the Synoptic Gospels were located in different Roman Empire places, generally off Syros-Palestinian area. New tendencies, however, show that Mark, Matthew and Luke belongs a literary genre bound to the Palestinian Judaic world, and their Gospels reflect this cultural proximity. From this, it is possible conclude two principal points: one, the Synoptic Gospels emerged to respond to Judaic-Christian community demands, in crisis and used the memories about Jesus for give ground to their answers. Two, the new tendencies link the proximity between the Primitive Christianity and Judaism, as their plurality expression. Keywords: Early Christianity. Literary Theory. Synoptic Gospels. Oral Tradition.

Only Connect!

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Goldhill
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Historical Fiction ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Charles Kingsley ◽  
Victorian Culture ◽  
The Social

This chapter relates the historical fiction of early Christianity in the Roman Empire to the intellectual lives of their authors, and uses this to see something of the social network within which the books emerged and to which they spoke. It first considers Victorian biography as a genre, showing that the Victorian recognition of the interweaving of a writer's life and work is part of the reception of the author as a cultural figure. To make this point, the chapter considers Mrs. Gaskell's biography of Charlotte Brontö. It also examines the experience of historicity as a defining characteristic of Victorian culture by focusing on two major representative figures of the era: Charles Kingsley and Fred W. Farrar.

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