“Defining Sacred Boundaries”

Author(s):  
Daniel Benga

AbstractThe present paper examines the criteria by which the Christian communities of Syria demarcated themselves from the pagan society, on the basis of the Didascalia Apostolorum, a „church order” of the third century. The article shows that the theoretical Christian monotheism had countless practical consequences for the daily lives of the early Christians. The ban on idolatry, which had initially led Christianity into isolation, became an important pillar of the new Christian identity. From this perspective, the following areas of delimitation are examined: baptism as a criterion of delimitation from the pagan world; the rejection of pagan literature; the mixed marriages between Christians and pagans; balnea mixta etc. The touchstone of the delimitation criteria is the Bible with its provisions against idolatry and immorality. The boundary between the two antique religions appears in daily life to be an area in which common life was possible, rather than a very sharp line.

2021 ◽  
pp. 362-372
Author(s):  
Stavros I. Arvanitopoulos

The Byzantine state inherited a large number of defensive structures, on its borders and in the hinterland where ancient cities were refortified in response to barbarian raids, primarily during the third century. The fundamental characteristics of fortification architecture developed during the sixth century. Nevertheless, criteria for the selection of the location, dimensions, and certain construction and morphological features of the forts, towers, and city/barrier walls, were continually adapted to changes in society and state until the end of the empire. Systematic study of the defensive architectural remains including excavation, creation of synthetic works, and reliable maps will allow researchers to date, compare, and understand the evolution of fortification architecture as well as aspects of daily life in the empire.


2002 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P.M. Venter

The macro social space of the Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1-36)An analysis of the material of the Book of the Watchers ( 1 Enoch 1-36) indicates a preference for the spatial aspect in these revelation narratives. In an attempt to understand this preference, an investigation is launched into the macro social world of the narratives. Themes in Enoch from literature in the Bible, the Syro-Phoenician world, Pseudo Epolemus, Zenon Papyri, Persia and Greece, are identified. Ptolemean Palestine is also investigated as the context within which an Enochic tradition was formed. Amongst other traditions an opposing Mosaic Judaism and Enochic Judaism are identified. Both take up the challenges of the third century with its Hellenistic onslaught and explosion of knowledge. The Book of the Watchers represents an Enoch tradition, which forms an early trajectory of apocalyptic thinking, and which is being influenced by various traditions such as wisdom literature in its mantic form, cosmological schemes of the world, and mythic traditions.


Author(s):  
Brian Marpay ◽  
Nasokhili Giawa

Jealousy is one of the characteristics of God, which is essential in His divinity. It's just that some take it casually and even tend to see that jealousy like this is not too severe. This is why this article was written to ascertain the extent to which God's jealousy is essential to be studied by God's people and its application from the perspective of the responsibility of faith in Him. It should be understood that the Bible shows this nature of God, that He is a jealous God. However, this jealousy of God is certainly not as heavy as humans' jealousy in general. God was jealous of the acts of disloyalty made by humans against Him, namely deliberately rebelling against and worshiping other gods. God has the right to be jealous because of the disobedience of His chosen people, who have violated the content of His eternal covenant. Therefore, this article is written using a biblical-theological approach, namely trying to understand the purpose of God's jealousy as contained in Exodus 20: 3-5 by paying attention to the text and context and then analyzing it to find its value, relevance, and application in daily life. In the end, this article shows that the background behind God's jealousy is, firstly, there is a broken promise, second is the existence of a double attitude (because of a special relationship before), and the third is that there is an attitude of relationship dissatisfaction that causes jealousy, namely adultery with other gods. ABSTRAKSikap cemburu merupakan salah satu sifat khas Allah yang esensial dalam keilahian-Nya. Hanya saja, ada yang menanggapinya secara biasa saja bahkan cenderung melihat bahwa sifat cemburu seperti ini tidak terlalu serius. Inilah yang menyebabkan artikel ini ditulis untuk memastikan sejauh mana kecemburuan Tuhan penting dipelajari oleh umat Tuhan dan aplikasinya dari perspektif tanggung jawab iman kepada-Nya. Perlu dipahami bahwa Alkitab menunjukkan sifat Allah ini, bahwa Ia adalah Allah yang cemburu. Namun, kecemburuan Allah ini tentu tidak sama bobotnya dengan kecemburuan yang biasa dilakukan manusia pada umumnya. Sejujurnya Tuhan Allah sangat cemburu dengan tindakan ketidaksetiaan yang dibuat oleh manusia terhadap-Nya yaitu dengan sengaja memberontak dan menyembah allah lain. Allah berhak cemburu karena ketidak-taatan umat pilihan-Nya yang telah melanggar konten kovenan-Nya yang kekal. Karena itu, artikel ini ditulis menggunakan pendekatan teologi biblika yaitu berupaya memahami maksud kecemburuan Allah sebagaimana dimuat di dalam Kel. 20:3-5 dengan memperhatikan teks dan konteks lalu menganalisis untuk menemukan nilai, relevansi, dan aplikasinya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Pada akhirnya artikel ini memperlihatkan bahwa yang menjadi latar belakang di balik kecemburuan Allah ialah, pertama adanya janji yang diingkari, kedua ialah adanya sebuah sikap menduakan (karena adanya hubungan spesial sebelumnya), dan yang ketiga ialah adanya sikap ketidakpuasan relasi yang menimbulkan kecemburuan yaitu perzinahan dengan allah-allah lain.


Author(s):  
Erhard S. Gerstenberger

Qohelet (Greek/Latin: Ecclesiastes) is a very enigmatic book in the Hebrew Bible. Its critical, sometimes ironic or depressive approach to fundamental values of daily life (property; honor; power; intelligence; reward), however, has antecedents and parallels in Ancient Near Eastern wisdom. Also, it is not foreign to other writings of the Bible. Disconcerting as the absence of JHWH’s name and salvific deeds for Israel may be, the booklet, eventually becoming the festive lecture at the autumnal Feast of Booths, came into being as a textbook in some educational or scholarly institution of ancient Judaism (third century bce), complementing the study of Torah. Vanity and carpe-diem motives permeate the collection. The anonymous author(s) partially speak(s) in the guise of Salomon. Today’s interpretations focus on literary composition, autobiographic experiences of one or more authors, communitarian debate, reactions to historical events or philosophical currents, general skepticism, and eruptive bliss as components of Jewish theology.


1988 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 370-371
Author(s):  
Alan P. F. Sell ◽  
Keyword(s):  

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