Monks at work in Eastern Mediterranean: Ideals and reality

2021 ◽  
pp. 299-342
Author(s):  
Ewa Wipszycka
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Actual Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Main Question ◽  
The New Testament

The main question that the present paper tries to answer is as fol- lows: since two discordant precepts concerning work were to be found in the New Testament, how did monks behave? One precept treated work as a duty, the other recommended not to care about one’s maintenance. The monks followed in their behaviour either the first or the second precept. As a result of disputes that took place in the fourth century the opinion prevailed that work was the better choice. It is important for us to find out when and under what circumstances that choice was done by the majority of the monastic movement in the East. It is also important to see what arguments were used by the monks of Late Antiquity in order to settle the conflict between the two discordant precepts. This conflict worried many and caused a renewal of a dispute that seemed to have been closed. Two ways of reasoning in favour of monastic work were generally used: monks might and should pray and work at the same time, satisfying both precepts; monks ought to work in order to be able to give alms, and this conferred to work a meaning that went beyond immediate usefulness. Praying and working at the same time was not always feasible in actual practice, but this did not bother authors of ascetic treatises.

In Quest of the Third Heaven: Paul & his Apocalyptic Imitators

2004 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-55
Author(s):  
J.R. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Third ◽  
Authority Figure ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Paul's Letters ◽  
Social Agendas

AbstractIt is an irony of history that by late antiquity Paul had become the authority figure he never was during his lifetime. However, by the subapostolic and patristic periods Paul's apostolic authority was no longer considered quite so controversial. From 200 AD onwards Paul's letters were regularly cited alongside the Gospels and the Old Testament as 'Scripture'. It is therefore no surprise that the premier apocalyptic theologian of the New Testament would spawn several apocalyptic imitators. Two 'Apocalypses of Paul' have come down to us from antiquity, one gnostic, the other Christian. After discussing each work, the article asks to what extent the historical Paul would have agreed with these later works written in his name. The article will demonstrate how differing ecclesiastical traditions appropriated Paul for their own theological and social agendas instead of allowing the apostle to the Gentiles to speak to his first-century context

The Sociology of the Book of Revelation in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages: Books and Canon

2020 ◽  
pp. 156-192
Author(s):  
Garrick V. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
Structural Composition ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Middle Ages

This chapter explores the other literary works to which Revelation is juxtaposed in the codices that preserve it, focusing both on the macro-structural composition of these artefacts and the way that the different sub-corpora are treated in terms of their consistency, discontinuity, and paratextual emphasis. It analyses the larger bibliographic composition of the manuscripts that preserve copies of the book of Revelation, identifying two concurrent streams of Revelation’s transmission—the canonical and the eclectic. The internal variety within each of these streams is a reality that undermines conceptions of Revelation’s place as the ‘last book of the New Testament canon’ supported by the famous fourth and fifth century pandect manuscripts. Revelation’s transmission is defined in large part by the many non-biblical works transmitted alongside it.

Who Is the Text? The Gendered and Racialized New Testament

2019 ◽  
pp. 135-155
Author(s):  
Yii-Jan Lin
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Textual Criticism ◽  
The Other ◽  
Creative Power ◽  
Clement Of Alexandria ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The New Testament

This chapter contends that the study of gender, sexuality, and the New Testament is not limited to the content of texts or their historical contexts. On the contrary, how we formulate a textual entity and how we approach that entity contribute to the dynamics that constitute identity, and are thus important to the discussion. In the case of the New Testament, Western Christianity has understood the active Word, or Logos, of God as “masculine” in its creative power. The text of the New Testament, on the other hand, requires historical and philological study, and is decidedly “feminine” in its vulnerability to disease and adulteration, especially in the field of textual criticism. Disrupting metaphors and conceptions of text and speech, masculine and feminine, can be found in ancient Judaism’s formulation of the Written and Oral Torah, as well as in Clement of Alexandria, the Odes of Solomon, and in Plato.

Mary Magdalene

2019 ◽  
pp. 427-447
Author(s):  
Ann Graham Brock
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
Good News ◽  
Mary Magdalene ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Visionary Leader

The New Testament gospels and numerous extracanonical texts portray Mary Magdalene as one of the most significant of Jesus’s disciples, present at Jesus’s crucifixion and primary among the resurrection witnesses. Moreover, many of these ancient sources portray Jesus or heavenly messengers or both commissioning her to tell the other disciples the good news. As a result, many claim apostolic authority for her, and some even call her “apostle of the apostles.” Among key texts that feature her are the Gospel of Philip, Pistis Sophia, and the Manichaean Psalms. She may also be the protagonist in the Gospel of Mary, although a few suppose her to be Mary the Mother or Mary of Bethany. The portrayals of Mary Magdalene often feature her as an especially prominent, outspoken, visionary leader, who, in postresurrection dialogues with Jesus, frequently demonstrates insights beyond other disciples, including Peter, who often challenges her.

Galiläa oder Jerusalem? : Ein Ordnungsversuch in den Erscheinungsorten des Auferstandenen im Markusevangelium, im Lukasevangelium und in der Apostelgeschichte

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-86
Author(s):  
Jens Dörpinghaus
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sich Eine ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One ◽  
Form Criticism

Zusammenfassung Markus 14,27-28; 16,7 und Lukas 24,49 bzw. Apostelgeschichte 1,4 sprechen jeweils unterschiedliche Erwartungen für die Erscheinungsorte des Auferstandenen aus und insbesondere für das Verbleiben der Jünger. Markus spricht von Galiläa als Erscheinungsort, nach Lukas 24,49 sollen die Jünger jedoch in Jerusalem bleiben. Dieses Spannungsfeld wird häufig durch Methoden der Form- und Traditionskritik untersucht. Hier soll dieser Ansatz nicht nur diskutiert, sondern es sollen auch die theologischen Implikationen untersucht werden. Anhand eines neuen literarisch-chronologischen Ordnungsversuchs in den Evangelien kann herausgearbeitet werden, dass sich beide Aussagen auf die Nachfolge der Jünger Jesu in bestimmten Abschnitten der Zeit vor und nach der Auferstehung Jesu und seiner Himmelfahrt beziehen. Damit findet sich eine neue Perspektive auf die nachösterliche Nachfolge im Neuen Testament.SummaryMark 14:27-28 and 16:7 on the one hand and Luke 24:49 with Acts 1:4 on the other hand mention different locations where the disciples will meet Jesus after the resurrection or where they should stay. Mark mentions Galilee, Luke Jerusalem. Most scholars try to solve this conflict with the methods of form criticism or tradition criticism. This article discusses the shortcomings of this approach and discusses the resulting theological implications for both Jerusalem and Galilee. It introduces a new literary approach for ordering the post-resurrection appearances in the Gospels and Acts. The results provide new perspectives on discipleship in the period after Easter in the New Testament.RésuméMarc 14:27-28 et 16:7 d’un côté et Luc 24:49 avec Actes 1:4 de l’autre mentionnent différents lieux où les disciples rencontreront Jésus après la résurrection ou devront attendre. Marc cite la Galilée, Luc Jérusalem. La plupart des exégètes s’efforcent de résoudre ce conflit en recourant aux méthodes de la critique des formes ou de la tradition. Cet article traite des faiblesses de cette approche et aborde les implications théologiques qui en résultent pour à la fois Jérusalem et la Galilée. Il introduit une nouvelle approche littéraire pour ordonner les apparitions post-résurrection dans l’Évangile et les Actes. Les résultats ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives sur le discipulat en cette période importante du Nouveau Testament.

scholarly journals Jewish fish (ΙΧΘΥΣ) in post-supersessionist water: Messianic Judaism within a post-supersessionistic paradigm

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Willitts
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
New Testament ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Messianic Judaism ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

This article defines, explains and argues for the necessity of a post-supersessionistic hermeneutical posture towards the New Testament. The post-supersessionistic reading of the New Testament takes the Jewish nature of the apostolic documents seriously, and has as its goal the correction of the sin of supersessionism. While supersessionism theologically is repudiated in most corners of the contemporary church through official church documents, the practise of reading the New Testament continues to exhibit supersessionistic tendencies and outcomes. The consequence of this predominant reading of the New Testament is the continued exclusion of Jewish ethnic identity in the church. In light of the growing recognition of multiculturalism and contextualisation on the one hand, and the recent presence of a movement within the body of Messiah of Jewish believers in Jesus on the other, the church’s established approach to reading Scripture that leads to the elimination of ethnic identity must be repudiated alongside its post-supersessionist doctrinal statements. This article defines terms, explains consequences and argues for a renewed perspective on the New Testament as an ethnic document; such a perspective will promote the church’s cultivation of real embodied ethnic particularity rather than either a pseudo-interculturalism or the eraser full ethnicity.

New Testament

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wheeler-Reed
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Sexual Intercourse ◽  
New Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Pastoral Epistles ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Thessalonians 1 ◽  
The New Testament

This chapter maintains that two ideologies concerning marriage and sex pervade the New Testament writings. One ideology codifies a narrative that argues against marriage, and perhaps, sexual intercourse, and the other retains the basic cultural values of the upper classes of the Greco-Roman world. These two ideologies are termed “profamily” and “antifamily.” The chapter proceeds in a chronological fashion starting with 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, and Mark. It concludes by examining Matthew, Luke, the Pastoral Epistles, and the Acts of Paul and Thecla.

scholarly journals Dilema Kekerasan dalam Ayat-ayat Kitab Suci

MELINTAS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-39
Author(s):  
Staniselaus Eko Riyadi
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
The Other ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Violent Acts ◽  
Biblical Texts

Violence is a crime condemned by religions, but religions in the world are apparently involved in some kind of violence. It has been considered problematic that some scriptural texts are showing violent acts that seem to be ‘authorised’ by God, even ‘allowed’ by God, or celebrated by the people. How should we understand such problematic texts? Is there any violence authorised by God? Christianity has been dealing with the interpretation of violent acts in biblical texts from the Old Testament as well as from the New Testament. This article suggests that violence in the biblical texts must be understood within the context of defining religious identity of Israel among the other nations that have their own gods. Scriptures do not promote violence, but has recorded the historical experiences of Israel in their confrontation with other nations. Therefore, violence in the biblical texts cannot be referred to as a sort of justification for any violent acts by religions in our multireligious and multiethnic society.

scholarly journals The Wrong Practice Of Anointing Oil In The Church According To James 5:14 A Theological study

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-20
Author(s):  
Sayangi Laia ◽  
Harman Ziduhu Laia ◽  
Daniel Ari Wibowo
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Theological Study ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

The practice of anointing with oil has been done in the church since the first century to the present. On the other hand, there are also churches which have refused to do this. The practice of anointing with oil has essentially lifted from James 5:14. This text has become one of one text in the New Testament which is quite difficult to understand and bring a variety of views. Not a few denominations of the church understand James 5:14 is wrong, even the Catholic church including in it. The increasingly incorrect practice of anointing in the church today, that can be believed can heal disease physically and a variety of other functions push back the author to check the text of James 5:14 in the exegesis. Studies the exegesis of the deep, which focuses on the contextual, grammatical-structural,

scholarly journals Armoedekultuur: Die leefwereld van die Nuwe Testament en die situasie in Suid-Afrika vandag

1996 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andries Van Aarde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Culture Of Poverty ◽  
Economic Statistics ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Social Scientific

Culture of poverty: The world of the New Testament then and the situation in South Africa today. In this article poverty in the world of the New Testament is explained in the  light of the social dynamics of the first century Eastern Mediterranean. The focus is on the sub-culture of the disreputable poor. Features of a culture of poverty are reflected upon from a social-scientific perspective in order to try to understand why poverty is intensifying in South Africa today. The article aims at identifying guidelines for Christians in using the New Testament in a profound way to challenge the threat of poverty. The following aspects are discussed: the underdevelopment of third-world societies over against the technical evolution in first-world societies during the past two hundred years, economic statistics with regard to productivity and unemployment in South Africa, the social identity of the disreputable poor, poverty within the pre-print culture of the biblical period, and the church as the household of God where Christians should have compassion for others.

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