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A survey of the history of the idea of Mary's virginitas in partu shows that the notion had only marginal support in the tradition of the first three centuries. Associated with both docetism and encratism, the doctrine was opposed even by ascetically minded teachers, such as Tertullian and Origen. In the late fourth century, however, the notion of Mary's virginitas in partu reappeared in the sermons of Zeno of Verona and the ascetical treatises of Ambrose; Jerome, by contrast, was more reticent about embracing the idea. Jovinian's opposition to the virginitas in partu, therefore, stood squarely in the mainstream of Christian opinion, as it had developed by the late fourth century.

This chapter focuses on the period of eastern provincial Romanization of Jewish Babylonia that began in the fourth century, as well as the cultural linkages between the Jews and Christians of late antique Mesopotamia. Focusing on the Ascension of Isaiah, it shows that the literature of rabbis and Mesopotamian Christians formed part of a common cultural sphere. More specifically, it examines the Ascension of Isaiah, the Bavli story of Manasseh’s execution of Isaiah, against the background of Christian, Jewish, Arabic, and Persian literature from the first to the eleventh centuries. It also looks at Iranian and Muslim versions of the legend. The chapter presents evidence showing that the chronological record of the various versions of the tradition is earlier in the Roman East than in Mesopotamia and Persia.

Major Christian writers in the second century saw Jesus largely in terms of God’s self-revelation in the long history of Israel. Central themes included the person of Jesus as God’s “Beloved,” an understanding of his death as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy, the celebration of Jewish liturgical feasts, and a sense that in the Church the ancient vocation of Israel was now being extended to include all nations. Works examined include the Odes of Solomon, a collection of prophetic Syriac hymns; the letters of Ignatius of Antioch; the Ascension of Isaiah; the Paschal homily of Melito of Sardis, developing the understanding of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection as the final meaning of Israel’s Exodus and its later Passover celebration; and the writings of Justin, the second-century Christian “philosopher,” which identify the story of Jesus, his death and resurrection, as the final embodiment of divine wisdom for Jews and gentiles.

The heavenly ascent texts used in the heuristic comparison are introduced. Basic details of language, genre, and dating are given. They can be divided into three categories. Firstly, there are the ascent apocalypses: 1 Enoch, 2 Enoch, Testament of Levi, and Ascension of Isaiah, which are pseudonymous accounts of the heavenly journeys of biblical heroes. Secondly, there are texts which contain liturgical or theurgic material: Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice and the later Hekhalot texts. It may have been believed that those who recited them experienced the journey for themselves. Thirdly, there is rabbinic material from tractate Ḥagigah of the Babylonian Talmud. This construes the ‘work of the chariot’ as rabbinic exegetical activity, but displays a profound ambivalence towards it, and is anxious to stress its dangers. 3 Enoch spans the three categories, belonging to the Hekhalot literature, but with strong affinities to apocalyptic and rabbinic traditions.

This chapter discusses “extreme” and “moderate” forms of subjective religious experience. It starts with an inquiry of the phenomenology of subjective experience, leading to the concept of religious experience in cognitive research. The next part of the chapter considers the contextual factors that generate and influence religious experience, including beliefs, textual traditions, neuroanatomy, and practices. The lobes theory of religious experience is outlined, which connects social, theological, and ritual variables to cognitive patterns. The lobes theory is used to continue the discussion of the situation in the Corinthian Church. The final part of the chapter deals with ancient tours of heaven, using neuroscientific evidence to make sense of their overall structure and particular details. The neuroscientific two-phase model is applied to the tour of heaven in the Ascension of Isaiah, followed by a brief discussion of other early Jewish and Christian apocalypses.

King Manasseh in the book of Kings was presented as an evil ruler, but in Chronicles he was reinvented as having been evil, but through repentance and rehabilitation he had become an exemplary king. In the Persian and Hellenistic Eras he was represented in both wicked and righteous manners, reflecting the continuing influence of both Kings and Chronicles on creative memories of Manasseh. Works in the mode of “The Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah” expanded on the portrayal in Kings to the point of demonizing the king, while “The Prayer of Manasseh” and its successors exhibit only a pious ruler embodying the very essence of repentant prayer. The question concerning how to remember Manasseh extended into spirited debates among the Talmudic rabbis.