A. M. C. Casiday
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297184
- eISBN:
- 9780191711381
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297184.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Though the monastic writings of St John Cassian have been enduringly popular, his reputation (not least as a theological author) has been seriously compromised. This book begins with an evaluation of ...
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Though the monastic writings of St John Cassian have been enduringly popular, his reputation (not least as a theological author) has been seriously compromised. This book begins with an evaluation of conventional ideas about Cassian and, finding them seriously flawed, offers the first sustained attempt at re-reading Cassian's works for their theological significance. Specific attention is called to the Christological aspects of Cassian's monastic anthropology. Throughout, reference is made to Cassian's contemporaries — both well-known figures like Augustine of Hippo, Evagrius Ponticus, Vincent of Lérins, and Nestorius, and lesser-known figures such as Prosper of Aquitaine, Valerian of Cimiez, and Paul of Tamma — in order to offer an analysis of Cassian's writings and their significance that is unencumbered by anachronism.Less
Though the monastic writings of St John Cassian have been enduringly popular, his reputation (not least as a theological author) has been seriously compromised. This book begins with an evaluation of conventional ideas about Cassian and, finding them seriously flawed, offers the first sustained attempt at re-reading Cassian's works for their theological significance. Specific attention is called to the Christological aspects of Cassian's monastic anthropology. Throughout, reference is made to Cassian's contemporaries — both well-known figures like Augustine of Hippo, Evagrius Ponticus, Vincent of Lérins, and Nestorius, and lesser-known figures such as Prosper of Aquitaine, Valerian of Cimiez, and Paul of Tamma — in order to offer an analysis of Cassian's writings and their significance that is unencumbered by anachronism.
Ismo Dunderberg
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199284962
- eISBN:
- 9780191603785
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199284962.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
The relationship between the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Thomas has become a hotly debated issue, with several scholars arguing that John and Thomas are gospels in conflict. The first part of ...
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The relationship between the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Thomas has become a hotly debated issue, with several scholars arguing that John and Thomas are gospels in conflict. The first part of this book argues that the two gospels were written about the same time, but without knowledge of each other. Their authors drew upon similar Jewish and early Christian traditions independently from each other. The second part is devoted to the enigmatic ‘disciple Jesus loved’ in the Gospel of John, arguing that this disciple was created not only to authenticate this gospel, but also to replace the brothers of Jesus. Hence, this figure was developed in the context of a conflict, but that conflict was not related to Thomasine Christianity but to Jewish Christianity.Less
The relationship between the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Thomas has become a hotly debated issue, with several scholars arguing that John and Thomas are gospels in conflict. The first part of this book argues that the two gospels were written about the same time, but without knowledge of each other. Their authors drew upon similar Jewish and early Christian traditions independently from each other. The second part is devoted to the enigmatic ‘disciple Jesus loved’ in the Gospel of John, arguing that this disciple was created not only to authenticate this gospel, but also to replace the brothers of Jesus. Hence, this figure was developed in the context of a conflict, but that conflict was not related to Thomasine Christianity but to Jewish Christianity.
Kevin Madigan
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195322743
- eISBN:
- 9780199785407
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195322743.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Theologians have always struggled to understand how humanity and divinity coexisted in the person of Christ. Proponents of the Arian heresy, which held that Jesus could not have been fully divine, ...
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Theologians have always struggled to understand how humanity and divinity coexisted in the person of Christ. Proponents of the Arian heresy, which held that Jesus could not have been fully divine, found significant scriptural evidence of their position. The defenders of orthodoxy, such as Hilary of Poitiers, Ambrose of Milan, Jerome, and Augustine, believed that these biblical passages could be reconciled with Christ's divinity. Medieval theologians such as Peter Lombard, Thomas Aquinas, and Bonaventure, also grappled with these texts when confronting the rising threat of Arian heresy. They too faced the need to preserve Jesus' authentic humanity and to describe a mode of experiencing the passions that cast no doubt upon the perfect divinity of the Incarnate Word. However, they also confronted an additional obstacle. The medieval theologians had inherited from the Greek and Latin fathers a body of opinion on the passages in question, which by this time had achieved normative cultural status in the Christian tradition. However, the Greek and Latin fathers wrote in a polemical situation, responding to the threat to orthodoxy posed by the Arians. As a consequence, they sometimes found themselves driven to extreme and sometimes contradictory statements. These statements seemed to their medieval successors either to compromise the true divinity of Christ, his true humanity, or the possibility that the divine and human were in communication with or metaphysically linked to one another. As a result, medieval theologians also needed to demonstrate how two equally authoritative but apparently contradictory statements could be reconciled. This book examines the arguments that resulted from these dual pressures and finds that, under the guise of unchanging assimilation and transmission of a unanimous tradition, there were in fact many fissures and discontinuities between the two bodies of thought, ancient and medieval. Rather than organic change or development, the book finds radical change, trial, novelty, and even heterodoxy.Less
Theologians have always struggled to understand how humanity and divinity coexisted in the person of Christ. Proponents of the Arian heresy, which held that Jesus could not have been fully divine, found significant scriptural evidence of their position. The defenders of orthodoxy, such as Hilary of Poitiers, Ambrose of Milan, Jerome, and Augustine, believed that these biblical passages could be reconciled with Christ's divinity. Medieval theologians such as Peter Lombard, Thomas Aquinas, and Bonaventure, also grappled with these texts when confronting the rising threat of Arian heresy. They too faced the need to preserve Jesus' authentic humanity and to describe a mode of experiencing the passions that cast no doubt upon the perfect divinity of the Incarnate Word. However, they also confronted an additional obstacle. The medieval theologians had inherited from the Greek and Latin fathers a body of opinion on the passages in question, which by this time had achieved normative cultural status in the Christian tradition. However, the Greek and Latin fathers wrote in a polemical situation, responding to the threat to orthodoxy posed by the Arians. As a consequence, they sometimes found themselves driven to extreme and sometimes contradictory statements. These statements seemed to their medieval successors either to compromise the true divinity of Christ, his true humanity, or the possibility that the divine and human were in communication with or metaphysically linked to one another. As a result, medieval theologians also needed to demonstrate how two equally authoritative but apparently contradictory statements could be reconciled. This book examines the arguments that resulted from these dual pressures and finds that, under the guise of unchanging assimilation and transmission of a unanimous tradition, there were in fact many fissures and discontinuities between the two bodies of thought, ancient and medieval. Rather than organic change or development, the book finds radical change, trial, novelty, and even heterodoxy.
Andrew Louth
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199291403
- eISBN:
- 9780191710674
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291403.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Scholars of the patristic era have paid more attention to the dogmatic tradition in their period than to the development of Christian mystical theology. This book aims to redress the balance. ...
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Scholars of the patristic era have paid more attention to the dogmatic tradition in their period than to the development of Christian mystical theology. This book aims to redress the balance. Recognizing that the intellectual form of this tradition was decisively influenced by Platonic ideas of the soul’s relationship to God, the book begins with an examination of Plato and Platonism. The discussion of the Fathers which follows shows how the mystical tradition is at the heart of their thought and how the dogmatic tradition both moulds and is the reflection of mystical insights and concerns. This new edition of a classic study of the diverse influences upon Christian spirituality includes a new Epilogue which brings the text completely up to date.Less
Scholars of the patristic era have paid more attention to the dogmatic tradition in their period than to the development of Christian mystical theology. This book aims to redress the balance. Recognizing that the intellectual form of this tradition was decisively influenced by Platonic ideas of the soul’s relationship to God, the book begins with an examination of Plato and Platonism. The discussion of the Fathers which follows shows how the mystical tradition is at the heart of their thought and how the dogmatic tradition both moulds and is the reflection of mystical insights and concerns. This new edition of a classic study of the diverse influences upon Christian spirituality includes a new Epilogue which brings the text completely up to date.
Mary McClintock Fulkerson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296477
- eISBN:
- 9780191711930
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296477.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The primary aim of this book is to explore the contradiction between the widely shared beliefs in the USA about racial inclusiveness and equal opportunity for all, and the fact that most churches are ...
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The primary aim of this book is to explore the contradiction between the widely shared beliefs in the USA about racial inclusiveness and equal opportunity for all, and the fact that most churches are racially homogeneous and do not include people with disabilities. To address the problem, the book explores the practices of an interracial church (United Methodist) that includes people with disabilities. The analysis focuses on those activities that create opportunities for people to experience those who are ‘different’ as equal in ways that diminish both obliviousness to the other and fear of the other. In contrast with theology's typical focus on the beliefs of Christians, this book offers a theory of practices and place that foregrounds the instinctual reactions and communications that shape all groups. The effect is to broaden the academic field of theology through the benefits of ethnographic research and postmodern place theory.Less
The primary aim of this book is to explore the contradiction between the widely shared beliefs in the USA about racial inclusiveness and equal opportunity for all, and the fact that most churches are racially homogeneous and do not include people with disabilities. To address the problem, the book explores the practices of an interracial church (United Methodist) that includes people with disabilities. The analysis focuses on those activities that create opportunities for people to experience those who are ‘different’ as equal in ways that diminish both obliviousness to the other and fear of the other. In contrast with theology's typical focus on the beliefs of Christians, this book offers a theory of practices and place that foregrounds the instinctual reactions and communications that shape all groups. The effect is to broaden the academic field of theology through the benefits of ethnographic research and postmodern place theory.
Cornelia B. Horn
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199277537
- eISBN:
- 9780191604171
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199277532.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of the analysis made in this volume. This study examined the following sources: the Vita Petri Iberi (extant in Syriac, translated into German), the ...
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This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of the analysis made in this volume. This study examined the following sources: the Vita Petri Iberi (extant in Syriac, translated into German), the Plerophoriae (extant in Syriac, translated into French), and the De obitu Theodosii (extant in Syriac, translated into Latin), all of which can reasonably be ascribed to John Rufus, the anti-Chalcedonian biographer and likely successor of Peter the Iberian. Based on these texts as well as on supplementary literary, historical, and archaeological sources, this book brought into focus the figure of Peter the Iberian, who until recently had been thoroughly neglected. It is shown that the concerns of Peter and his followers, as presented through Rufus’ lens, were not to engage in a thorough discussion of theology based on hermeneutical or philosophical categories to apologize for and to defend themselves and to prove all else was heresy. Rather, their aim was to live out their belief in their own life, no matter what forms of hardships that would require.Less
This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of the analysis made in this volume. This study examined the following sources: the Vita Petri Iberi (extant in Syriac, translated into German), the Plerophoriae (extant in Syriac, translated into French), and the De obitu Theodosii (extant in Syriac, translated into Latin), all of which can reasonably be ascribed to John Rufus, the anti-Chalcedonian biographer and likely successor of Peter the Iberian. Based on these texts as well as on supplementary literary, historical, and archaeological sources, this book brought into focus the figure of Peter the Iberian, who until recently had been thoroughly neglected. It is shown that the concerns of Peter and his followers, as presented through Rufus’ lens, were not to engage in a thorough discussion of theology based on hermeneutical or philosophical categories to apologize for and to defend themselves and to prove all else was heresy. Rather, their aim was to live out their belief in their own life, no matter what forms of hardships that would require.
David Atkinson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Responding to the onset of tipping points evokes a combination of fear, bravado, greed, wonder, and worship. The Christian ethos bestows responsibility and care upon the human conscience and ...
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Responding to the onset of tipping points evokes a combination of fear, bravado, greed, wonder, and worship. The Christian ethos bestows responsibility and care upon the human conscience and behaviour, widening the perspective to compassion, to living for sufficiency, and to sharing burdens. In tipping points there can be hope without fear so long as the ethics are firmly but respectfully in place.Less
Responding to the onset of tipping points evokes a combination of fear, bravado, greed, wonder, and worship. The Christian ethos bestows responsibility and care upon the human conscience and behaviour, widening the perspective to compassion, to living for sufficiency, and to sharing burdens. In tipping points there can be hope without fear so long as the ethics are firmly but respectfully in place.
Christopher Tuckett (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199212132
- eISBN:
- 9780191705922
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199212132.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This book, which is the first in a series providing authoritative texts of key non-canonical gospel writings, comprises a critical edition, with full translations, of all the extant manuscripts of ...
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This book, which is the first in a series providing authoritative texts of key non-canonical gospel writings, comprises a critical edition, with full translations, of all the extant manuscripts of the Gospel of Mary. In addition, an extended Introduction discusses the key issues involved in the interpretation of the text, as well as locating it in its proper historical context, while a Commentary explicates points of detail. The gospel has been important in many recent discussions of non-canonical gospels, of early Christian Gnosticism, and of discussions of the figure of Mary Magdalene. This book should provoke future discussions of this important early Christian text.Less
This book, which is the first in a series providing authoritative texts of key non-canonical gospel writings, comprises a critical edition, with full translations, of all the extant manuscripts of the Gospel of Mary. In addition, an extended Introduction discusses the key issues involved in the interpretation of the text, as well as locating it in its proper historical context, while a Commentary explicates points of detail. The gospel has been important in many recent discussions of non-canonical gospels, of early Christian Gnosticism, and of discussions of the figure of Mary Magdalene. This book should provoke future discussions of this important early Christian text.
Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199230204
- eISBN:
- 9780191710681
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230204.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
The works of Ambrosiaster, a Christian writing in Rome in the late 4th century, were influential on at the time and throughout the Middle Ages. This book starts by addressing the problem of the ...
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The works of Ambrosiaster, a Christian writing in Rome in the late 4th century, were influential on at the time and throughout the Middle Ages. This book starts by addressing the problem of the author's mysterious identity (which scholars have puzzled over for centuries) and places him in a broad historical and intellectual context. Later, it addresses Ambrosiaster's political theology, an idea which has been explored in other late Roman Christian writers but which has never been addressed in his works. The book also looks at how Ambrosiaster's attitudes to social and political order were formed on the basis of theological concepts and the interpretation of scripture, and shows that he espoused a rigid hierarchical and monarchical organization in the church, society, and the Roman empire. He also traced close connections between the Devil, characterized as a rebel against God, and the earthly tyrants and usurpers who followed his example.Less
The works of Ambrosiaster, a Christian writing in Rome in the late 4th century, were influential on at the time and throughout the Middle Ages. This book starts by addressing the problem of the author's mysterious identity (which scholars have puzzled over for centuries) and places him in a broad historical and intellectual context. Later, it addresses Ambrosiaster's political theology, an idea which has been explored in other late Roman Christian writers but which has never been addressed in his works. The book also looks at how Ambrosiaster's attitudes to social and political order were formed on the basis of theological concepts and the interpretation of scripture, and shows that he espoused a rigid hierarchical and monarchical organization in the church, society, and the Roman empire. He also traced close connections between the Devil, characterized as a rebel against God, and the earthly tyrants and usurpers who followed his example.
Shelly Matthews
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195393323
- eISBN:
- 9780199866618
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195393323.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This book situates Acts’ story of Stephen’s death within the emerging discourse of early Christian martyrdom, challenging the historicity of this narrative and arguing for its significance in ...
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This book situates Acts’ story of Stephen’s death within the emerging discourse of early Christian martyrdom, challenging the historicity of this narrative and arguing for its significance in constructing a social group of Christians, distinct from “the Jews.” It analyzes Stephen as the perfect martyr in terms of rhetorical fittingness, noting key aspects of the story perfectly suited to the rhetorical aims of Luke-Acts to denigrate nonbelieving Jews, to affirm Roman imperial views on security, and to introduce “marcionite” identity claims concerning the distinctiveness of Christian mercy. It also analyzes the Christian tradition that Stephen was perfected through his dying forgiveness prayer. This distinctive prayer proved more radical than Gospel teaching on enemy love since the plea for forgiveness of undeserving persecutors, more so than the enemy love exhortation, posed a challenge to notions of cosmic justice. The prayer was frequently read intransitively, as idealizing the one who so prays, without having any effect on the prayer’s object, thereby functioning analogously to the Roman discourse of clemency. Those who read the prayer otherwise landed upon this radical challenge, which explains the prayer’s complicated reception history. The book also introduces related extracanonical narratives of the martyrdom of James in Hegesippus, Josephus, and the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions to disrupt the perfect coherence and singularity of the canonical narrative and to evoke a more complex historical narrative of violence, solidarity, and resistance among Jews and Christians under empire.Less
This book situates Acts’ story of Stephen’s death within the emerging discourse of early Christian martyrdom, challenging the historicity of this narrative and arguing for its significance in constructing a social group of Christians, distinct from “the Jews.” It analyzes Stephen as the perfect martyr in terms of rhetorical fittingness, noting key aspects of the story perfectly suited to the rhetorical aims of Luke-Acts to denigrate nonbelieving Jews, to affirm Roman imperial views on security, and to introduce “marcionite” identity claims concerning the distinctiveness of Christian mercy. It also analyzes the Christian tradition that Stephen was perfected through his dying forgiveness prayer. This distinctive prayer proved more radical than Gospel teaching on enemy love since the plea for forgiveness of undeserving persecutors, more so than the enemy love exhortation, posed a challenge to notions of cosmic justice. The prayer was frequently read intransitively, as idealizing the one who so prays, without having any effect on the prayer’s object, thereby functioning analogously to the Roman discourse of clemency. Those who read the prayer otherwise landed upon this radical challenge, which explains the prayer’s complicated reception history. The book also introduces related extracanonical narratives of the martyrdom of James in Hegesippus, Josephus, and the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions to disrupt the perfect coherence and singularity of the canonical narrative and to evoke a more complex historical narrative of violence, solidarity, and resistance among Jews and Christians under empire.
Arnfritur Gutmundsdottir
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195397963
- eISBN:
- 9780199827206
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195397963.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Philosophy of Religion
The cross of Christ has proven to be no less of a “stumbling block” for Christians living in the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, than it was in the 1st century, when the newly ...
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The cross of Christ has proven to be no less of a “stumbling block” for Christians living in the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, than it was in the 1st century, when the newly established community of friends and followers of Jesus Christ sought to define the foundation of their faith over against the critiques of their Jewish and Greek contemporaries. This book presents a theological reception of the contemporary feminist challenge to classical christology by means of an explicit feminist retrieval and reconstruction of a theology of the cross. This book argues that a feminist theology of the cross serves a dual purpose in feminist christology: it discloses the patriarchal distortion of traditional christology, and can also reveal lost dimensions in the understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Although the book argues that feminist critique is an indispensable element of contemporary christology, it also claims that there is a redemptive message in the cross of Christ that is retrievable for women today. Despite its potential for abuse and indeed its well-documented history of misuse against women in the past, a theology of the cross proclaims Jesus as a divine co-sufferer who brings good news to the poor and oppressed, and as such can be a source of healing and empowerment for suffering women. The constructive task of this book is to show that a theology of the cross can indeed become a theology of hope today, offering women meaning and strength from a God who takes human form and enters redemptively into their situations of suffering.Less
The cross of Christ has proven to be no less of a “stumbling block” for Christians living in the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, than it was in the 1st century, when the newly established community of friends and followers of Jesus Christ sought to define the foundation of their faith over against the critiques of their Jewish and Greek contemporaries. This book presents a theological reception of the contemporary feminist challenge to classical christology by means of an explicit feminist retrieval and reconstruction of a theology of the cross. This book argues that a feminist theology of the cross serves a dual purpose in feminist christology: it discloses the patriarchal distortion of traditional christology, and can also reveal lost dimensions in the understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Although the book argues that feminist critique is an indispensable element of contemporary christology, it also claims that there is a redemptive message in the cross of Christ that is retrievable for women today. Despite its potential for abuse and indeed its well-documented history of misuse against women in the past, a theology of the cross proclaims Jesus as a divine co-sufferer who brings good news to the poor and oppressed, and as such can be a source of healing and empowerment for suffering women. The constructive task of this book is to show that a theology of the cross can indeed become a theology of hope today, offering women meaning and strength from a God who takes human form and enters redemptively into their situations of suffering.
Richard Crouter
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195379679
- eISBN:
- 9780199869169
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195379679.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book is a primer on the political prophet and Christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), who is widely cited for his political realism in the aftermath of George W. Bush’s ...
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This book is a primer on the political prophet and Christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), who is widely cited for his political realism in the aftermath of George W. Bush’s presidency. His works are on the favorite reading list of Barack Obama. In addition to mapping the “Niebuhr revival” on the political left and right, the book’s seven chapters acquaint readers with the central teachings and ways of thinking behind this fresh interest. The core of Niebuhr’s Christian realism and the role of irony in his thought are made accessible to non-specialists in ways that explain his appeal to secular as well as deeply religious minds. The book begins with an account of the fresh interest in the Protestant thinker and argues for Niebuhr’s sense of history as a prelude to explaining how his view of the human self as sinful and self-preoccupied (individually and in groups) relates to his passion for social justice. Three chapters then examine Niebuhr’s teaching as a preacher and writer with uncommon literary sensitivity, take up his classic 1952 title, The Irony of American History as an expression of his Christian realism, and probe the reasons for his mixed reception in contemporary Christian circles, both popular and academic. A final chapter examines the ways that Niebuhr’s legacy invites levels of self-reflection that judiciously illumine the personal, political, and religious challenges that we face in the contemporary world.Less
This book is a primer on the political prophet and Christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), who is widely cited for his political realism in the aftermath of George W. Bush’s presidency. His works are on the favorite reading list of Barack Obama. In addition to mapping the “Niebuhr revival” on the political left and right, the book’s seven chapters acquaint readers with the central teachings and ways of thinking behind this fresh interest. The core of Niebuhr’s Christian realism and the role of irony in his thought are made accessible to non-specialists in ways that explain his appeal to secular as well as deeply religious minds. The book begins with an account of the fresh interest in the Protestant thinker and argues for Niebuhr’s sense of history as a prelude to explaining how his view of the human self as sinful and self-preoccupied (individually and in groups) relates to his passion for social justice. Three chapters then examine Niebuhr’s teaching as a preacher and writer with uncommon literary sensitivity, take up his classic 1952 title, The Irony of American History as an expression of his Christian realism, and probe the reasons for his mixed reception in contemporary Christian circles, both popular and academic. A final chapter examines the ways that Niebuhr’s legacy invites levels of self-reflection that judiciously illumine the personal, political, and religious challenges that we face in the contemporary world.
Yancey George Allan
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199735433
- eISBN:
- 9780199866267
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199735433.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book explores the racial climate on Protestant colleges and universities. It examines why these institutions succeed or fail to attract students of color and why students of color who attend ...
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This book explores the racial climate on Protestant colleges and universities. It examines why these institutions succeed or fail to attract students of color and why students of color who attend these institutions succeed or fail to graduate from them. Using a national online Internet survey of Protestant campuses, an online survey of students from selected campuses, and two national data sets (National Center for Education Statistics and Princeton Review’s Complete Book of Colleges), research showed what works and what does not work in promoting racial diversity on Protestant campuses. There is quantitative evidence for the efficacy of diversity courses, minority professors, and student-led multicultural organizations but less support for multicultural programs, antiracism programs, and financial aid support in the promotion of racial diversity. The qualitative findings in the book explore why some programs are more successful in promoting racial diversity. These findings can provide guidance for leaders of Protestant institutions of higher education who want to increase racial diversity on their campuses. Since Protestant campuses are less likely to be racially diverse than other campuses, understanding factors that help Protestant campuses overcome their tendency toward racial homogeneity can also help other educational institutions become more racially diverse. The book explores the generalizabilty of its findings to non-Protestant campuses.Less
This book explores the racial climate on Protestant colleges and universities. It examines why these institutions succeed or fail to attract students of color and why students of color who attend these institutions succeed or fail to graduate from them. Using a national online Internet survey of Protestant campuses, an online survey of students from selected campuses, and two national data sets (National Center for Education Statistics and Princeton Review’s Complete Book of Colleges), research showed what works and what does not work in promoting racial diversity on Protestant campuses. There is quantitative evidence for the efficacy of diversity courses, minority professors, and student-led multicultural organizations but less support for multicultural programs, antiracism programs, and financial aid support in the promotion of racial diversity. The qualitative findings in the book explore why some programs are more successful in promoting racial diversity. These findings can provide guidance for leaders of Protestant institutions of higher education who want to increase racial diversity on their campuses. Since Protestant campuses are less likely to be racially diverse than other campuses, understanding factors that help Protestant campuses overcome their tendency toward racial homogeneity can also help other educational institutions become more racially diverse. The book explores the generalizabilty of its findings to non-Protestant campuses.
Henry Chadwick
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246953
- eISBN:
- 9780191600463
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246955.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This book provides a detailed narrative history of the first six centuries of the Christian Church, from the first followers of Jesus to the papacy of Gregory the Great (590–604). It describes how ...
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This book provides a detailed narrative history of the first six centuries of the Christian Church, from the first followers of Jesus to the papacy of Gregory the Great (590–604). It describes how Christianity, initially a persecuted sect, developed the ideas and organization to fulfil its ambition of being a universal faith, not tied to any particular people. The new religion had to separate itself completely from Judaism and set about the capture of the society and state of the Roman Empire during the centuries when the Empire divided into a Latin west and a Greek east and was beset by invasions by Christian and pagan barbarians, resulting in the disintegration of the western empire. Debates within Christianity, most fundamentally about the divine or human nature of Christ, are discussed in detail and in relation to both the politics and power struggles of the Empire and to the all‐important question of authority within the Church. The origins and fate of schismatic movements are considered in the context of the struggle for authority among the rival sees of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch. Christianity is discussed, therefore, in relation to its internal growth and divisions and also to how it was viewed by Jews and pagans, showing its debts to and division from both its Jewish origins and Graeco‐Roman philosophy. The major theological and ecclesiastical texts and debates are considered in relation to the diverse beliefs and practices of the people who attended churches and the local and regional conditions that profoundly affected the outcome of events. The major Christian thinkers and their contributions to the success of Christianity are examined in detail. The importance of theological, personal, and political factors is demonstrated in showing how they fostered divisions in the Church and prevented reconciliation and balanced against the desire of successive emperors to foster unity for political reasons. The Church captured society, east and west, but at the cost of long‐lasting divisions and conflicts.Less
This book provides a detailed narrative history of the first six centuries of the Christian Church, from the first followers of Jesus to the papacy of Gregory the Great (590–604). It describes how Christianity, initially a persecuted sect, developed the ideas and organization to fulfil its ambition of being a universal faith, not tied to any particular people. The new religion had to separate itself completely from Judaism and set about the capture of the society and state of the Roman Empire during the centuries when the Empire divided into a Latin west and a Greek east and was beset by invasions by Christian and pagan barbarians, resulting in the disintegration of the western empire. Debates within Christianity, most fundamentally about the divine or human nature of Christ, are discussed in detail and in relation to both the politics and power struggles of the Empire and to the all‐important question of authority within the Church. The origins and fate of schismatic movements are considered in the context of the struggle for authority among the rival sees of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch. Christianity is discussed, therefore, in relation to its internal growth and divisions and also to how it was viewed by Jews and pagans, showing its debts to and division from both its Jewish origins and Graeco‐Roman philosophy. The major theological and ecclesiastical texts and debates are considered in relation to the diverse beliefs and practices of the people who attended churches and the local and regional conditions that profoundly affected the outcome of events. The major Christian thinkers and their contributions to the success of Christianity are examined in detail. The importance of theological, personal, and political factors is demonstrated in showing how they fostered divisions in the Church and prevented reconciliation and balanced against the desire of successive emperors to foster unity for political reasons. The Church captured society, east and west, but at the cost of long‐lasting divisions and conflicts.
Naomi Koltun-Fromm
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199736485
- eISBN:
- 9780199866427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736485.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Religion and Society
This book set out to demonstrate how sexuality became central to Jewish and Christian notions of holiness and holy community in the postbiblical period. In particular, this study was motivated to ...
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This book set out to demonstrate how sexuality became central to Jewish and Christian notions of holiness and holy community in the postbiblical period. In particular, this study was motivated to determine why sexuality, especially sexual restraint, became a primary demarcation of sacred community boundaries among Jews and Christians in fourth-century Persian-Mesopotamia. To accomplish this task, the book focused on the exegetical underpinnings that link holiness to sexuality in these communities’ emerging hermeneutics of holiness and sexuality. In the fourth-century Mesopotamian context, ascetic practitioners found biblical textual support as compelling as any other outside cultural norm. Sexual asceticism thus finds its rightful place in the formative periods of both religious traditions through the lens of comparative biblical exegesis, social constructs, and the study of the theological developments of the Hebrew biblical notions of holiness.Less
This book set out to demonstrate how sexuality became central to Jewish and Christian notions of holiness and holy community in the postbiblical period. In particular, this study was motivated to determine why sexuality, especially sexual restraint, became a primary demarcation of sacred community boundaries among Jews and Christians in fourth-century Persian-Mesopotamia. To accomplish this task, the book focused on the exegetical underpinnings that link holiness to sexuality in these communities’ emerging hermeneutics of holiness and sexuality. In the fourth-century Mesopotamian context, ascetic practitioners found biblical textual support as compelling as any other outside cultural norm. Sexual asceticism thus finds its rightful place in the formative periods of both religious traditions through the lens of comparative biblical exegesis, social constructs, and the study of the theological developments of the Hebrew biblical notions of holiness.
Paul D. Numrich
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195386219
- eISBN:
- 9780199866731
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195386219.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Religious diversity in the United States has increased dramatically in recent decades. How are Christians relating to their Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and other new religious neighbors? Using local ...
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Religious diversity in the United States has increased dramatically in recent decades. How are Christians relating to their Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and other new religious neighbors? Using local examples, this book covers the gamut of Christian perspectives in a multireligious America, including debate over a new Hindu temple in town, an Episcopal church that has hosted a mosque since 1987, cooperative efforts between African American pastors and Muslim leaders, immigrant Christians seeking to save non-Christian fellow immigrants, evangelicals resettling immigrants and refugees through “friendship evangelism,” Catholics learning about other religions in the spirit of Vatican II, and Greek Orthodox Christians and Turkish Muslims gaining a new appreciation of their shared history. The effects of September 11, 2001, are also discussed from increased dialogue to missionary initiatives. Here Christian theology meets the multireligious real world, with multiple results suggestive of national trends.Less
Religious diversity in the United States has increased dramatically in recent decades. How are Christians relating to their Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and other new religious neighbors? Using local examples, this book covers the gamut of Christian perspectives in a multireligious America, including debate over a new Hindu temple in town, an Episcopal church that has hosted a mosque since 1987, cooperative efforts between African American pastors and Muslim leaders, immigrant Christians seeking to save non-Christian fellow immigrants, evangelicals resettling immigrants and refugees through “friendship evangelism,” Catholics learning about other religions in the spirit of Vatican II, and Greek Orthodox Christians and Turkish Muslims gaining a new appreciation of their shared history. The effects of September 11, 2001, are also discussed from increased dialogue to missionary initiatives. Here Christian theology meets the multireligious real world, with multiple results suggestive of national trends.
Wesley A. Kort
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195143423
- eISBN:
- 9780199834389
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195143426.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
The argument of this book is that a primary goal in the work of C. S. Lewis is to articulate a Christian worldview. Lewis based this project on his positive view of culture, nature, and human ...
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The argument of this book is that a primary goal in the work of C. S. Lewis is to articulate a Christian worldview. Lewis based this project on his positive view of culture, nature, and human relations. He addresses deficiencies in modern culture and the largely distorted relations of modernity to nature in order to restore culture as a supportive base for a Christian worldview. The book offers discussions of seven interests in Lewis's work: retrieval, reenchantment, houses, culture, character, pleasure, and celebration. The topics provide not only an analysis of Lewis's work but also a basis upon which readers who want to construct a worldview here and now can draw inspiration and direction from him.Less
The argument of this book is that a primary goal in the work of C. S. Lewis is to articulate a Christian worldview. Lewis based this project on his positive view of culture, nature, and human relations. He addresses deficiencies in modern culture and the largely distorted relations of modernity to nature in order to restore culture as a supportive base for a Christian worldview. The book offers discussions of seven interests in Lewis's work: retrieval, reenchantment, houses, culture, character, pleasure, and celebration. The topics provide not only an analysis of Lewis's work but also a basis upon which readers who want to construct a worldview here and now can draw inspiration and direction from him.
Arnfríður Guðmundsdóttir
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195397963
- eISBN:
- 9780199827206
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195397963.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter presents some concluding thoughts. It argues that women’s experience of exclusion and oppression truly intensifies the ethical and the political dimension of a feminist theology of the ...
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This chapter presents some concluding thoughts. It argues that women’s experience of exclusion and oppression truly intensifies the ethical and the political dimension of a feminist theology of the cross. Without simply reducing Christ’s significance to that of a moral example, it is important that his disciples allow his example to encourage them to follow in his footsteps. By stressing the close connection between theology and ethics, we find support in Luther’s understanding of Christians being called to be “Christ to one another”.Less
This chapter presents some concluding thoughts. It argues that women’s experience of exclusion and oppression truly intensifies the ethical and the political dimension of a feminist theology of the cross. Without simply reducing Christ’s significance to that of a moral example, it is important that his disciples allow his example to encourage them to follow in his footsteps. By stressing the close connection between theology and ethics, we find support in Luther’s understanding of Christians being called to be “Christ to one another”.
M. Jamie Ferreira
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195130256
- eISBN:
- 9780199834181
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195130251.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This commentary on Søren Kierkegaard's Works of Love (1847), a series of 15 deliberations on the love commandment (to love one's neighbor as oneself), argues that Works of Love provides resources for ...
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This commentary on Søren Kierkegaard's Works of Love (1847), a series of 15 deliberations on the love commandment (to love one's neighbor as oneself), argues that Works of Love provides resources for understanding our ethical responsibility for others in ways that respect concrete distinctiveness and equality, partiality and impartiality, as well as the relation between self‐esteem, human needs, and self‐denial. This reading of Kierkegaard's Christian love ethic – an ethic of agape – relates to contemporary discussions of love as infinite debt and radical gift; it presents the ethical relation as one of moral vision and moral blindness, in order to respect alterity and kinship; it also clarifies Kierkegaard's relation to his Lutheran heritage, highlighting both love's hiddenness and its works (fruits). Moreover, the deliberations on building up others, on forgiveness, and on reconciliation, address dimensions of our responsibility for community.Less
This commentary on Søren Kierkegaard's Works of Love (1847), a series of 15 deliberations on the love commandment (to love one's neighbor as oneself), argues that Works of Love provides resources for understanding our ethical responsibility for others in ways that respect concrete distinctiveness and equality, partiality and impartiality, as well as the relation between self‐esteem, human needs, and self‐denial. This reading of Kierkegaard's Christian love ethic – an ethic of agape – relates to contemporary discussions of love as infinite debt and radical gift; it presents the ethical relation as one of moral vision and moral blindness, in order to respect alterity and kinship; it also clarifies Kierkegaard's relation to his Lutheran heritage, highlighting both love's hiddenness and its works (fruits). Moreover, the deliberations on building up others, on forgiveness, and on reconciliation, address dimensions of our responsibility for community.
Caroline Humfress
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198208419
- eISBN:
- 9780191716966
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208419.003.011
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of discussions in the preceding chapters. In late antiquity, practitioners of forensic rhetoric were trained in how to handle general legal principles and ...
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This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of discussions in the preceding chapters. In late antiquity, practitioners of forensic rhetoric were trained in how to handle general legal principles and imperial constitutions. In other words, late Roman rhetorical schools, in both the East and the West, taught their pupils how to handle imperial legislation pragmatically, as a resource for influencing the outcome of disputes, rather than a canon for deciding them. The duty of the late Roman advocate, and indeed the iurisperitus employed in private cases, lay in exploiting the dialectic between any relevant ‘normative’ rule and its concrete application, in favour of their client's case. Thus, within the technical branch of ancient rhetoric, ‘laws’ were already held to exist within a domain of rhetorical argumentation. What emerges from this perspective is not the ‘intellectual inferiority’ of late Roman law, but the creativity and ingenuity of late Roman forensic practitioners.Less
This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of discussions in the preceding chapters. In late antiquity, practitioners of forensic rhetoric were trained in how to handle general legal principles and imperial constitutions. In other words, late Roman rhetorical schools, in both the East and the West, taught their pupils how to handle imperial legislation pragmatically, as a resource for influencing the outcome of disputes, rather than a canon for deciding them. The duty of the late Roman advocate, and indeed the iurisperitus employed in private cases, lay in exploiting the dialectic between any relevant ‘normative’ rule and its concrete application, in favour of their client's case. Thus, within the technical branch of ancient rhetoric, ‘laws’ were already held to exist within a domain of rhetorical argumentation. What emerges from this perspective is not the ‘intellectual inferiority’ of late Roman law, but the creativity and ingenuity of late Roman forensic practitioners.
