G. Geltner
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199639458
- eISBN:
- 9780191741098
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199639458.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
The mendicant orders—Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, and several other groups—spread across Europe apace from the early thirteenth century, profoundly influencing numerous aspects ...
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The mendicant orders—Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, and several other groups—spread across Europe apace from the early thirteenth century, profoundly influencing numerous aspects of medieval life. But, alongside their tremendous success, their members (or friars) also encountered derision, scorn, and even violence. Such opposition, generally known as antifraternalism, is often seen as an ecclesiastical inhouse affair or an ideological response to the brethren’s laxity: both cases registering a moral decline symptomatic of a decadent church. Challenging the accuracy of these views, The Making of Medieval Antifraternalism contends that the phenomenon exhibits a breadth of scope that, on the one hand, pushes it far beyond its accustomed boundaries and, on the other, supports only tenuous links with Reformation or modern forms of anticlericalism. Based on numerous sources, from theological treatises, to poetry, to criminal court records, this study shows that people from all walks of life lambasted and occasionally assaulted the brethren, orchestrating in the process detailed scenes of urban violence. Their myriad motivations and diverse goals preclude us from associating antifraternalism with any one ideology or agenda, let alone allow us to brand many of its proponents as religious reformers. At the same time, it demonstrates the friars’ active role in forging a medieval antifraternal tradition, not only by deviating from their founders’ paths to varying degrees, but also by chronicling their suffering inter fideles and thus incorporating it into the orders’ identity as the vanguard of Christianity. In doing so, The Making of Medieval Antifraternalism illuminates a major chapter in Europe’s social, urban, and religious history.Less
The mendicant orders—Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, and several other groups—spread across Europe apace from the early thirteenth century, profoundly influencing numerous aspects of medieval life. But, alongside their tremendous success, their members (or friars) also encountered derision, scorn, and even violence. Such opposition, generally known as antifraternalism, is often seen as an ecclesiastical inhouse affair or an ideological response to the brethren’s laxity: both cases registering a moral decline symptomatic of a decadent church. Challenging the accuracy of these views, The Making of Medieval Antifraternalism contends that the phenomenon exhibits a breadth of scope that, on the one hand, pushes it far beyond its accustomed boundaries and, on the other, supports only tenuous links with Reformation or modern forms of anticlericalism. Based on numerous sources, from theological treatises, to poetry, to criminal court records, this study shows that people from all walks of life lambasted and occasionally assaulted the brethren, orchestrating in the process detailed scenes of urban violence. Their myriad motivations and diverse goals preclude us from associating antifraternalism with any one ideology or agenda, let alone allow us to brand many of its proponents as religious reformers. At the same time, it demonstrates the friars’ active role in forging a medieval antifraternal tradition, not only by deviating from their founders’ paths to varying degrees, but also by chronicling their suffering inter fideles and thus incorporating it into the orders’ identity as the vanguard of Christianity. In doing so, The Making of Medieval Antifraternalism illuminates a major chapter in Europe’s social, urban, and religious history.
David M. Gwynn
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199205554
- eISBN:
- 9780191709425
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199205554.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This monograph offers a historical and theological re-evaluation of the polemical writings of Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria (328-73) and their influence upon modern interpretations of the so-called ...
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This monograph offers a historical and theological re-evaluation of the polemical writings of Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria (328-73) and their influence upon modern interpretations of the so-called ‘Arian Controversy’. It examines in detail the methodology of Athanasius’ polemic, and focuses on his representation of his opponents as a single ‘Arian party’, hoi peri Eusebion (‘the ones around Eusebius [of Nicomedia]’ or the ‘Eusebians’). After an initial chronological catalogue of Athanasius’ polemical works, it traces the evolution of his construction of the ‘Eusebians’ from his own condemnation at the Council of Tyre in 335 onwards, and assesses the actions and the ‘Arian’ theology that Athanasius attributes to his foes. This examination of Athanasius’ polemic and of what little external evidence survives against which the polemic can be compared reveals that the ‘Eusebians’ were neither a ‘party’ nor ‘Arian’. Athanasius’ image of a 4th century Church polarized between his own ‘orthodoxy’ and the ‘Arianism’ of the ‘Eusebians’ as a polemical construct. The distortions inherent within this construct must be recognized to fully understand the 4th century Church, the men whom Athanasius branded as ‘Eusebians’, and Athanasius himself.Less
This monograph offers a historical and theological re-evaluation of the polemical writings of Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria (328-73) and their influence upon modern interpretations of the so-called ‘Arian Controversy’. It examines in detail the methodology of Athanasius’ polemic, and focuses on his representation of his opponents as a single ‘Arian party’, hoi peri Eusebion (‘the ones around Eusebius [of Nicomedia]’ or the ‘Eusebians’). After an initial chronological catalogue of Athanasius’ polemical works, it traces the evolution of his construction of the ‘Eusebians’ from his own condemnation at the Council of Tyre in 335 onwards, and assesses the actions and the ‘Arian’ theology that Athanasius attributes to his foes. This examination of Athanasius’ polemic and of what little external evidence survives against which the polemic can be compared reveals that the ‘Eusebians’ were neither a ‘party’ nor ‘Arian’. Athanasius’ image of a 4th century Church polarized between his own ‘orthodoxy’ and the ‘Arianism’ of the ‘Eusebians’ as a polemical construct. The distortions inherent within this construct must be recognized to fully understand the 4th century Church, the men whom Athanasius branded as ‘Eusebians’, and Athanasius himself.
David M. Gwynn
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199205554
- eISBN:
- 9780191709425
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199205554.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter presents a catalogue of all Athanasius’ polemical writings from the Epistula Encyclica and the Apologia Contra Arianos to the Festal Letters, and a survey of recent modern assessments of ...
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This chapter presents a catalogue of all Athanasius’ polemical writings from the Epistula Encyclica and the Apologia Contra Arianos to the Festal Letters, and a survey of recent modern assessments of the individual texts. Following a brief discussion of several works of debated authorship, Athanasius’ authentic writings are organized in an approximate chronological order, with an analysis of each work according to context, purpose, and intended audience.Less
This chapter presents a catalogue of all Athanasius’ polemical writings from the Epistula Encyclica and the Apologia Contra Arianos to the Festal Letters, and a survey of recent modern assessments of the individual texts. Following a brief discussion of several works of debated authorship, Athanasius’ authentic writings are organized in an approximate chronological order, with an analysis of each work according to context, purpose, and intended audience.
David M. Gwynn
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199205554
- eISBN:
- 9780191709425
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199205554.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter analyzes the earliest extant polemical work of Athanasius against the ‘Eusebians’, the Epistula Encyclica of 339. This text identifies all the essential elements that recur throughout ...
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This chapter analyzes the earliest extant polemical work of Athanasius against the ‘Eusebians’, the Epistula Encyclica of 339. This text identifies all the essential elements that recur throughout Athanasius’ construction of his opponents as an ‘Arian party’. The ‘Eusebians’ exploit ecclesiastical politics and secular power to promote their ‘heresy’ and persecute ‘orthodox’ bishops such as Athanasius himself, driving him into exile and imposing into his church their own ‘Arian’ nominee, Gregory of Alexandria.Less
This chapter analyzes the earliest extant polemical work of Athanasius against the ‘Eusebians’, the Epistula Encyclica of 339. This text identifies all the essential elements that recur throughout Athanasius’ construction of his opponents as an ‘Arian party’. The ‘Eusebians’ exploit ecclesiastical politics and secular power to promote their ‘heresy’ and persecute ‘orthodox’ bishops such as Athanasius himself, driving him into exile and imposing into his church their own ‘Arian’ nominee, Gregory of Alexandria.
David M. Gwynn
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199205554
- eISBN:
- 9780191709425
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199205554.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter traces the origins of Athanasius’ polemic against the ‘Eusebians’. The ‘Eusebian party’ first appears in the Encyclical Letter of Athanasius’ predecessor Alexander, and the analysis of ...
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This chapter traces the origins of Athanasius’ polemic against the ‘Eusebians’. The ‘Eusebian party’ first appears in the Encyclical Letter of Athanasius’ predecessor Alexander, and the analysis of this text requires a reassessment of the entire chronology of the ‘Arian Controversy’ from its beginnings to the Council of Nicaea. It then traces Athanasius’ presentation of the events leading up to his own exile at the Council of Tyre in 335 in the Apologia Contra Arianos, and contrasts this presentation to the evidence provided by Athanasius’ earlier writings, particularly his Festal Letters. In the later Apologia Contra Arianos narrative, Athanasius attributes his exile to a ‘Eusebian’ conspiracy, yet there is no mention of the ‘Eusebians’ in any of Athanasius’ writings before 335. In these writings, he is concerned solely with the Melitian schismatics who oppose him within Egypt. The ‘Eusebian party’ as a polemical construct and the true source of Athanasius’ suffering appears in his writings for the first time at the Council of Tyre itself, in the letters circulated to the eastern bishops at that Council by Athanasius’ Egyptian supporters.Less
This chapter traces the origins of Athanasius’ polemic against the ‘Eusebians’. The ‘Eusebian party’ first appears in the Encyclical Letter of Athanasius’ predecessor Alexander, and the analysis of this text requires a reassessment of the entire chronology of the ‘Arian Controversy’ from its beginnings to the Council of Nicaea. It then traces Athanasius’ presentation of the events leading up to his own exile at the Council of Tyre in 335 in the Apologia Contra Arianos, and contrasts this presentation to the evidence provided by Athanasius’ earlier writings, particularly his Festal Letters. In the later Apologia Contra Arianos narrative, Athanasius attributes his exile to a ‘Eusebian’ conspiracy, yet there is no mention of the ‘Eusebians’ in any of Athanasius’ writings before 335. In these writings, he is concerned solely with the Melitian schismatics who oppose him within Egypt. The ‘Eusebian party’ as a polemical construct and the true source of Athanasius’ suffering appears in his writings for the first time at the Council of Tyre itself, in the letters circulated to the eastern bishops at that Council by Athanasius’ Egyptian supporters.
Jeffrey Mallinson
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199259595
- eISBN:
- 9780191698620
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259595.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This concluding chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the contribution of Theodore Beza to the debate concerning the relation between faith and knowledge. It states that even after Beza's ...
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This concluding chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the contribution of Theodore Beza to the debate concerning the relation between faith and knowledge. It states that even after Beza's appointment as rector of the Genevan Academie in Switzerland, he remained true to the Reformed tradition even though he fortified the objective aspect of Christian belief. He has also balanced the subjective and objective elements of Christian belief, and highlighted the evidential arguments for Scripture in response to the constraints of the Pyrrhonic Counter-Reformation polemics.Less
This concluding chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the contribution of Theodore Beza to the debate concerning the relation between faith and knowledge. It states that even after Beza's appointment as rector of the Genevan Academie in Switzerland, he remained true to the Reformed tradition even though he fortified the objective aspect of Christian belief. He has also balanced the subjective and objective elements of Christian belief, and highlighted the evidential arguments for Scripture in response to the constraints of the Pyrrhonic Counter-Reformation polemics.
Adiel Schremer
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195383775
- eISBN:
- 9780199777280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195383775.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
This chapter raises the question whether rabbinic texts that seem to be relating to issues standing at the heart of the Jewish and Christian debate throughout the ages—such as Christology and the ...
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This chapter raises the question whether rabbinic texts that seem to be relating to issues standing at the heart of the Jewish and Christian debate throughout the ages—such as Christology and the Christian belief in the Messiahship of Jesus, Israel's election, faith, and the observance of the commandments—should indeed be interpreted as an anti-Christian polemic on the part of the Rabbis. It suggests a different context for the interpretation of these texts, namely, the imperial cult and the imperial power, and it maintains that the Rabbi's need to accentuate certain religious stances—such as the rejection of the idea of Divine Man, or the importance of faithfulness—was determined, to a large degree, by the circumstances and the historical context in which they were expressed.Less
This chapter raises the question whether rabbinic texts that seem to be relating to issues standing at the heart of the Jewish and Christian debate throughout the ages—such as Christology and the Christian belief in the Messiahship of Jesus, Israel's election, faith, and the observance of the commandments—should indeed be interpreted as an anti-Christian polemic on the part of the Rabbis. It suggests a different context for the interpretation of these texts, namely, the imperial cult and the imperial power, and it maintains that the Rabbi's need to accentuate certain religious stances—such as the rejection of the idea of Divine Man, or the importance of faithfulness—was determined, to a large degree, by the circumstances and the historical context in which they were expressed.
Anthony Ossa-Richardson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691157115
- eISBN:
- 9781400846597
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157115.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This is the first book to examine in depth the intellectual and cultural impact of the oracles of pagan antiquity on modern European thought. The book shows how the study of the oracles influenced, ...
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This is the first book to examine in depth the intellectual and cultural impact of the oracles of pagan antiquity on modern European thought. The book shows how the study of the oracles influenced, and was influenced by, some of the most significant developments in early modernity, such as the Christian humanist recovery of ancient religion, confessional polemics, Deist and libertine challenges to religion, antiquarianism and early archaeology, Romantic historiography, and spiritualism. The book examines the different views of the oracles since the Renaissance—that they were the work of the devil, or natural causes, or the fraud of priests, or finally an organic element of ancient Greek society. The range of discussion on the subject, as he demonstrates, is considerably more complex than has been realized before: hundreds of scholars, theologians, and critics commented on the oracles, drawing on a huge variety of intellectual contexts to frame their beliefs. A central chapter interrogates the landmark dispute on the oracles between Bernard de Fontenelle and Jean-François Baltus, challenging Whiggish assumptions about the mechanics of debate on the cusp of the Enlightenment. With erudition and an eye for detail, the book argues that, on both sides of the controversy, to speak of the ancient oracles in early modernity was to speak of one's own historical identity as a Christian.Less
This is the first book to examine in depth the intellectual and cultural impact of the oracles of pagan antiquity on modern European thought. The book shows how the study of the oracles influenced, and was influenced by, some of the most significant developments in early modernity, such as the Christian humanist recovery of ancient religion, confessional polemics, Deist and libertine challenges to religion, antiquarianism and early archaeology, Romantic historiography, and spiritualism. The book examines the different views of the oracles since the Renaissance—that they were the work of the devil, or natural causes, or the fraud of priests, or finally an organic element of ancient Greek society. The range of discussion on the subject, as he demonstrates, is considerably more complex than has been realized before: hundreds of scholars, theologians, and critics commented on the oracles, drawing on a huge variety of intellectual contexts to frame their beliefs. A central chapter interrogates the landmark dispute on the oracles between Bernard de Fontenelle and Jean-François Baltus, challenging Whiggish assumptions about the mechanics of debate on the cusp of the Enlightenment. With erudition and an eye for detail, the book argues that, on both sides of the controversy, to speak of the ancient oracles in early modernity was to speak of one's own historical identity as a Christian.
Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195369786
- eISBN:
- 9780199871292
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369786.003.011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter furthers the project of an intellectually richer account of Mormonism by offering a critique of the centrality of sympathy in the polemics that have engulfed Mormon historical studies ...
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This chapter furthers the project of an intellectually richer account of Mormonism by offering a critique of the centrality of sympathy in the polemics that have engulfed Mormon historical studies from their inception, and proposing an alternative. The critique is situated in a largely postmodern, anti-essentialist conception of identity as a malleable and fluid concept. At the same time, it notes in Smith's own turn to ritual a validation of appearances over essence, doing over being. A focus on the epic of Mormonism's narrative rather than its characters, on popular rather than elite Mormon history, and on the geographical varieties with their correspondingly different accounts of Mormonism—all are presented here as powerful antidotes to the snares of an approach that links, and therefore reduces Joseph Smith and the religion he founded to an irresolvable debate over human motives.Less
This chapter furthers the project of an intellectually richer account of Mormonism by offering a critique of the centrality of sympathy in the polemics that have engulfed Mormon historical studies from their inception, and proposing an alternative. The critique is situated in a largely postmodern, anti-essentialist conception of identity as a malleable and fluid concept. At the same time, it notes in Smith's own turn to ritual a validation of appearances over essence, doing over being. A focus on the epic of Mormonism's narrative rather than its characters, on popular rather than elite Mormon history, and on the geographical varieties with their correspondingly different accounts of Mormonism—all are presented here as powerful antidotes to the snares of an approach that links, and therefore reduces Joseph Smith and the religion he founded to an irresolvable debate over human motives.
Tracey A. Sowerby
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199584635
- eISBN:
- 9780191723162
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584635.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
The accession of Mary Tudor brought Morison's long service to the crown to an end, and after the failure of Wyatt's rebellion (in which he was implicated), Morison left England for a safe haven ...
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The accession of Mary Tudor brought Morison's long service to the crown to an end, and after the failure of Wyatt's rebellion (in which he was implicated), Morison left England for a safe haven abroad. This chapter outlines Morison's itinerary and activities in exile, establishing him as a more significant figure in the Marian exile community than has previously been recognised. His considerable overseas experience had brought him into contact with a range of continental scholars and evangelicals, and these contacts were to prove crucial to his personal choices in exile. Morison was at the heart of the exile community in Strasbourg, where he presided over a pedagogic household that offered shelter to other Englishmen, many of whom were involved in the production of polemics against Mary, as was Morison himself.Less
The accession of Mary Tudor brought Morison's long service to the crown to an end, and after the failure of Wyatt's rebellion (in which he was implicated), Morison left England for a safe haven abroad. This chapter outlines Morison's itinerary and activities in exile, establishing him as a more significant figure in the Marian exile community than has previously been recognised. His considerable overseas experience had brought him into contact with a range of continental scholars and evangelicals, and these contacts were to prove crucial to his personal choices in exile. Morison was at the heart of the exile community in Strasbourg, where he presided over a pedagogic household that offered shelter to other Englishmen, many of whom were involved in the production of polemics against Mary, as was Morison himself.
Ismene Lada‐Richards
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199232536
- eISBN:
- 9780191716003
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232536.003.0014
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter explores the cultural place held by the ‘idea’ of pantomime and looks at the respects in which pantomime proved itself ‘good to think with’ in the ancient world. The chapter is concerned ...
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This chapter explores the cultural place held by the ‘idea’ of pantomime and looks at the respects in which pantomime proved itself ‘good to think with’ in the ancient world. The chapter is concerned with the paradoxical attitudes of the elite towards this art form and examines the possible reasons for the elite polemic narratives about pantomime. This is explored with particular reference to the cultural discourses surrounding sophists, rhetoric and pantomime. The discussion reviews the place of pantomime in the entertainment hierarchies and reveals the genre's formidable relational value. The chapter ends with the suggestion that pantomime may in fact have been perceived as a serious rival by the intellectual elite and was therefore appropriated, and controlled through, the discourse written upon it.Less
This chapter explores the cultural place held by the ‘idea’ of pantomime and looks at the respects in which pantomime proved itself ‘good to think with’ in the ancient world. The chapter is concerned with the paradoxical attitudes of the elite towards this art form and examines the possible reasons for the elite polemic narratives about pantomime. This is explored with particular reference to the cultural discourses surrounding sophists, rhetoric and pantomime. The discussion reviews the place of pantomime in the entertainment hierarchies and reveals the genre's formidable relational value. The chapter ends with the suggestion that pantomime may in fact have been perceived as a serious rival by the intellectual elite and was therefore appropriated, and controlled through, the discourse written upon it.
Paul B. Duff
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195138351
- eISBN:
- 9780199834150
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019513835X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Owing to its powerful anti‐Roman polemic, the book of Revelation was traditionally thought to have been written to encourage believers to stand fast in the face of the Roman persecution. Recent ...
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Owing to its powerful anti‐Roman polemic, the book of Revelation was traditionally thought to have been written to encourage believers to stand fast in the face of the Roman persecution. Recent scholarship, however, has undermined the scenario of Roman persecution. This book examines the social situation that gave rise to the production of the book of Revelation. Duff suggests that the book did not arise from persecution or harassment but rather it was written in response to an internal crisis of leadership. The book's anti‐Roman polemic was intended to manufacture a crisis in the minds of its readers. The creation of this crisis – a technique observed in other charismatic groups – served the function of uniting the churches behind the author and against his prophetic rival. In addition, the book's polemic, although aimed directly at Rome, was, at the same time, focused indirectly at the author's rival “Jezebel” who, John argues, was in league with Rome.Less
Owing to its powerful anti‐Roman polemic, the book of Revelation was traditionally thought to have been written to encourage believers to stand fast in the face of the Roman persecution. Recent scholarship, however, has undermined the scenario of Roman persecution. This book examines the social situation that gave rise to the production of the book of Revelation. Duff suggests that the book did not arise from persecution or harassment but rather it was written in response to an internal crisis of leadership. The book's anti‐Roman polemic was intended to manufacture a crisis in the minds of its readers. The creation of this crisis – a technique observed in other charismatic groups – served the function of uniting the churches behind the author and against his prophetic rival. In addition, the book's polemic, although aimed directly at Rome, was, at the same time, focused indirectly at the author's rival “Jezebel” who, John argues, was in league with Rome.
Blair Worden
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264706
- eISBN:
- 9780191734557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264706.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
In 1660, upon the Restoration of Charles to the English throne, John Milton went into hiding. His treatises Eikonoklastes and Defensio were condemned and burned. Milton faced the prospect of public ...
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In 1660, upon the Restoration of Charles to the English throne, John Milton went into hiding. His treatises Eikonoklastes and Defensio were condemned and burned. Milton faced the prospect of public execution, but escaped with a brief imprisonment. Three-quarters of a century later, the Milton once vilified for his political polemics was embraced by the public for his verses, which had risen high in England's favour. This chapter discusses Milton's purposes and priorities. The ideal of teaching is, according to Milton, through the ‘delight’ of poetry; for him poetry must function to deplore the general Relapses of Kingdoms and States from justice and God's true worship. Just as with poetry, he looked at prose to instruct the readers by affording them delight, and by calming the perturbation of mind that can impede their reception of truth. Milton believed that just as poetry can impart virtue through charm and smoothness of sounds, prose draws on eloquence to charm the multitude to love what is truly good. In his writings, he pursued the conception of liberty, the strife between good and evil, the principle of free choice, and the sinfulness of the popery. Milton tailored his Restoration poems as bulwarks against the wickedness of the court and nation. His poems served as sharp checks and sour instructions, in the absence of which, many people would have been lost if they were not speedily reclaimed. Some of Milton's works of enlightenment and corrections were Paradise Lost, The Reason of Church Government, and History of Britain.Less
In 1660, upon the Restoration of Charles to the English throne, John Milton went into hiding. His treatises Eikonoklastes and Defensio were condemned and burned. Milton faced the prospect of public execution, but escaped with a brief imprisonment. Three-quarters of a century later, the Milton once vilified for his political polemics was embraced by the public for his verses, which had risen high in England's favour. This chapter discusses Milton's purposes and priorities. The ideal of teaching is, according to Milton, through the ‘delight’ of poetry; for him poetry must function to deplore the general Relapses of Kingdoms and States from justice and God's true worship. Just as with poetry, he looked at prose to instruct the readers by affording them delight, and by calming the perturbation of mind that can impede their reception of truth. Milton believed that just as poetry can impart virtue through charm and smoothness of sounds, prose draws on eloquence to charm the multitude to love what is truly good. In his writings, he pursued the conception of liberty, the strife between good and evil, the principle of free choice, and the sinfulness of the popery. Milton tailored his Restoration poems as bulwarks against the wickedness of the court and nation. His poems served as sharp checks and sour instructions, in the absence of which, many people would have been lost if they were not speedily reclaimed. Some of Milton's works of enlightenment and corrections were Paradise Lost, The Reason of Church Government, and History of Britain.
Nicholas Canny
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197265277
- eISBN:
- 9780191754203
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265277.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
Some competition was associated with all European voyages of discovery, whether considered in an intellectual or a nautical sense, but the character of the competition became confessional as the ...
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Some competition was associated with all European voyages of discovery, whether considered in an intellectual or a nautical sense, but the character of the competition became confessional as the contest between states over resources to be exploited gave way to disputation between denominations over how souls might best be saved. This happened when, in the late sixteenth century, Protestant publicists began to disparage the colonial endeavours that the Spanish and Portuguese authorities had been engaged upon for more than a century, and when they resolved to start the colonial process all over again, with a view to making the Atlantic World a Protestant rather than a Catholic space. This was to be achieved both by releasing what remained of the Native American population in Central and South America from Spanish tyranny, and by establishing Protestant colonies to evangelise the native populations in extensive areas of America to which the Iberians had no more than titular claims. A comparison between French and English colonial undertakings in the West Indies, and between the literatures associated with these endeavours over the course of the seventeenth century, establishes that these Protestant ambitions proved as elusive in practice as they had been myopic in theory. The conclusion seeks to explain why colonial efforts in which Catholic religious orders were involved proved more capable of linking scientific investigations with missionary concerns than was possible in colonies that were self consciously Protestant.Less
Some competition was associated with all European voyages of discovery, whether considered in an intellectual or a nautical sense, but the character of the competition became confessional as the contest between states over resources to be exploited gave way to disputation between denominations over how souls might best be saved. This happened when, in the late sixteenth century, Protestant publicists began to disparage the colonial endeavours that the Spanish and Portuguese authorities had been engaged upon for more than a century, and when they resolved to start the colonial process all over again, with a view to making the Atlantic World a Protestant rather than a Catholic space. This was to be achieved both by releasing what remained of the Native American population in Central and South America from Spanish tyranny, and by establishing Protestant colonies to evangelise the native populations in extensive areas of America to which the Iberians had no more than titular claims. A comparison between French and English colonial undertakings in the West Indies, and between the literatures associated with these endeavours over the course of the seventeenth century, establishes that these Protestant ambitions proved as elusive in practice as they had been myopic in theory. The conclusion seeks to explain why colonial efforts in which Catholic religious orders were involved proved more capable of linking scientific investigations with missionary concerns than was possible in colonies that were self consciously Protestant.
Lawrence Danson
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198186281
- eISBN:
- 9780191674488
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198186281.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This chapter analyses Oscar Wilde's essay The Decay of Living. It discusses Wilde's polemic against realism and his position on other elements of a binarized discourse that opposes imitation to ...
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This chapter analyses Oscar Wilde's essay The Decay of Living. It discusses Wilde's polemic against realism and his position on other elements of a binarized discourse that opposes imitation to creation, nature to form, and life to art. The chapter suggests that dinners and lovers figure largely in this essay and that it is similar in form to the Platonic dialogue. It also highlights the reception of the essay and explains the commentaries of Wilde's critics.Less
This chapter analyses Oscar Wilde's essay The Decay of Living. It discusses Wilde's polemic against realism and his position on other elements of a binarized discourse that opposes imitation to creation, nature to form, and life to art. The chapter suggests that dinners and lovers figure largely in this essay and that it is similar in form to the Platonic dialogue. It also highlights the reception of the essay and explains the commentaries of Wilde's critics.
Polly Ha and Patrick Collinson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264683
- eISBN:
- 9780191734878
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264683.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This book brings together reformation and reception studies by exploring the relationship between reformations on the European continent and in Britain. The eleven chapters discuss familiar ...
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This book brings together reformation and reception studies by exploring the relationship between reformations on the European continent and in Britain. The eleven chapters discuss familiar associations, draw attention to under-explored relationships, and identify how British reception in turn contributed to continued reform on the continent. Different aspects of reception, from biblical translation and book history to popular politics and theological polemic, are addressed. The book also prompts further questions regarding British integration and the perception (and invention) of Britain’s ‘exceptional’ status.Less
This book brings together reformation and reception studies by exploring the relationship between reformations on the European continent and in Britain. The eleven chapters discuss familiar associations, draw attention to under-explored relationships, and identify how British reception in turn contributed to continued reform on the continent. Different aspects of reception, from biblical translation and book history to popular politics and theological polemic, are addressed. The book also prompts further questions regarding British integration and the perception (and invention) of Britain’s ‘exceptional’ status.
Mark S. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134803
- eISBN:
- 9780199834655
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019513480X.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This last chapter offers a study of the monotheistic rhetoric in what is considered the most prominent evidence of this language, namely Isaiah 40–55. The language of monotheism in this section of ...
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This last chapter offers a study of the monotheistic rhetoric in what is considered the most prominent evidence of this language, namely Isaiah 40–55. The language of monotheism in this section of the Bible particularly illustrates that monotheism is hardly a religious stage at this point, but rather a rhetorical strategy designed to persuade its audience of the reality of Yahweh’s absolute power in a world where a foreign empire holds sway over Judah. The different sections of the chapter look at the polemical context of Isaiah 40–55, the outsider context (polemic), insider referentiality and Isaiah 44, and reading this text for monotheism.Less
This last chapter offers a study of the monotheistic rhetoric in what is considered the most prominent evidence of this language, namely Isaiah 40–55. The language of monotheism in this section of the Bible particularly illustrates that monotheism is hardly a religious stage at this point, but rather a rhetorical strategy designed to persuade its audience of the reality of Yahweh’s absolute power in a world where a foreign empire holds sway over Judah. The different sections of the chapter look at the polemical context of Isaiah 40–55, the outsider context (polemic), insider referentiality and Isaiah 44, and reading this text for monotheism.
Derek Hirst and Steven N. Zwicker
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199655373
- eISBN:
- 9780191742118
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199655373.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature, Poetry
This book studies the poetry and polemics of one of the greatest of early modern writers, a poet of immense lyric talent and political importance. The book situates these writings and this writer ...
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This book studies the poetry and polemics of one of the greatest of early modern writers, a poet of immense lyric talent and political importance. The book situates these writings and this writer within the patronage networks and political upheavals of mid-seventeenth-century England. It tracks his negotiations among personalities and events; it explores his idealizations, attachments, and subversions; and it speculates on the meaning of the narratives that he told of himself within his writings — what we call Andrew Marvell’s ‘imagined life’. The book draws the figure of this imagined life from the repeated traces that Marvell left of lyric yearning and satiric anger, and it suggests how these were rooted both in the body and in the imagination. The book sheds new light on some of Marvell’s most familiar poems — Upon Appleton House, The Garden, To His Coy Mistress, and An Horatian Ode; but at its centre is an extended reading of Marvell’s The unfortunate Lover, his least familiar and surely his most mysterious lyric, and his most sustained narrative of the self. By attending to the lyric, the polemical, and the parliamentary careers together, this book offers a reading of Marvell and his writings as an interpretable whole.Less
This book studies the poetry and polemics of one of the greatest of early modern writers, a poet of immense lyric talent and political importance. The book situates these writings and this writer within the patronage networks and political upheavals of mid-seventeenth-century England. It tracks his negotiations among personalities and events; it explores his idealizations, attachments, and subversions; and it speculates on the meaning of the narratives that he told of himself within his writings — what we call Andrew Marvell’s ‘imagined life’. The book draws the figure of this imagined life from the repeated traces that Marvell left of lyric yearning and satiric anger, and it suggests how these were rooted both in the body and in the imagination. The book sheds new light on some of Marvell’s most familiar poems — Upon Appleton House, The Garden, To His Coy Mistress, and An Horatian Ode; but at its centre is an extended reading of Marvell’s The unfortunate Lover, his least familiar and surely his most mysterious lyric, and his most sustained narrative of the self. By attending to the lyric, the polemical, and the parliamentary careers together, this book offers a reading of Marvell and his writings as an interpretable whole.
Ruth Langer
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199783175
- eISBN:
- 9780199919161
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199783175.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The birkat haminim is a prayer in the weekday Jewish liturgy for the removal of those categories of humans who prevent messianic redemption. Its earliest known texts, themselves medieval, curse ...
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The birkat haminim is a prayer in the weekday Jewish liturgy for the removal of those categories of humans who prevent messianic redemption. Its earliest known texts, themselves medieval, curse apostates (to Christianity), sectarians, Christians, enemies of Israel, and the insolent empire. Jewish sources place the origin of the prayer in the late first century, in response to an ambiguous group challenging rabbinic authority. Some Church Fathers knew of the prayer and complained that Jews were cursing Christians. The origins of this prayer, were they knowable, should illuminate early Christian-Jewish relations. However, the story of the prayer continues until today. Drawing on the shifting liturgical texts and polemics and apologetics surrounding the prayer, Langer traces the transformation of the birkat haminim from what functioned without question in the medieval world as a Jewish curse of Christians, through its early modern censorship by Christians, to its modern transformation into a generalized petition that God remove abstract evil. Christian censorship itself had opened the door to this transformation by destabilizing the prayer’s language. The true transformations in its meaning, however, accompanied Jewish integration into Western culture and consequent changes in mindset. Thus, even when censors ceased to concern themselves with Jewish texts, changes to the text only enhanced the trajectories already in place. The prayer both lost its function as a curse and its references to any specific categories of living human beings.Less
The birkat haminim is a prayer in the weekday Jewish liturgy for the removal of those categories of humans who prevent messianic redemption. Its earliest known texts, themselves medieval, curse apostates (to Christianity), sectarians, Christians, enemies of Israel, and the insolent empire. Jewish sources place the origin of the prayer in the late first century, in response to an ambiguous group challenging rabbinic authority. Some Church Fathers knew of the prayer and complained that Jews were cursing Christians. The origins of this prayer, were they knowable, should illuminate early Christian-Jewish relations. However, the story of the prayer continues until today. Drawing on the shifting liturgical texts and polemics and apologetics surrounding the prayer, Langer traces the transformation of the birkat haminim from what functioned without question in the medieval world as a Jewish curse of Christians, through its early modern censorship by Christians, to its modern transformation into a generalized petition that God remove abstract evil. Christian censorship itself had opened the door to this transformation by destabilizing the prayer’s language. The true transformations in its meaning, however, accompanied Jewish integration into Western culture and consequent changes in mindset. Thus, even when censors ceased to concern themselves with Jewish texts, changes to the text only enhanced the trajectories already in place. The prayer both lost its function as a curse and its references to any specific categories of living human beings.
Tessa Rajak
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199558674
- eISBN:
- 9780191720895
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199558674.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter considers what the rapid scripturalization of the new Christian movement meant for Jews. The new religion was grafted on to Judaism and Christians defined themselves as the ‘new Israel’, ...
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This chapter considers what the rapid scripturalization of the new Christian movement meant for Jews. The new religion was grafted on to Judaism and Christians defined themselves as the ‘new Israel’, heirs to the covenant with Abraham and to the ‘old Testament’. For the first Christians, that mostly meant the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, on which the entire edifice of Christian discourse was built. The Jews themselves could be deemed obsolescent. The Christian narrative has it that at this point the Jews were goaded into discarding the old translations, which they felt unable to share, replacing them with the even more ‘literal’ version of Aquila which could be triumphantly wielded in Christian-Jewish polemic. This theory of Jewish abandonment can be easily dismantled. Rather, by facilitating new translations, which are by no means a token of lack of interest in the old one, diaspora Jews now more than ever expressed their culture through creative Biblical translation. And they expressed their religion through their Greek Torah, just as they had been doing for centuries. The Christian appropriation of their heritage was a gradual and untidy process. Once our own narrative is de-Christianized, the development of Judaism can be understood on its own terms.Less
This chapter considers what the rapid scripturalization of the new Christian movement meant for Jews. The new religion was grafted on to Judaism and Christians defined themselves as the ‘new Israel’, heirs to the covenant with Abraham and to the ‘old Testament’. For the first Christians, that mostly meant the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, on which the entire edifice of Christian discourse was built. The Jews themselves could be deemed obsolescent. The Christian narrative has it that at this point the Jews were goaded into discarding the old translations, which they felt unable to share, replacing them with the even more ‘literal’ version of Aquila which could be triumphantly wielded in Christian-Jewish polemic. This theory of Jewish abandonment can be easily dismantled. Rather, by facilitating new translations, which are by no means a token of lack of interest in the old one, diaspora Jews now more than ever expressed their culture through creative Biblical translation. And they expressed their religion through their Greek Torah, just as they had been doing for centuries. The Christian appropriation of their heritage was a gradual and untidy process. Once our own narrative is de-Christianized, the development of Judaism can be understood on its own terms.
