Suchergebnisse

"The literature of late ancient Christianity is rich both in saints who lead lives of almost Edenic health and in saints who court and endure horrifying diseases. In such narratives, health and illness might signify the sanctity of the ascetic, or invite consideration of a broader theology of illness. In Thorns in the Flesh, Andrew Crislip draws on a wide range of texts from the fourth through sixth centuries that reflect persistent and contentious attempts to make sense of the illness of the ostensibly holy. These sources include Lives of Antony, Paul, Pachomius, and others; theological treatises by Basil of Caesarea and Evagrius of Pontus; and collections of correspondence from the period such as the Letters of Barsanuphius and John. Through close readings of these texts, Crislip shows how late ancient Christians complicated and critiqued hagiographical commonplaces and radically reinterpreted illness as a valuable mode for spiritual and ascetic practice. Illness need not point to sin or failure, he demonstrates, but might serve in itself as a potent form of spiritual practice that surpasses even the most strenuous of ascetic labors and opens up the sufferer to a more direct knowledge of the self and the divine. Crislip provides a fresh and nuanced look at the contentious and dynamic theology of illness that emerged in and around the ascetic and monastic cultures of the later Roman world."--Project Muse

Man in his education always tries to combine the mind, spirituality and the body. But in different historical times the essence of the man and his destination in the society was interpreted differently. The appearance and development of the ancient period gave a boost to the spiritual development and the struggle against the bodily upbringing. The man of that period was revealed as a spiritual person, but not as a natural and bodily being. That is why the question of the attitude of the church and the clergy to corporaleducation upbringing and playing entertainments is to be understood. Objective of the research: history of the physical nurture in the first half of the first millennium. Taskofresearch: on the basis of the analysis of the scientific, theoretical and methodological literature to show the views of the first church fathers of the period of the development of the ancient Christianity on the life of the person and their attitude to the body improvement and game entertainments. Results of the Work. The world view reference-points of influence of the church and clergy on the human of the period of the Christianity are exposed in this article. Opinions of the first fathers of the church about the destiny of a man are expounded. It is studied, how the clerics affected the human consciousness by their speeches, treatises and actions. The negative attitude of the clergymen to the corporal perfection and to the playing entertainments is thoroughly considered. The attitude of the clergy is shown towards calendar holidays with games and mass competitions in amphitheaters and the arenas of the circus. The attempt of the church to provide ideological prohibition to engage in physical exercises and in playing entertainments and participate in spectacles is reflected. Conclusions.In the ancient period the church and clergy gradually gained the influence in the society. By their public speeches and dogmas they affected the human consciousness. Conquering political rights, the church successively introduced a ban of physical exercises, entertainments and competitions. As a result, the connection of the physical and mental upbringing was broken. The man was considered by the church only as a spiritual creature and the essence of the man was not taken into account at all.

Early Christianity and Ancient Astrology explores a variety of responses to astrology, the most popular form of divination among early Christians in Greco-Roman antiquity. After a brief overview of ancient astrological theory and a survey of polemical responses to it, this book documents instances in which early Christian writers and communities incorporated astrology positively into their beliefs and practices. This study is of interest to students of early Christianity and of Greco-Roman religion and to those concerned with interfaith relations or with issues of Christian unity and diversity. It is particularly recommended for use in courses on the history of Christianity and on the religions of Greco-Roman antiquity.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations -- 1. Introduction -- Greco-Roman Astrology: A Brief Outline -- Greco-Roman Astrology and Early Christianity -- Notes -- Part A: Studies in Early Christian Anti-Astrological Polemic -- Notes -- 2. The Argument of Practical Impossibility -- Notes -- 3. The Argument of Different Destinies -- General Discussion of the Argument -- Astrology in the Early Career of Augustine -- Astrology in Augustine's Confessions -- Augustine and the Argument of Twins -- Augustine's Knowledge of Astrology -- Astrology Among the Liberal Arts -- Notes -- 4. The Argument of Common Destinies -- Notes -- 5. The Argument of Νόμιμα Βαρβαρικά -- General Discussion of the Argument -- Use of Particular νόμιμα βαρβαρικά -- Astrological Geography and Arguments Against It -- Notes -- 6. The Argument from Animals -- Notes -- 7. The Moral Argument -- Astrology Denies Freedom of the Will -- Astrology Overthrows all Systems of Morality and Justice -- Astrology Nullifies Religious Worship and Renders Prayer Useless -- Notes -- 8. Astrology as the Work of Demons -- Notes -- 9. Christian Condemnations of Astrology in a Broader Context -- Astrology, Magic and Divination -- Astrology as Heterodoxy -- Notes -- 10. Opposition to Astrology and Early Christian Doctrine -- Creation and Providence -- Sin and Evil -- Salvation -- Notes -- 11. Pastoral Problems Posed by Astrology -- Notes -- Part B: Early Christian Accommodation of Astrology -- 12. Archeological and Non-Literary Sources -- Notes -- 13. Matthew 2.1-12 and Its Interpretation in Early Christian Tradition -- The Magi and the Star in Matthew 2.1-12 -- The Magi in Early Christian Interpretation of Matthew 2.1-12 -- The Star in Early Christian Interpretation of Matthew 2.1-12 -- Notes.

Preface -- Acknowledgements -- 1. Introduction: Matthew Ryan Hauge & Andrew W. Pitts -- Part I: Educational Contexts and Settings -- 2. The Torah versus Homer: Jewish and Graeco-Roman -- Catherine Hezser, SOAS, University of London, UK -- 3. Exodus from the Cave: Moses as Platonic Educator -- Craig Evan Anderson, Claremont School of Theology in California, USA -- 4. Observing a Teacher of Progymnasmata -- Ronald F. Hock, University of Southern California, USA -- 5. The Seven Sages, The Delphic Canon and Ethical Education in Antiquity -- James R. Harrison, Sydney College of Divinity, Australia -- Part II: Early Christian Appropriations -- 6. Fabulous Parables: The Storytelling Tradition in the Synoptic Gospels -- Matthew Ryan Hauge, Azusa Pacific University, USA -- 7. The Origins of Greek Mimesis, Ancient Education, and Gospel of Mark: Genre as a Potential Constraint in Assessing Markan Imitation -- Andrew W. Pitts, Arizona Christian University, USA -- 8. Luke and Progymnasmata: Rhetorical Handbooks, Rhetorical Sophistication and Genre Selection -- Sean A. Adams, University of Glasgow, UK -- 9. Luke's Antetextuality in Light of Ancient Rhetorical Education -- Dennis R. MacDonald, Claremont School of Theology in California, USA -- 10. A School pf Paul? The Use of Pauline Texts in Early Christian Schooltext Papyri -- Jennifer R. Strawbridge, University of Oxford, UK -- 11. How Did the 'Teaching' Teach? The Didache as Catechesis -- William Varner, The Master's College, USA --

The public/private distinction is fundamental to modern theories of the family, religion and religious freedom, and state power, yet it has different salience, and is understood differently, from place to place and time to time. The volume examines the public/private distinction in the cultures and religions of the ancient Mediterranean, in the formative periods of Greece and Rome and the religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Chapter 5 "Let them be for signs": Astrology1 Greco-Roman Astrology; 2 Origen; 3 Basil; 4 Interpretation and Analysis; Conclusion Basil and the Legacy of Origen; 1 Basil and the Anti-Origenist Movement; 2 Origen and Basil as Models for the Modern Science-Religion Debate; Bibliography; Index