Christianizing Homer

Author : Dennis R. MacDonald
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 369 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 1994-04-21
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780195358629

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Christianizing Homer by Dennis R. MacDonald Pdf

This study focuses on the apocryphal Acts of Andrew (c. 200 CE), which purports to tell the story of the travels, miracles, and martyrdom of the apostle Andrew. Traditional scholarship has looked for the background of such writings in Jewish and Christian scriptures. MacDonald, however, breaks with that model and looks to classic literature for the sources of this story. Specifically, he argues that the Acts represent an attempt to transform Greco-Roman myth into Christian narrative categories by telling the story of Andrew in terms of Homeric epic, in particular the Odyssey. MacDonald presents a point-by-point comparison of the two works, finding the resemblances so strong, numerous, and tendentious that they virtually compel the reader to consider the Acts a transformative "rewriting" of the epic. This discovery not only sheds valuable light on the uses of Homer in the early church but also significantly contributes to our understanding of the reception of Homer in the empire as a whole.

Author : Dennis R. MacDonald
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 369 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 1994-04-21
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780195087222

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Christianizing Homer by Dennis R. MacDonald Pdf

This study focuses on the apocryphal "Acts of Andrew" (200 AD), which purport to tell the story of the travels, miracles and martyrdom of the apostle Andrew. Breaking with tradition that concludes the Acts came from scripture, the author investigates classical literature to find the sources.

Author : Dennis R. MacDonald
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 441 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2014-11-05
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781442230538

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The Gospels and Homer by Dennis R. MacDonald Pdf

These two volumes of The New Testament and Greek Literature are the magnum opus of biblical scholar Dennis R. MacDonald, outlining the profound connections between the New Testament and classical Greek poetry. MacDonald argues that the Gospel writers borrowed from established literary sources to create stories about Jesus that readers of the day would find convincing. In The Gospels and Homer MacDonald leads readers through Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, highlighting models that the authors of the Gospel of Mark and Luke-Acts may have imitated for their portrayals of Jesus and his earliest followers such as Paul. The book applies mimesis criticism to show the popularity of the targets being imitated, the distinctiveness in the Gospels, and evidence that ancient readers recognized these similarities. Using side-by-side comparisons, the book provides English translations of Byzantine poetry that shows how Christian writers used lines from Homer to retell the life of Jesus. The potential imitations include adventures and shipwrecks, savages living in cages, meals for thousands, transfigurations, visits from the dead, blind seers, and more. MacDonald makes a compelling case that the Gospel writers successfully imitated the epics to provide their readers with heroes and an authoritative foundation for Christianity.

Author : Dennis Ronald MacDonald
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 1994
Category : Apologetics
ISBN : OCLC:896817148

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Christianizing Homer by Dennis Ronald MacDonald Pdf

Author : David Rylaarsdam
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2014-10-30
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780191089961

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John Chrysostom on Divine Pedagogy: The Coherence of his Theology and Preaching by David Rylaarsdam Pdf

Contrary to the portrayals of Chrysostom as a theologically impaired, moralizing sophist, this book argues that his thinking is remarkably coherent when it is understood on his own terms and within his culture. Chrysostom depicts God as a teacher of philosophy who adaptably guides people toward salvation. Since the theme of divine adaptability influences every major area of Chrysostom's thought, tracing this concept provides a thorough introduction to his theology. It also explains, at least in part, several striking features of his homilies, including his supposed inconsistencies, his harsh rhetoric and apparent political naïveté, his intentionally abridged and exoteric theological discussions, and his lack of allegiance to an "Antiochene school." In addition to illuminating such topics, the concept of adaptability stands at one of the busiest intersections of Late Antique culture, for it is an important idea found in rhetoric and discussions about the best methods of teaching philosophy. Consequently, adaptability is an ingredient in the classical project of paideia, and Chrysostom is a Christian philosopher who seeks to transform this powerful tradition of formation. He gives his Christianized paideia a theological foundation by adapting and seamlessly integrating traditional pedagogical methods into his reading and communication of Scripture. David Rylaarsdam provides an in-depth case study of one prominent leader's attempt to transform culture by forming a coherent theological discourse that was adapted to the level of the masses.

Author : Dennis R. MacDonald
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2008-10-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780300129892

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Does the New Testament Imitate Homer? by Dennis R. MacDonald Pdf

div In this provocative challenge to prevailing views of New Testament sources, Dennis R. MacDonald argues that the origins of passages in the book of Acts are to be found not in early Christian legends but in the epics of Homer. MacDonald focuses on four passages in the book of Acts, examines their potential parallels in the Iliad, and concludes that the author of Acts composed them using famous scenes in Homer’s work as a model. Tracing the influence of passages from the Iliad on subsequent ancient literature, MacDonald shows how the story generated a vibrant, mimetic literary tradition long before Luke composed the Acts. Luke could have expected educated readers to recognize his transformation of these tales and to see that the Christian God and heroes were superior to Homeric gods and heroes. Building upon and extending the analytic methods of his earlier book, The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark, MacDonald opens an original and promising appreciation not only of Acts but also of the composition of early Christian narrative in general. /DIV

Author : Karl Olav Sandnes
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2009-03-12
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780567601117

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The Challenge of Homer by Karl Olav Sandnes Pdf

Homer was the gateway to education, to the skills of reading and writing. These skills were necessary for the nascent Church. Knowledge of Homer's writings was a sign of Greekness, of at-home-ness in the society. Education was embedded in the mythology, immorality and idolatry of these writings. This challenged the Christians. This study presents how Christians responded to this. The opinions varied from rejection of Homer and all pagan literature, considering them works of the Devil, to critical involvement with this literature. This study attempts to trace the discourse on Homer and education among the Christians back to the New Testament. The topic does not come to the surface, but it is argued that in Paul's letters contrasting attitudes towards the propaideutic logic and the philosophical principle of usus (making right use of) are present. He opposed a logic wherein Christian faith represented the peak of education, the culmination of liberal studies. In his instruction on how to relate to the pagan world, Paul argues in accordance with the principle of usus. The New Testament is not so dependent upon the Homeric poems, as assumed by some scholars. The first Christians faced two hermeneutical challenges of fundamental importnce: that of interpreting the Old Testament and how to cope with the Greek legacy embedded in Homer. The latter is not explicitly raised in the New Testament. But since the art of interpreting any text, presupposes reading skills, conveyed through liberal studies, the Homeric challenge must have been of outmost importance.

Author : Harold Bloom
Publisher : Infobase Publishing
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Epic poetry, Greek
ISBN : 9780791094259

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Homer's The Odyssey by Harold Bloom Pdf

The second of the two great epic poems attributed to Homer, The Odyssey takes place after the Trojan War and tells the story of Odysseus's voyage home to Ithaca and his wife, Penelope. Odysseus's journey is a perilous one, filled with precarious adventures and strange mythical creatures. Supported by numerous full-length essays, this updated volume offers various critical approaches to exploring this powerful tale of magic and heroism.

Author : Karl Olav Sandnes
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2011-02-14
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004194427

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The Gospel 'According to Homer and Virgil' by Karl Olav Sandnes Pdf

This study investigates the phenomenon of Christian centos, i.e. attempts at rewriting the Gospel stories in both the style and vocabulary of either Homer (Greek) or Virgil (Latin). Out of the classical epics an entirely new text emerged.

Author : Joan E. Taylor,Ilaria L. E. Ramelli
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 362 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2021-02-18
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780198867067

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Patterns of Women's Leadership in Early Christianity by Joan E. Taylor,Ilaria L. E. Ramelli Pdf

This authoritative collection brings together the latest thinking on women's leadership in early Christianity. Featuring contributors from key thinkers in the fields of Christian history, it considers the evidence for ways in which women exercised leadership in churches from the 1st to the 9th centuries CE.

Author : Joshua W. Jipp
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 349 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2013-09-12
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004258006

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Divine Visitations and Hospitality to Strangers in Luke-Acts by Joshua W. Jipp Pdf

This study presents a coherent interpretation of the Malta episode by arguing that Acts 28:1-10 narrates a theoxeny, that is, an account of unknowing hospitality to a god which results in the establishment of a fictive kinship relationship between the Maltese barbarians and Paul and his God. In light of the connection between hospitality and piety to the gods in the ancient Mediterranean, Luke ends his second volume in this manner to portray Gentile hospitality as the appropriate response to Paul’s message of God’s salvation -- a response that portrays them as hospitable exemplars within the Lukan narrative and contrasts them with the Roman Jews who reject Paul and his message.

Author : Stanley E. Porter,Andrew Pitts
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 632 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2012-10-23
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004234765

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Christian Origins and Hellenistic Judaism by Stanley E. Porter,Andrew Pitts Pdf

In Christian Origins and Hellenistic Judaism, Stanley E. Porter and Andrew W. Pitts assemble an international team of scholars whose work has focused on reconstructing the social matrix for earliest Christianity through reference to Hellenistic Judaism and its literary forms.

Author : Jessica L. Wright
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 309 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2022-12-14
Category : History
ISBN : 9780520387676

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The Care of the Brain in Early Christianity by Jessica L. Wright Pdf

"The care of the brain in early Christianity is a history of the brain during late antiquity. Through close attention to ancient medical material and its transformation in Christian texts, Jessica Wright traces the roots of cerebral subjectivity--the identification of the individual self with the brain, a belief very much still with us today--to tensions within early Christianity over the brain's role in self-governance and its inherent vulnerability. Examining how early Christians appropriated medical ideas, Wright tracks how they used the vulnerability of the brain as a trope for teaching ascetic practices, therapeutics of the soul, and the path to salvation. Bringing a medical lens to the religous discourse, this text demonstrates that rather than rejecting medical traditions, early Christianity developed through creatively integrating them"--Publisher's website.

Author : Jan N. Bremmer
Publisher : Peeters Publishers
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Acts of Andrew
ISBN : 9042908238

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Acts of Andrew by Jan N. Bremmer Pdf

Author : Vernon K. Robbins
Publisher : SBL Press
Page : 424 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2018-09-14
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780884143222

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Sea Voyages and Beyond by Vernon K. Robbins Pdf

Explore insights, methodologies, and advances in socio-rhetorical interpretation Essays in this volume from Vernon K. Robbins merge social and rhetorical strategies of interpretation and set the stage for how socio-rhetorical interpretation has developed in the context of research into the rhetoric of religious antiquity. This book contains “By Land and By Sea: The We Passages and Ancient Sea Voyages” (1978), which initially received widespread praise and then became an object of significant criticism. The volume includes Robbins’s varied, detailed responses to both encouragement and critique of his approach. Features: Introduction to the collection by David B. Gowler Twelve essays that programmatically study early Christian texts using resources from the social sciences Reflections on the future of socio-rhetorical criticism