New Testament Early Christianity And Magic

Author : Michael Labahn,Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2007-02-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780567629555

Get Book

A Kind of Magic by Michael Labahn,Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte Pdf

This collection of articles by distinguished scholars and experts in their particular fields of research is introduced by a chapter dealing with general matters of the current hermeneutics of magic: what is the nature of magic and what is the understanding of magic in the Western world-view and what - for instance - in the African world? Centered around studies on Jesus and magic the second part contains studies on the use of the term "magic" in the New Testament and especially in Acts. The third section broadens the understanding of magic through selected case studies in different approaches to magic in the environment and background of the New Testament (Old Testament, Qumran, Apuleius, Women as Magicians). Early Christianity subsequent to the New Testament develops its own view of magic, criticizing pagan magic but not being uninfluenced by magic or magic-like practices. This development is part of the fourth and last chapter of the collection along with two different papers on the possible use of Jewish and Christian themes in later magical texts. The collection explores the importance of magic within Early Christianity, an issue shared with its Old Testament and Jewish roots and with its ancient background, implying reluctance and critique. Both magical traits and the critique of non-Christian magic have an impact on later scripture and still exert influence now on modern theoretical discussion and popular ideas.

Author : Robert Conner
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 356 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 1906958270

Get Book

Magic in the New Testament by Robert Conner Pdf

Early Christians were accused of practising magic by Jews, Pagans, and other Christians. Magic in the New Testament examines magical praxis common to the New Testament, the magical papyri, the Sepher Ha-Razim, the Book of Enoch, the apocryphal Acts and the pre-Nicene church fathers and surveys the professional literature on early Christian magic from 1927 to 2009. Additional topics include: Magic, family and sexuality; The Old Testament background of early Christian magic; The relationship between magic and apocalypticism; Veneration of relics and necromantic sorcery; Resurrection, ghost stories and polymorphism; Magic and mystery cult in early Christianity; The Question of Sources/The Holy Family/The Looming Apocalypse/The Final Confrontation/Resurrection or Ghost Story?/Magical Palestine/Jesus the Magician/A Darker Sorcery/Christian Necromancy/Cults of Possession/Spirit Versus Spirit/The Christian Mysteries/The Son of Horus/ Last Rites.

Author : Hans-Josef Klauck
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 150 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2003-03-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0567089622

Get Book

Magic and Paganism in Early Christianity by Hans-Josef Klauck Pdf

Many forms of magic and paganism were practiced at the time of Jesus. What were these practices, and how did the first Christians react to them?Hans-Josef Klauck, an expert in the cultic practices of the region, describes this world into which Christianity was born and relates to it the many experiences of the first Christians recorded in Acts. Peter, for example, encounters the Samaritan magician Simon; Paul meets the Jewish magician Bar-Jesus; the people in Lystra want to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas; a soothsaying slave girl is the occasion of conflict in Philippi; in Athens, Paul finds the city full of idols but also discovers an altar 'to an unknown god'; in Ephesus, some burn their books of magic formulae, while other provoke a riot in the name of Artemis.Professor Klauck provides a fascinating account of these phenomena and their significance for Christianity historically and today.Available November 2000.

Author : Origen
Publisher : Library of Alexandria
Page : 889 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 1660-01-01
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9781465530370

Get Book

Origen Against Celsus (Complete) by Origen Pdf

Author : Morton Smith,Shaye J. D. Cohen
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 1996
Category : Architecture
ISBN : 9004104798

Get Book

New Testament, Early Christianity, and Magic by Morton Smith,Shaye J. D. Cohen Pdf

These two volumes collect some of the most influential and important scholarly essays by the late Morton Smith (1915-1991), for many years Professor of Ancient History at Columbia University in New York City. Smith was admired and feared for his extraordinary ability to look at familiar texts in unfamiliar ways, to re-open old questions, to pose new questions, and to demolish received truths. He practiced the "hermeneutics of suspicion" to devastating effect. His answers are not always convincing but his questions cannot be ignored. The essays of Volume I center on the Hebrew Bible ("Old Testament"), Ancient Israel and Ancient Judaism, of Volume II on the Christian Bible ("New Testament"), Early Christianity and Ancient Magic. Volume II also contains an assessment of Smith's scholarly achievement and a complete list of his publications.

Author : Jan N. Bremmer
Publisher : Mohr Siebeck
Page : 526 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2017-07-13
Category : Religion
ISBN : 3161544501

Get Book

Maidens, Magic and Martyrs in Early Christianity by Jan N. Bremmer Pdf

In this work, Jan N. Bremmer aims to bring together the worlds of early Christianity and those of ancient history and classical literature - worlds that still all too rarely interlock. Contextualising the life and literature of the early Christians in their Greco-Roman environment, he focusses on four areas. A first section looks at more general aspects of early Christianity: the name of the Christians, their religious and social capital, prophecy and the place of widows and upper-class women in the Christian movement. Second, the chronology and place of composition of the early apocryphal Acts of the Apostles and Pseudo-Clementines are newly determined by paying close attention to their doctrinal contents, but also, innovatively, to their onomastics and social vocabulary. The author also analyses the frequent use of magic in the Acts and explains the prominence of women by comparing the Acts to the Greek novel. Third, an investigation into the theme of the tours of hell suggests a new chronological order, shows that the Christian tours were indebted to both Greek and Jewish models, and illustrates that in the course of time the genre dropped a large part of its Jewish heritage. The fourth and final section concentrates on the most famous and intriguing report of an ancient martyrdom: the Passion of Perpetua. It pays special attention to the motivation and visions of Perpetua, which are analyzed not by taking recourse to modern theories such as psychoanalysis, but by looking to the world in which Perpetua lived, both Christian and pagan. It is only by seeing the early Christians in their ancient world that we might begin to understand them and their emerging communities. (Publisher's description).

Author : Robert P. Conner
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 484 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2014
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 1906958610

Get Book

Magic in Christianity by Robert P. Conner Pdf

The world of Jesus and the early Christians swarmed with prophets and exorcists, holy men and healers, who invoked angels and demons, gods and ghosts. Magic in Christianity: From Jesus to the Gnostics explores that world through the surviving texts of the first Christians and their pagan and Jewish contemporaries. Ecstatic spirit possession, handing opponents over to Satan, sending demons into swine, striking others dead on the spot by pronouncing curses, using articles of clothing and parts of corpses to perform magical healing and exorcism, invoking ghosts and angels for protection-these are all ancient Christian practices described in the New Testament, explained in detail by early Christian writers, and preserved by Christian amulets. Pagans and Jews accused Jesus and his followers of practicing magic and Christians accused one another of sorcery. Both pagan and early orthodox writers describe the rituals of the Gnostic sects in detail, including the magical passwords required to cross through the gates of the lower heavens. Magic in Christianity: From Jesus to the Gnostics examines evidence from the New Testament, the first Christian apologists, early apocryphal works, curse tablets and amulets to reconstruct the apocalyptic magical world of Jesus and the first Christians.

Author : Marvin W. Meyer
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 430 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 1999-04-04
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0691004587

Get Book

Ancient Christian Magic by Marvin W. Meyer Pdf

This thought-provoking collection of magical texts from ancient Egypt shows the exotic rituals, esoteric healing practices, and incantatory and supernatural dimensions that flowered in early Christianity. These remarkable Christian magical texts include curses, spells of protection from "headless powers" and evil spirits, spells invoking thunderous powers, descriptions of fire baptism, and even recipes from a magical "cookbook." Virtually all the texts are by Coptic Christians, and they date from about the 1st-12th centuries of the common era, with the majority from late antiquity. By placing these rarely seen texts in historical context and discussing their significance, the authors explore the place of healing, prayer, miracles, and magic in the early Christian experience, and expand our understanding of Christianity and Gnosticism as a vital folk religion.

Author : David E. Aune
Publisher : Baker Academic
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2008-06-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0801035945

Get Book

Apocalypticism, Prophecy, and Magic in Early Christianity by David E. Aune Pdf

Renowned scholar David Aune, author of a leading commentary on the book of Revelation, here offers twenty studies on apocalypticism, the book of Revelation, and related topics. Several essays on the Apocalypse of John explore contextual relationships of the Apocalypse to apocalyptic literature. Other essays center on aspects of the content and interpretation of the Apocalypse itself by investigating issues such as discipleship, narrative Christology, genre, and the problem of God and time. Essays on early Christian prophecy deal with charismatic exegesis in early Judaism and early Christianity, the relationship between Christian prophecy and the messianic status of Jesus, and the prophetic features found in The Odes of Solomon. Originally published in hardcover by Mohr Siebeck, this collection is now available in paperback.

Author : Smith, Morton
Publisher : Hampton Roads Publishing
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2014-08-27
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781571747150

Get Book

Jesus the Magician by Smith, Morton Pdf

"A twentieth-century classic, uncannily smart, incredibly learned."--from the foreword by Bart Ehrman This book challenges traditional Christian teaching about Jesus. While his followers may have seen him as a man from heaven, preaching the good news and working miracles, Smith asserts that the truth about Jesus is more interesting and rather unsettling. The real Jesus, only barely glimpsed because of a campaign of disinformation, obfuscation, and censorship by religious authorities, was not Jesus the Son of God. In actuality he was Jesus the Magician. Smith marshals all the available evidence including, but not limited to, the Gospels. He succeeds in describing just what was said of Jesus by "outsiders," those who did not believe him. He deals in fascinating detail with the inevitable questions. What was the nature of magic? What did people at that time mean by the term "magician"? Who were the other magicians, and how did their magic compare with Jesus' works? What facts led to the general assumption that Jesus practiced magic? And, most important, was that assumption correct? The ramifications of Jesus the Magician give new meaning to the word controversial. This book recovers a vision of Jesus that two thousand years of suppression and polemic could not erase. And--what may be the central point of the debate--Jesus the Magician strips away the myths and legends that have obscured Jesus, the man who lived.

Author : S. R. Llewelyn,J. R. Harrison,E. J. Bridge
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2012-11-29
Category : History
ISBN : 9780802845207

Get Book

New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity by S. R. Llewelyn,J. R. Harrison,E. J. Bridge Pdf

"Collecting documentary evidence that appeared in publications between 1988 and 1992, volume 10 reproduces, translates, and reviews a selection of Greek inscriptions and papyri that focus on major social institutions of the time. A comprehensive series of indexes for volumes 6-10 offers a cumulative perspective on many topics."--p. 4 of cover.

Author : Amy Wygant
Publisher : Berghahn Books
Page : 252 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2006-12-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781800734128

Get Book

The Meanings of Magic by Amy Wygant Pdf

The notion of "magic" is a current popular culture phenomenon. Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, the commercial glamour of the footballer and the pop idol surround us with their charisma, enchantment, and charm. But magic also exerts a terrifying political hold upon us: bin Laden's alleged March 28 e-mail message spoke of the attacks on America in form of "crushing its towers, disgracing its arrogance, undoing its magic." The nine scholars included in this volume consider the cultural power of magic, from early Christianity and the ancient Mediterranean to the curious film career of Buffalo Bill, focusing on topics such as Surrealism, France in the classical age, alchemy, and American fundamentalism, ranging from popular to elite magic, from theory to practice, from demonology to exoticism, from the magic of memory to the magic of the stage. As these essays show, magic defines the limit of both science and religion but as such remains indefinable.

Author : Rodney Lawrence Thomas
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 242 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2010-06-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780567226860

Get Book

Magical Motifs in the Book of Revelation by Rodney Lawrence Thomas Pdf

Rodney Thomas considers whether Revelation was written as an 'anti-magical' polemic, and explores the concept and definition of 'magic' from both modern and first-century standpoints.

Author : Everett Ferguson
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Page : 676 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : History
ISBN : 0802822215

Get Book

Backgrounds of Early Christianity by Everett Ferguson Pdf

New to this expanded & updated edition are revisions of Ferguson's original material, updated bibliographies, & a fresh dicussion of first century social life, the Dead Sea Scrolls & much else.

Author : Laura Salah Nasrallah
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 341 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2023-12-31
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781009405768

Get Book

Ancient Christians and the Power of Curses by Laura Salah Nasrallah Pdf

Ancient Christians and their non-Christian contemporaries lived in a world of 'magic.' Sometimes, they used curses as ritual objects to seek justice from gods and other beings; sometimes, they argued against them. Curses, and the writings of those who polemicized against curses, reveal the complexity of ancient Mediterranean religions, in which materiality, poetics, song, incantation, and glossolalia were used as technologies of power. Laura Nasrallah's study reframes the field of religion, the study of the Roman imperial period, and the investigation of the New Testament and ancient Christianity. Her approach eschews disciplinary aesthetics that privilege the literature and archaeological remains of elites, and that defines curses as magical materials, separable from religious ritual. Moreover, Nasrallah's imaginative use of art and 'research creations' of contemporary Black painters, sculptors, and poets offer insights for understanding how ancient ritual materials embedded into art work intervene into the present moment and critique injustice.