Download or read book Subversive Virtue written by James A. Francis and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much attention has been devoted in recent years to Christian asceticism in Late Antiquity. But Christianity did not introduce asceticism to the ancient world. An underlying theme of this fascinating study of pagan asceticism is that much of the work on Christian &"holy men&" has ignored earlier manifestations of asceticism in Antiquity and the way Roman society confronted it. Accordingly, James Francis turns to the second century, the &"balmy late afternoon of Rome's classical empire,&" when the conflict between asceticism and authority reached a turning point. Francis begins with the emperor Marcus Aurelius (121&–180), who warned in his Meditations against &"display[ing] oneself as a man keen to impress others with a reputation for asceticism or beneficence.&" The Stoic Aurelius saw ascetic self-discipline as a virtue, but one to be exercised in moderation. Like other Roman aristocrats of his day, he perceived practitioners of ostentatious physical asceticism as a threat to prevailing norms and the established order. Prophecy, sorcery, miracle working, charismatic leadership, expressions of social discontent, and advocacy of alternative values regarding wealth, property, marriage, and sexuality were the issues provoking the controversy. If Aurelius defined the acceptable limits of ascetical practice, then the poet Lucian depicted the threat ascetics were perceived to pose to the social status quo through his biting satire. In an eye-opening analysis of Philostratus's Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Francis shows how Roman society reined in its deviant ascetics by &"rehabilitating&" them into pillars of traditional values. Celsus's True Doctrine shows how the views pagans held of their own ascetics influenced their negative view of Christianity. Finally, Francis points out striking parallels between the conflict over pagan asceticism and its Christian counterpart. By treating pagan asceticism seriously in its own right, Francis establishes the context necessary for understanding the great flowering of asceticism in Late Antiquity

Download or read book Subversive Virtue written by James A. Francis and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much attention has been devoted in recent years to Christian asceticism in Late Antiquity. But Christianity did not introduce asceticism to the ancient world. An underlying theme of this fascinating study of pagan asceticism is that much of the work on Christian &"holy men&" has ignored earlier manifestations of asceticism in Antiquity and the way Roman society confronted it. Accordingly, James Francis turns to the second century, the &"balmy late afternoon of Rome's classical empire,&" when the conflict between asceticism and authority reached a turning point. Francis begins with the emperor Marcus Aurelius (121&–180), who warned in his Meditations against &"display[ing] oneself as a man keen to impress others with a reputation for asceticism or beneficence.&" The Stoic Aurelius saw ascetic self-discipline as a virtue, but one to be exercised in moderation. Like other Roman aristocrats of his day, he perceived practitioners of ostentatious physical asceticism as a threat to prevailing norms and the established order. Prophecy, sorcery, miracle working, charismatic leadership, expressions of social discontent, and advocacy of alternative values regarding wealth, property, marriage, and sexuality were the issues provoking the controversy. If Aurelius defined the acceptable limits of ascetical practice, then the poet Lucian depicted the threat ascetics were perceived to pose to the social status quo through his biting satire. In an eye-opening analysis of Philostratus's Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Francis shows how Roman society reined in its deviant ascetics by &"rehabilitating&" them into pillars of traditional values. Celsus's True Doctrine shows how the views pagans held of their own ascetics influenced their negative view of Christianity. Finally, Francis points out striking parallels between the conflict over pagan asceticism and its Christian counterpart. By treating pagan asceticism seriously in its own right, Francis establishes the context necessary for understanding the great flowering of asceticism in Late Antiquity

Download or read book Psychoanalysis as a Subversive Phenomenon written by Amber M. Trotter and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-12-03 with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Psychoanalysis as a Subversive Phenomenon: Social Change, Virtue Ethics, and Analytic Theory, Amber M. Trotter examines the radical sociopolitical roots of psychoanalysis and contends that psychoanalytic practices can and should be used to promote social change today. Trotter illustrates how analytic theory and practice could function subversively in contemporary American culture. This book is recommended for students and scholars of psychology, sociology, political science, cultural studies, and philosophy.

Download or read book Asceticism and the New Testament written by Leif E. Vaage and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-09-11 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a complex historical phenomenon, asceticism raises the question about ordinary impulses, the orientation and practices, the power dynamics and politics with transcendental religions. The question of the role of asceticism has often been overlooked in examining the New Testament. This book is both comprehensive and comparative in its representation of how the question of asceticism might reorder the way in which we interpret the New Testament. Looking at the New Testament from an ascetic perspective asks questions about issues including the milieu of Jesus and Paul, and the social practices of self-denial, and considers the Scriptural texts in light of a desire to separate oneself from the world. In interpreting all the books in the New Testament, this collection is the first effort to take seriously the crucial role played by asceticism--and its detractors--in the formation of the New Testament.

Download or read book A Subversive Gospel written by Michael Mears Bruner and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2017-10-24 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conference on Christianity and Literature (CCL) Book of the Year - Literary Criticism The good news of Jesus Christ is a subversive gospel, and following Jesus is a subversive act. These notions were embodied in the literary work of American author Flannery O'Connor, whose writing was deeply informed by both her Southern context and her Christian faith. In this Studies in Theology and the Arts volume, theologian Michael Bruner explores O'Connor's theological aesthetic and argues that she reveals what discipleship to Christ entails by subverting the traditional understandings of beauty, truth, and goodness through her fiction. In addition, Bruner challenges recent scholarship by exploring the little-known influence of Baron Friedrich von Hügel, a twentieth-century Roman Catholic theologian, on her work. Bruner's study thus serves as a guide for those who enjoy reading O'Connor and—even more so—those who, like O'Connor herself, follow the subversive path of the crucified and risen one. The Studies in Theology and the Arts series encourages Christians to thoughtfully engage with the relationship between their faith and artistic expression, with contributions from both theologians and artists on a range of artistic media including visual art, music, poetry, literature, film, and more.

Download or read book The Making of the Self written by Richard Valantasis and published by James Clarke & Company. This book was released on 2008-09-28 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading scholar of ascetical studies, Richard Valantasis explores a variety of ascetical traditions ranging from the Greco-Roman philosophy of Musonius Rufus, the asceticism found in the Nag Hammadi Library and in certain Gnostic texts, the Gospelof Thomas, and other early Christian texts. This collection gathers historical and theoretical essays develop a theory of asceticism that informs the analysis of historical texts and opens the way for postmodern ascetical studies. Wide-ranging in historical scope and in developing theory, these essays address asceticism for scholar and student alike. The theory will be of particular interest to those interested in cultural theory and analysis, while the historical essays provide the researcher with easy access to a significant corpus of academic writing on asceticism.

Download or read book Unmanly Men written by Brittany E. Wilson and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines key male characters in Luke-Acts with respect to constructions of gender and masculinity in the Greco-Roman world. Of all Luke's male characters, four in particular problematise elite masculine norms: Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist), the Ethiopian eunuch, Paul, and, above all, Jesus. These men do not conform to the strictures of elite masculinity, for they do not protect their bodily boundaries nor do they embody corporeal control.

Download or read book A Most Reliable Witness written by Susan Ashbrook Harvey and published by SBL Press. This book was released on 2015-10-30 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrate a trailblazer in the areas of women and re Celebrate a trailblazer in the areas of women and religion, Jews and Judaism, and earliest Christianity in the ancient Mediterranean Ross Kraemer is Professor Emerita in the Department of Religious Studies at Brown University. This volume of essays, conceived and produced by students, colleagues, and friends bears witness to the breadth of her own scholarly interests. Contributors include Theodore A. Bergren, Debra Bucher, Lynn Cohick, Mary Rose D’Angelo, Nathaniel P. DesRosiers, Robert Doran, Jennifer Eyl, Paula Fredriksen, John G. Gager, Maxine Grossman, Kim Haines-Eitzen, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Jordan Kraemer, Robert A. Kraft, Shira L. Lander, Amy-Jill Levine, Susan Marks, E. Ann Matter, Renee Levine Melammed, Susan Niditch, Elaine Pagels, Adele Reinhartz, Jordan Rosenblum, Sarah Schwarz, Karen B. Stern, Stanley K. Stowers, Daniel Ullucci, Arthur Urbano, Heidi Wendt, and Benjamin G. Wright. Features: Articles that examine both ancient and modern texts in cross-cultural and trans-historical perspective Twenty-eight original essays on ancient Judaism, Christianity, and women in the Greco-Roman world

Download or read book Morrissey written by Gavin Hopps and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2009-06-26 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the career of the British pop star from his days as the lead singer of The Smiths through his successful solo career, and explores the complex attitudes and perspectives expressed in his lyrics.

Download or read book Hope in the Age of Climate Change written by Chris Doran and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2017-04-27 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is difficult to be hopeful in the midst of daily news about the effects of climate change on people and our planet. While the Christian basis for hope is the resurrection of Jesus, unfortunately far too many American Protestant Christians do not connect this belief with the daily witness of their faith. This book argues that the resurrection proclaims a notion of hope that should be the foundation of a theology of creation care that manifests itself explicitly in the daily lives of believers. Christian hope not only inspires us to do great and courageous things but also serves as a critique of current systems and powers that degrade humans, nonhumans, and the rest of creation and thus cause us to be hopeless. Belief in the resurrection hope should cause us to be a different sort of people. Christians should think, purchase, eat, and act in novel and courageous ways because they are motivated daily by the resurrection of Jesus. This is the only way to be hopeful in the age of climate change.

Download or read book Wise Up written by Alyce M. McKenzie and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2018-05-22 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wise Up! invites the reader to step up to the divine customer service desk and exchange self-sufficiency, self-absorption, self-indulgence, and self-protection for the four virtues of biblical wisdom: the fear of the Lord (faith), the listening heart (compassion), the cool spirit (self-discipline), and the subversive voice (moral courage). An invaluable resource for personal devotion, small group study, and sermon series, Wise Up! is a spiritual manual for navigating the twists and turns of an unpredictable life. The author mines the riches of the Bible's wisdom literature from Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and the short sayings of the synoptic Jesus. The result is four guiding virtues that can keep our feet from stumbling on the journey to wisdom through the thorniest of paths. McKenzie, the author of several popular books for both clergy and laity, places her profound knowledge of biblical wisdom in conversation with the absurdities, pains, and joys of our everyday lives. She invites wisdom down from the pedestal to accompany the reader on his or her daily rounds. Reading this book, at the same time, soothes the soul and troubles the conscience. It deepens faith, fires compassion, cools destructive desires, and nudges the sleeping conscience awake.

Download or read book The Other Within written by Daniel Deardorff and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-11-08 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reveals myth and “otherness” as keys to restoring self, nature, and society • Shows how myths contain medicine to restore wholeness amidst trauma, exile, sudden life change, disability, illness, death, or grief • Synthesizes lessons from shamanic practice, quantum physics, alchemy, soul poetry, wildness, social justice, and the author’s lived experience • Discloses the blessings of outsiderhood and the gifts and insights gained and contributed to culture by those who are marginalized and outcast There is an “other” that lives within each of us, an exiled part that carries wisdom needed for ourselves and the culture at large. Having survived disabling polio as an infant, Daniel Deardorff knows the oppressions of exclusion and outsiderhood. He guides readers on an initiatory journey through ancient myth, literature, and personal revelation to discover our own true identity. These 10,000-year-old stories contain sacred medicine with insights that release imagination and restore wholeness amid trauma, exile, climate chaos, disability, illness, death, and grief. Illustrating how archetypal figures of the Other--the Trickster, Daimon, Not-I, etc.--hold paradox, Deardorff teaches us to reframe disparities of self/other, civilization/ wilderness, form/deformity and transform the experience of being outcast. Synthesizing lessons from shamanic practice, quantum physics, alchemy, social justice, and his own lived experience, Deardorff affirms the disruptive and transgressive forces that break through dogma, conventionality, and prejudice. He discloses blessings of outsiderhood and gifts to culture by those who are marginalized. Through mythmaking (mythopoesis), the experience of Otherness--cultural, racial, religious, sexual, physiognomic--becomes one of empowerment, a catalyst for human liberation.

Download or read book Christians Gnostics and Philosophers in Late Antiquity written by Mark Edwards and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gnosticism, Christianity and late antique philosophy are often studied separately; when studied together they are too often conflated. These articles set out to show that we misunderstand all three phenomena if we take either approach. We cannot interpret, or even identify, Christian Gnosticism without Platonic evidence; we may even discover that Gnosticism throws unexpected light on the Platonic imagination. At the same time, if we read writers like Origen simply as Christian Platonists, or bring Christians and philosophers together under the porous umbrella of "monotheism", we ignore fundamental features of both traditions. To grasp what made Christianity distinctive, we must look at the questions asked in the studies here, not merely what Christians appropriated but how it was appropriated. What did the pagan gods mean to a Christian poet of the fifth century? What did Paul quote when he thought he was quoting Greek poetry? What did Socrates mean to the Christians, and can we trust their memories when they appeal to lost fragments of the Presocratics? When pagans accuse the Christians of moral turpitude, do they know more or less about them than we do? What divides Augustine, the disenchanted Platonist, from his Neoplatonic contemporaries? And what God or gods await the Neoplatonist when he dies?

Download or read book Jerusalem and the Early Jesus Movement written by Kyu Sam Han and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2002-04-30 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book deals with the place of the source document Q and its compilers within late Second Temple Judaism, with special attention to Q's relationship to the Herodian Temple. The investigation of this perspective is fraught with problems because the passages that are associated with the Temple in Q do not speak with the same voice, raising the question of how to reconcile the seemingly positive view with the rather more hostile views. Using a comparative approach, Han analyses the essential differences in the two types of positions, and concludes that the negative attitude is original, while the positive position is due to a later redaction after the First Revolt and the destruction of the Temple.

Download or read book Policing the Roman Empire written by Christopher J. Fuhrmann and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2012-01-12 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on a wide variety of source material from art archaeology, administrative documents, Egyptian papyri, laws Jewish and Christian religious texts and ancient narratives this book provides a comprehensive overview of Roman imperial policing practices.

Download or read book Romanising Oriental Gods written by Jaime Alvar Ezquerra and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2008 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The traditional grand narrative correlating the decline of Graeco-Roman religion with the rise of Christianity has been under pressure for three decades. This book argues that the alternative accounts now emerging significantly underestimate the role of three major cults, of Cybele and Attis, Isis and Serapis, and Mithras. Although their differences are plain, these cults present sufficient common features to justify their being taken typologically as a group. All were selective adaptations of much older cults of the Fertile Crescent. It was their relative sophistication, their combination of the imaginative power of unfamiliar myth with distinctive ritual performance and ethical seriousness, that enabled them both to focus and to articulate a sense of the autonomy of religion from the socio-political order, a sense they shared with Early Christianity. The notion of 'mystery' was central to their ability to navigate the Weberian shift from ritualist to ethical salvation.

Download or read book Seneca in Performance written by George W.M. Harrison and published by Classical Press of Wales. This book was released on 2000-12-31 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The plays of Seneca the Younger, minister and philosopher under Nero, are today increasingly studied, appreciated and performed. Here, in twelve new papers from a distinguished international cast, scholars explore established questions, such as whether the plays were written for the stage, and newer topics such as the playwright's subtleties of characterisation, his relation to contemporary Roman spectacle and art - and the problems arising in translating him to modern text or stage.