Download or read book The Dionysiac Mysteries of the Hellenistic and Roman Age written by Martin Persson Nilsson and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age written by Antonia Tripolitis and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2002 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This insightful read traces the development of the principal Western religions and their philosophical counterparts from the beginnings of Alexander the Great's empire in 331 B.C.E. to the emergence of the Christian world in the fourth century C.E.
Download or read book The Ancient Mysteries written by Marvin W. Meyer and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 1999-05-07 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zeus and the other gods of shining Olympus were in reality divine only by popular consent. Over the course of time Olympian luster diminished in favor of religious experiences more immediate to the concerns of people living in an increasingly cosmopolitan ancient world. These experiences were provided by the mysteries, religions that flourished particularly during the Hellenistic period and were secretly practiced by groups of adherents who decided, through personal choice, to be initiated into the profound realities of one deity or another. Unlike the official state religions, in which people were expected to make an outward show of allegiance to the local gods, the mysteries emphasized an inwardness and privacy of worship within a closed band of initiates. In this book, Marvin W. Meyer explores the sacrifices and prayers, the public celebrations and secret ceremonies, the theatrical performances and literary works, the gods and goddesses that were a part of the mystery religions of Greece in the seventh century B.C. to the Judaism and Christianity of the Roman world of the seventh century A.D.
Download or read book Introduction to the New Testament written by Helmut Koester and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 1995 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Backgrounds of Early Christianity written by Everett Ferguson and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2003-08-19 with total page 676 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Having long served as a standard introduction to the world of the early church, Everett Ferguson's Backgrounds of Early Christianity has been expanded and updated in this third edition. The book explores and unpacks the Roman, Greek, and Jewish political, social, religious, and philosophical backgrounds necessary for a good historical understanding of the New Testament and the early church. New to this edition are revisions of Ferguson's original material, updated bibliographies, and fresh discussions of first-century social life, of Gnosticism, and of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Jewish literature.
Download or read book History Culture and Religion of the Hellenistic Age written by Helmut Koester and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2012-10-25 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the first American edition of this book, published more than a decade ago, was a revised translation of the German book, Einführung in das Neue Testament, this second edition of the first volume of the Introduction to the New Testament is no longer dependent upon a previously published German work. The author hopes that for the student of the New Testament it is a useful introduction into the many complex aspects of the political, cultural, and religious developments that characterized the world in which early Christianity arose and by which the New Testament and other early Christian writings were shaped.
Download or read book The Other God written by Juri P. Stojanov and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2000-08-11 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating book explores the evolution of religious dualism, the doctrine that man and cosmos are constant battlegrounds between forces of good and evil. It traces this evolution from late Egyptian religion and the revelations of Zoroaster and the Orphics in antiquity through the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Mithraic Mysteries, and the great Gnostic teachers to its revival in medieval Europe with the suppression of the Bogomils and the Cathars, heirs to the age-long teachings of dualism. Integrating political, cultural, and religious history, Yuri Stoyanov illuminates the dualist religious systems, recreating in vivid detail the diverse worlds of their striking ideas and beliefs, their convoluted mythologies and symbolism. Reviews of an earlier edition: "A book of prime importance for anyone interested in the history of religious dualism. The author's knowledge of relevant original sources is remarkable; and he has distilled them into a convincing and very readable whole."--Sir Steven Runciman "The most fascinating historical detective story since Steven Runciman's Sicilian Vespers."--Colin Wilson "A splendid account of the decline of the dualist tradition in the East . . . both strong and accessible. . . . The most readable account of Balkan heresy ever."--Jeffrey B. Russell, Journal of Religion "Well-written, fact-filled, and fascinating . . . has in it the making of a classic." --Harry T. Norris, Bulletin of SOAS
Download or read book Pauline Baptism among the Mysteries written by Donghyun Jeong and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2023-07-03 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph provides an alternative model for looking at the old question about Paul and the mysteries in a new light. Specifically, this study compares rituals—baptism in the Pauline communities and the initiation rituals of the mysteries—through the lens of cultural anthropology and the sociology of religion. Three research questions lead the project: What benefits does each initiation ritual promise its participants? What are the underlying messages or structures that guarantee the efficacy of those rituals? How and to what extent is the initiation ritual connected to the participants’ cognition and ethics beyond initiation itself? Taking those questions as the analytical framework, this study substantiates two points: first, in terms of ritual messages, baptism in the Pauline communities is a ritual analogous to mystery initiation, and second, Paul is an innovative interpreter of ritual who recalibrates the messages of preexisting rituals for his theological and ethical program, seeking to radically extend the implications of initiation to the embodied life of every Christ-believer. Students and scholars of New Testament, early Christianity, classics, and ritual studies will benefit from engaging this volume.
Download or read book Painter and Poet in Ancient Greece written by Eva C. Keuls and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2011-05-02 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The volumes published in the series "Beiträge zur Altertumskunde" comprise monographs, collective volumes, editions, translations and commentaries on various topics from the fields of Greek and Latin Philology, Ancient History, Archeology, Ancient Philosophy as well as Classical Reception Studies. The series thus offers indispensable research tools for a wide range of disciplines related to Ancient Studies.
Download or read book Christening Pagan Mysteries written by Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 1981-12-15 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book devoted to investigating the scholarly commonplace that Erasmus’ revival of classical learning defines his evangelical humanism. It acknowledges that it was a feat for him to challenge the obscurantism of late medieval schooling by restoring classical studies. It recognizes that his editions of Greek and Latin authors alone fix his place in the history of scholarship. But the plainest questions about this achievement may still be asked, and the most popular texts freshly interpreted. Was his work only the expression in the ‘idiom of the Renaissance’ or a perennial Christian humanism? Or did he advance on it theoretically as well as practically? Did Erasmus contribute conceptually to the interrogation of pagan wisdom with the Christian economy? Christening Pagan Mysteries proposes that he did. Although doctrinal issues involved, this inquiry is not systematically theological. Erasmus wrote no treatise on the subject that might be so explored. A rhetorical approach, complementary to his own method, discloses his evangelical humanism through the analysis of three significant texts. The seminal dialogue Antibarbari provides the conceptual key in one of the most important humanist declarations in the history of Christian thought to the Renaissance. The Christocentric conviction it voices is then discerned through new interpretations of two other texts which christen pagan mysteries in original and important ways: the Moria and the final colloquy, ‘Epicureus,’ in which a pagan goddess and a pagan philosopher are gathered to Christ.
Download or read book Powers of Darkness written by Clinton E. Arnold and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2009-09-20 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Satan worship. Witches. New Age channelers. The last two decades have witnessed a vast upsurge in occult activity. Scores of popular books have warned Christians of the dangers and urged them to do battle against these spiritual forces. Few books, however, have developed a careful biblical theology on demons, principalities and powers. Clinton Arnold seeks to fill this gap, providing an in-depth look at Paul's letters and what they teach on the subject. For perspective, he examines first-century Greek, Roman and Jewish beliefs as well as Jesus' teaching about magic, sorcery and divination. Arguing against many recent interpretations that have seen principalities and powers as impersonal social, economic and political structures, Arnold contends that the New Testament view is that such forces are organized, personal beings which Jesus defeated at the cross and will bring into full subjection at his return. In his concluding section Arnold suggests practical ways in which Christians today can contend with the forces of evil. A thoughtful, biblical look at an urgent challenge facing the church.
Download or read book Dionysus and Rome written by Fiachra Mac Góráin and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2019-12-16 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While most work on Dionysus is based on Greek sources, this collection of essays examines the god’s Roman and Italian manifestations. Nine contributions address Bacchus’ appearance at the crossroads of Greek and Roman cultures, tracing continuities and differences between literary and archaeological sources for the god. The essays offer coverage of Dionysus in Roman art, Italian epigraphy; Latin poetry including epic, drama and elegy; and prose, including historiography, rhetorical and Christian discourse. The introduction offers an overview of the presence of Dionysus in Italy from the archaic to the imperial periods, identifying the main scholarly trends, with treatment of key Dionysian episodes in Roman history and literature. Individual chapters address the reception of Euripides’ Bacchae across Greek and Roman literature from Athens to Byzantium; Dionysus in Roman art of the archaic and Augustan periods; the god’s relationship with Fufluns and Liber in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE; Dionysian associations; Bacchus in Cicero; Ovid’s Tristia 5.3; Bacchus in the writings of Christian Latin writers. The collection sheds light on a relatively understudied aspect of Dionysus, and will stimulate further research in this area.
Download or read book Sarapis Under the Early Ptolemies written by John E. Stambaugh and published by Brill Archive. This book was released on 1972-12-01 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Religious Context of Early Christianity written by Hans-Josef Klauck and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2003-05-01 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a uniquely well-informed and comprehensive guide to the world of religion in the Graeco-Roman environment of early Christianity. Drawing on the most up-to-date scholarship, the volume paints a carefully nuanced portrait of the Christians' religious context. Besides describing ordinary domestic and civic religion and popular belief (including astrology, divination and 'magic'), there is extended discussion of mystery cults, ruler and emperor cults, the religious dimensions of philosophy, and Gnosticism. A valuable textbook for advanced students, as well as an authoritative reference work for scholars.
Download or read book The Letters of Paul Sixth Edition written by Calvin J. Roetzel and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2015-10-01 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the sixth edition of the classic textbook that has been introducing Paul and his writing to seminary and undergraduate students for over forty years. Roetzel provides a comprehensive look at Paul in light of recent scholarship and theological understandings of Paul. This new edition includes four brand-new sections on the following: the chronology of Paul's letters; Paul's concept of "law" in the context of messianic expectation; the religious and political contexts in which Paul's letters were written; and Jewish understandings of Gentiles and Paul's mission to include them among the elect of God. This long-established textbook is the ideal choice for any student of Paul.
Download or read book The Letters of Paul written by Calvin J. Roetzel and published by Presbyterian Publishing Corp. This book was released on 2015-01-01 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the sixth edition of the classic textbook that has been introducing Paul and his writing to seminary and undergraduate students for over forty years. Roetzel provides a comprehensive look at Paul in light of recent scholarship and theological understandings of Paul. This new edition includes an additional chapter on the place of the Gentiles and the Law in the Judaisms of Paul's day, an updated bibliography for further study, and additional changes that note the ongoing study of Paul with a broadened context. This long-established textbook is the ideal choice for any student of Paul.
Download or read book Dictionary of New Testament Background written by CRAIG A EVANS and published by Inter-Varsity Press. This book was released on 2020-05-21 with total page 2089 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 'Dictionary of New Testament Background' joins the 'Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels', the 'Dictionary of Paul and his Letters' and the 'Dictionary of the Later New Testament and its Developments' as the fourth in a landmark series of reference works on the Bible. In a time when our knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean world has grown, this volume sets out for readers the wealth of Jewish and Greco-Roman background that should inform our reading and understanding of the New Testament and early Christianity. 'The Dictionary of New Testament Background', takes full advantage of the flourishing study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and offers individual articles focused on the most important scrolls. In addition, the Dictionary encompasses the fullness of second-temple Jewish writings, whether pseudepigraphic, rabbinic, parables, proverbs, histories or inscriptions. Articles abound on aspects of Jewish life and thought, including family, purity, liturgy and messianism. The full scope of Greco-Roman culture is displayed in articles ranging across language and rhetoric, literacy and book benefactors, travel and trade, intellectual movements and ideas, and ancient geographical perspectives. No other reference work presents so much in one place for students of the New Testament. Here an entire library of scholarship is made available in summary form. The Dictionary of New Testament Background can stand alone, or work in concert with one or more of its companion volumes in the series. Written by acknowledged experts in their fields, this wealth of knowledge of the New Testament era is carefully aimed at the needs of contemporary students of the New Testament. In addition, its full bibliographies and cross-references to other volumes in the series will make it the first book to reach for in any investigation of the New Testament in its ancient setting.
