Clare K. Rothschild Livres

Although the view that Luke-Acts represents early Roman period historiography is widespread, still many scholars express dissent. Resulting from rather narrow understandings of ancient historiography, skeptics favor 'theological' as over and against 'historical' approaches, drawing too sharp a contrast between the two. Though this contrast has been fruitful within Lukan studies, pointing to various apologetic purposes of the works, it tends to overlook that theology is an integral aspect of the composition of all historical works. Clare K. Rothschild aims to shift the focus from revealing and defending theological motifs in Luke-Acts to attention to distinct historiographical methods and interests. She proposes that some of the compositional elements separated by past scholarship as characteristics of Lukan theology - in particular patterns of recurrence, prediction, use of the expression 'dei', and hyperbole - are, first and foremost, elements of rhetorical historiography with counterparts in other Hellenistic and early Roman period histories. As the rhetorical techniques of these historians, they directly support prologue claims to accuracy and truth, not undermining generic understandings of the works as historiography in favor of theological readings, but supporting this designation. While they may have implications for understanding an author's theology, their primary purpose is revealed by their function as tools of the craft of history.

The book delves into the prominence and favorable depiction of John the Baptist within current models of Q. Through a detailed hermeneutical analysis of the New Testament Gospels, it explores literary elements like the dual attribution of sayings and contradictions among Jesus' sayings. The study highlights thematic connections between Baptist traditions and Q sayings on key topics such as the Son of Man and the Kingdom of God, positing that Q originally served as a source for Baptist traditions. Additionally, it offers a fresh interpretation of the Markan transfiguration narrative.

Focusing on the Muratorian Fragment, this volume provides a critical edition and new English translation while exploring its authorship, date, and sources. Clare K. Rothschild delves into the text's language, composition, and genre, referencing a wide array of scholarly insights from the past and present. The work also examines the Fragment's role within the eighth-century Muratorian Codex and includes a detailed philological commentary that highlights its literary, philosophical, and religious dimensions, appealing to scholars of early Christian literature and canon formation.

This volume comprises fifteen new essays on the Apostolic Fathers with a focus on the letters of Clement. An introductory essay investigates the role of seventeenth-century librarians in the origination of the collection's title. Five essays concern 1 Clement, exploring its relationship to 1 Corinthians, its generic classification, the discussion of „Christian education“ (1 Clem. 21:8), the golden calf tradition, and the well-known legend of the regeneration of the phoenix. Three essays treat aspects of 2 Clement, including problems with recent translations of chapter 1, the motif of the barren woman in chapter 2, and the analogy of faith as a race in chapter 7. One study probes the Quintus incident in Martyrdom of Polycarp 4 as emblematic of the literary and cultural conventions of second-century sophism. Another study considers protection against exploitation of Christian generosity by visitors in Didache 12. Another contribution investigates the precise nature of allegory in the Epistle of Barnabas. A short piece on the Epistle of Diognetus argues that the ancient moral-philosophical topos of the invisible God is at work in this text; and, a final essay explores the popular second-century medical theory behind Hermas's presentation of ὀξυχολία („irascibility“) in Mand. 5.1.3 (33.3). The volume ranges widely within and beyond early Christian literature - from the streets of ancient Achaean and Asian πόλεις to the early modern libraries of Europe.

This collection of essays is partly the product of a symposium that took place at Humboldt University, Berlin in July 2010. It was supplemented by other articles which contributed further relevant aspects to the overall topic. The aim of the conference was to explore the longstanding conundrum of the rapid rise and growth of Christianity in the first three centuries CE. This well-studied question finds a special home in the city of Berlin where, at the beginning of the last century, Adolf von Harnack, Professor at Friedrich Wilhelms University (today Humboldt University) Berlin carried out what was arguably its most famous treatment. According to Harnack, early Christian history began in the missionary activity of contemporary Judaism. The movement spread as the result of a combination of deliberate syncretism with a measure of simplicity in the cultural and political unity of the Roman Empire. Over the past thirty years, scholars such as Ramsey MacMullen and Rodney Stark have questioned some of Harnack's conclusions. Arising from outside of the field of New Testament Studies (Ancient History and Sociology of Religion, respectively), both MacMullen's and Stark's approach remained at some distance from specialist understandings of, for example, complex theological and rhetorical aspects of early Christian texts. Therefore, in the wake of these important studies, a variety of new strategies have emerged taking these and other vital concerns into account. The essays in this volume represent these assorted approaches. Methodological rigor is the only unambiguous theme running throughout this otherwise diverse collection. The essays are collected under two broad sub-headings: Cultural Milieu and Texts. Topics treated include Paul, Jesus and the Gospels, other New Testament texts, the Apocryphal Acts, and the expansion of Christianity in the second and third centuries.

Early Christian texts are replete with the language of body and self. Clearly, such concepts were important to their authors and audiences. Yet usage rarely makes sense across texts. Despite attempts to establish a single biblical or Christian vision of either body or self across texts, the evidence demonstrates plurality of opinion; and, reception history multiplies interpretations. Depending upon the particular anthropological-philosophical paradigm of the interpreter (e. g., Platonic, Cartesian), Christian texts reflect a number of views about the body and self. Today, scholarship on these concepts advances in many different directions. In addition to sophisticated new methods of drawing history-of-religions comparisons, scholars place early Christian texts in conversation with philosophy, psychology, political science, and developments in the hard sciences — in particular the neurosciences, sometimes all but doing away with the notion of self. Recent studies and monographs focus on the disabled body, the gendered body, the slave body, the martyr's body, relevance of ancient scientific and medical treatises for understanding the body, the asexual body/self, embodied knowledge, the suffering self, and religion and the self. The essays in this volume individually and collectively participate in these ongoing discussions. They do not proceed with a uniform notion of either self or body, but recognize competition on the topics, ably captured by the variety of approaches to their meaning in antiquity and today, and offer nuanced analyses of texts and passages, highlighting individual perceptions of these crucial yet enigmatic concepts.

In 2005, a French doctoral student uncovered the long-lost treatise, De indolentia, in a monastic library in Thessalonica. This letter from Galen recounts his response to a fire that ravaged much of his library and medicines in 192 CE. Catalogued as codex 14 in the Vlatadon monastery, the manuscript is invaluable to scholars of antiquity, with Vivian Nutton calling it "one of the most spectacular finds ever of ancient literature." The scholarly consensus dates its composition to 192-193 CE, classifying it within Galen's moral philosophy writings. De indolentia sheds light on second-century literary culture, showcasing Galen's skill in distinguishing authentic from false texts, engaging in lexical debates with other physicians, and his extensive scholarly output. It also provides insights into ancient library culture. Often overlooked in studies of Early Christian literature, Galen's works, particularly on moral philosophy, address similar themes. Notably, De indolentia discusses the second-century use of parchment codices for text preservation, maintains certain epistolary conventions, and reflects a 'hermeneutics of self-interpretation' vital for understanding the text. This volume features a new English translation, a collation of discrepancies among critical editions of the Greek text, and essays by prominent Classicists and early Christianity scholars exploring various aspects of this intriguing text.