The Emergence of Christianity: Collected Studies III

Description

In this volume, biblical scholar and theologian François Bovon provides nineteen essays on topics of interest in the New Testament and early Christianity. Examining textual and iconographic witnesses ranging from the earliest Christian writings to a Byzantine icon from Cyprus, Bovon addresses critical issues in New Testament studies including early Christologies, notions of immortality and resurrection, ancient reception of Christian scripture, orthodoxy and heresy, manuscripts in the digital era, and others. Four of the essays appear for the first time in an English translation in this volume - two of which include the original Greek and critical apparatuses for two fragments of ancient apocryphal works. Bovon's careful treatment of the topics at hand makes this volume a reliable guide for scholars and students who wish to deepen their understanding of early Christianity. Cover Preface Table of Contents List of Abbreviations 1. The Emergence of Christianity I. Before the Christian Faith: Jesus II. Before the Church: The Christian Faith III. Before Christianity: The Church IV. Gospel and Culture V. Jerusalem and Rome Conclusion Bibliography 2. The First Christologies: Exaltation and Incarnation, or From Easter to Christmas Introduction I. The Paschal Christology of the Twelve at Jerusalem II. The Christology of the Incarnation according to the Seven and the Hellenists Conclusion 3. Response to Redescribing Christian Origins I. General Remarks II. Structure and Content Conclusion 4. The Gospel According to John: Access to God at the Obscure Origins of Christianity I. At the Origin of the Johannine Community II. The Genesis of John’s Gospel III. The Essential Message of John’s Gospel 5. Jesus Christ in the Apostle Paul’s Epistles “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain” (Phil 1:21) “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again …” (1 Thess 4:14) “For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4) “Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption …” (1 Cor 1:30) 6. A Chapter of Johannine Theology: Revelation I. Confession of Faith Both Old and New II. From Book to Person III. The Revealing IV. The Human Welcome V. A Modest and Ambitious Project VI. A Misunderstood God VII. Revelation as Salvation VIII. The Language of the Revelation IX. The State of the World X. The Decisive Present Conclusion 7. Rethinking Orthodoxy and Heresy I. Nineteenth‑ and Twentieth-Century Perspectives II. Orthodoxy and Heresy: A Question of Definition III. Scholarly and Theological Agreement IV. Orthodoxy in the Plural V. The Overlap of Orthodoxies and a New Definition of Heresy Bibliography Ancient Texts (according to chronology) Modern Studies Suggested Readings 8. The First Christians and the Signs from Heaven I. The Aramaic Church of Jerusalem II. The Church of the Hellenists at Antioch III. In Galilee, the Christians Who Drew Inspiration from the Source of the Logia IV. Paul and the Pauline Churches V. The Johannine Community VI. The Community of Jesus’ Family VII. A Community in Eastern Syria VIII. Other Christian Communities of the 1st and 2nd centuries Bibliography 9. The Soul’s Comeback: Immortality and Resurrection in Early Christianity Introduction I. Late Antiquity Eustratios Augustine Jerome Gregory of Nyssa II. Third and Second Centuries Origen Tertullian Irenaeus Other Second-Century Christian Authors III. John’s Gospel, Paul, and Jesus The Gospel of John Paul Jesus IV. Spiritual Experience Today Conclusion 10. The Reception of the Book of Acts in Late Antiquity Introduction I. The Second Century C. E. II. The Third Century III. The Fourth and Fifth Centuries IV. The Sixth Century 11. Beyond the Canonical and the Apocryphal Books, the Presence of a Third Category: The Books Useful for the Soul Introduction I. Revealing Prefaces II. Examples of Books in the Third Category III. Characteristics of the Third Category IV. Theological Perspective 12. At the beginning of the Clementine Homilies: The Letter of Peter to James Introduction Analysis of the text Conclusion 13. Regarding Manuscripts and the Digital Era Introduction Visiting the Libraries Who Reads Manuscripts? What Do We Read? From Reading to Writing The Digital Era From Manuscript to Theological Interpretation Conclusion 14. The Prayer and Apocalypse of Paul in an Unedited Greek Fragment Kept at Sinai. Introduction, text, translation, and notes Introduction Text and Translation Text Critical Apparatus Translation Notes 15. An Unedited Greek Fragment of the Acts of Peter? Introduction I. The Manuscript Angelicus graecus 108 II. The Extract from the Acts of Peter III. Linguistic Aspects Phonetics Accentuation Nominal Morphology Verbal Morphology Syntax Vocabulary IV. The Search for Parallels V. A Few Problems Problem One: The Number of Sins Problem Two: The Devil Dressed as the Angel of Light Problem Three: The Circle Drawn by Peter Problem Four: The Sign of the Cross VI. Edition of the Text Critical Apparatus Extract from the Acts of the Holy Apostle Peter Notes Relevant Bibliography for the Manuscript 16. From Vermont to Cyprus: A New Witness of the Acts of Philip Introduction Greek Texts on the Apostle Philip A Byzantine Icon of the Apostle Philip I. Description The Images The Inscriptions II. Interpretation The Presence of the Animals The Absence of Nicanora The Presence of Mariamne The Selection of Episodes Conclusion Post Scriptum 17. Pierre Bonnard (1911–2003) Works Studies 18. Jacques Dupont (1915–1998) I. Life II. Work Works Studies 19. The Woman at the Window: A Study in Intertextuality Between Aeschylus and the Book of Judges Publication Credits Index of Ancient Authors I. Manuscripts II. Greek, Latin and other Ancient Literature III. Hebrew Bible (Tanakh, Old Testament) IV. Deuterocanonical and Pseudepigraphical Literature V. Qumran Literature VI. Rabbinic Literature VII. New Testament VIII. Christian Apocrypha with Nag Hammadi, Hagiography, and Related Literature IX. Patristic, Byzantine, and Medieval Literature Index of Modern Authors Index of Subjects