Discovering the Characteristics of Collegia—Collegia Sodalicia and Collegia Tenuiorum in 1 Corinthians 8, 10 and 15

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oh-Young Kwon
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The Dead

AbstractIn 1 Corinthians 8, 10 and 15 Paul appears to argue against some of the Corinthian Christians who would have regarded their Christian community as analogous to a sort of voluntary collegia in the first century Greco-Roman world. Some characteristics of the collegia are exhibited in these chapters. Especially 8:1-13 and 10:1-22 contains the characteristics of collegia sodalicia, while 15:29 comprises those of collegia tenuiorum. This finding provides an alternative to the current scholarly interpretation of the Pauline description of the Corinthians’ eating food sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8:1-13 and 10:1-22) and of their engagement in baptism for (or on behalf of) the dead (1 Cor 15:29).

New Testament

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wheeler-Reed
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Sexual Intercourse ◽  
New Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Pastoral Epistles ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Thessalonians 1 ◽  
The New Testament

This chapter maintains that two ideologies concerning marriage and sex pervade the New Testament writings. One ideology codifies a narrative that argues against marriage, and perhaps, sexual intercourse, and the other retains the basic cultural values of the upper classes of the Greco-Roman world. These two ideologies are termed “profamily” and “antifamily.” The chapter proceeds in a chronological fashion starting with 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, and Mark. It concludes by examining Matthew, Luke, the Pastoral Epistles, and the Acts of Paul and Thecla.

Theories and Facts: the Early Gothic Migrations

1982 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Burns
Keyword(s):  
Roman History ◽  
First Century ◽  
Contact Zones ◽  
Narrow Channels ◽  
The Past ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Frontiers ◽  
The Impact

The most salient fact about the Gothic migrations is that they forcefully underscore how old theories never die. They linger to play upon the intellect for generations until they seem to constitute facts themselves. The study of the migrations tempts the unwary with marvelous sagas and apparently straightforward accounts of trusted ancient authors. Even if we follow Odysseus' lead, and with our ears carefully plugged with scientific beeswax, rivet our eyes to the narrow channels of fact, the old theories still beckon; after all, Roman history is in part a series of thrusts and counterthrusts along the northern peripheries of the Greco-Roman world, in need of explanation then as now. The origins of the migrants and invaders of the Roman frontiers was a question appropriate to Tacitus in the late first century A.D. and to countless others across the centuries. All too often the questioners were far removed from the contact zones and looked down upon a simple battlefield of “we and they.” Such self-proclaimed Valkyries chose sides for their own reasons, usually preconditioned and often totally unrelated to the struggles below. This essay traces the evolution of the theoretical and factual elements of the early Gothic migrations and concludes with a personal sketch drawn in light of recent studies of the Roman frontier and insights from other areas, especially comparative anthropology.The historiography of the early Gothic migrations is a classic example of the impact of contemporary attitudes, problems, and methodologies on the study of the past. So meager is the evidence that is likens to a broken kaleidoscope in which the few remaining pieces can be jostled easily from place to place.

Identity: The Indigent and the Wealthy in the Homilies of John Chrysostom

2009 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 468-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silke Sitzler
Keyword(s):  
Identity Theory ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The Poor ◽  
John Chrysostom ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractIn this article, identity theory is applied to a selection of John Chrysostom's homilies in order to investigate the identities being created, negotiated and modified in his commentary on the 'poor'. It is proposed that his discourse on the poor and almsgiving seeks overwhelmingly to negotiate identities for the wealthy within his Christian community, rather than for the poor. These identities are considered through Chrysostom's use of imagery, his commentary on behaviour, and his emphasis on the benefits provided both by the poor and almsgiving. Furthermore, it is argued that in these homilies Chrysostom sought to mediate Christian identities for the wealthy that complemented rather than opposed those operating in the wider non-Christian, Greco-Roman world.

Sin in the New Testament

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Siker
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
First Century ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Jerusalem Temple ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Christian Message

This book examines what the different New Testament writings have to say about sin within the broader historical and theological contexts of first-century Christianity. These contexts include both the immediate world of Judaism out of which early Christianity emerged, as well as the larger Greco-Roman world into which Christianity quickly spread as an increasingly Gentile religious movement. The Jewish sacrificial system associated with the Jerusalem Temple was important for dealing with human sin, and early Christians appropriated the language and imagery of sacrifice in describing the salvific importance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Greco-Roman understandings of sin as error or ignorance played an important role in the spreading of the Christian message to the Gentile world. The book details the distinctive portraits of sin in each of the canonical Gospels in relation to the life and ministry of Jesus. Beyond the Gospels the book develops how the letters of Paul and other early Christian writers address the reality of sin, again primarily in relation to the revelatory ministry of Jesus.

scholarly journals Was John the Baptist Raised from the Dead?

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-354
Author(s):  
Nathanael Vette ◽  
Will Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Ancient World ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
John The Baptist ◽  
The Dead

In the vox populi of Mark 6:14-16 (cf. 8:28), we find the puzzling claim that some believed Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead. The presentation of John in the Gospel is similar to Jesus: Mark depicts John as a prophetic figure who is arrested, executed, buried by his disciples, and—according to some—raised from the dead. This paper reviews scholarship on the question of whether the tradition concerning John's resurrection—as well as the tradition concerning his death to which it is prefixed (6:17-29)—originated outside of the early Christian community. We examine the possibility that sects or individuals in the ancient world believed John had indeed been raised from the dead—as well as figures supposedly connected to John (Dositheus, Simon Magus). We conclude on the basis of internal evidence from the Gospel that the report in 6:14-16 likely originated in a Christian context. At the same time, it may also provide a glimpse into first-century CE attitudes concerning the resurrection from the dead.

scholarly journals Re-reading 1 Corinthians 6:12�20 in the context of Nigerian Pentecostals' theology of sex

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adewale J. Adelakun
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Sexual Practices ◽  
Cultural Belief ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines Paul�s teachings on sexuality in 1 Corinthians 6:12�20 and the relationship between those teachings and the prevalent sexual practices in Corinth. It is argued that Paul�s quest for robust spirituality among the Christians in Corinth informed his injunctions against certain sexual acts which were permitted in the then Greco-Roman world. The text is also read in the context of Nigerian Pentecostals� theology of sex. The conclusion of this article is that Nigerian Pentecostals� theology of sex is diluted in the sense that it emerges from both the African cultural belief and biblical injunctions, especially Paul�s teaching about sex in 1 Corinthians 6:12�20.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The confusion and controversy this kind of theology generates will continue to be a major concern for scholars in the fields of biblical interpretation, theology, sociology and other related disciplines.

The Gospel According to Luke (I–IX)

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Fitzmyer , S. J.
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Good News ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
The Third ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Book Of Acts

In this first of two volumes on the Gospel According to Luke, Joseph A. Fitzmyer provides an exhaustive introduction, a definitive new translation, and extensive notes and commentary on Luke’s Gospel. Fitzmyer brings to the task his mastery of ancient and modern languages, his encyclopedic knowledge of the sources, and his intimate acquaintance with the questions and issues occasioned by the third Synoptic Gospel. Luke’s unique literary and linguistic features, its relation to the other Gospels and the book of Acts, and its distinctive theological slant are discussed in detail by the author. The Jesus of Luke’s Gospel speaks to the Greco-Roman world of first-century Christians, giving the followers of Jesus a reason for remaining faithful. Fitzmyer’s exposition of this Gospel helps modern-day Christians hear the Good News afresh.

The Stoic Philosopher Posidonius

2020 ◽  
pp. 77-91
Author(s):  
John A. Jillions
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Human Soul ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Greek Philosopher ◽  
C 50 ◽  
The Universe

Posidonius of Apamea (c. 135–c. 50/51 BCE) was the thinker most influential in shaping the religious Stoicism that dominated the Greco-Roman world in the first century CE. He was a Greek philosopher teaching in Rome, and a mark of his influence was that his student Cicero later felt obliged to write a number of extended works debunking the thought of his teacher. Posidonius’s views were largely shaped by his reading of Plato (and to some extent Aristotle). His central affirmation is that communion and “sympathy” between the divine and created worlds is constant and permanent. This “cosmic sympathy” meant that any movement in one part of the universe affected others, like touching a cosmic mobile, thus making it possible to read divine signs in nature. Likewise, a spiritual force in every human soul—one’s daimon, like the famous daimon of Socrates—makes possible communion with the divine in numerous ways, especially through dreams.

The Most Silent Women of Greece and Rome: Rural Labour and Women's Life in The Ancient World (II)

1996 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Scheidel
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
First Century ◽  
Second Line ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The Status ◽  
Of Greece

How can these ideas be linked to the ancient sources? Focusing first of all on women's contribution to arable cultivation and arboriculture, we immediately face the first of many blanks. To the best of my knowledge, we do not have any explicit evidence of ploughing by women in the Greco-Roman world. Only two lines from Hesiod's Works and Days seem to establish a connection between women and ploughing: according to Hesiod, a proper head of a household would need ‘first of all a house, and then a woman and oxen for ploughing – a slave woman, not a wife, to follow the oxen [or: to care for the oxen]’ (405 f.). In the fourth century B.C., however, the second line that specifies the status and the function of the desired woman was apparently not yet part of the received text, since Aristotle could still regard her as a free woman (Pol. 1252a llff). Not until the first century B.C. did Philodemos of Gadara quote and defend the reading that defined Hesiod's woman as a slave labourer. Even so, the wording does not make it clear whether this woman was meant to follow the harnessed oxen, that is, to do the ploughing, or to care for the oxen in the stable.

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