The Making of the Abrahamic Religions in Late Antiquity

The Making of the Abrahamic Religions in Late Antiquity PDF

Author: Guy G. Stroumsa

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 0198738862

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This book presents how ancient Christianity must be understood from the viewpoint of the history of religions in late antiquity. The continuation of biblical prophecy runs like a thread from Jesus through Mani to Muhammad. And yet this thread, arguably the single most important characteristic of the Abrahamic movement, often remains outside the mainstream, hidden, as it were, since it generates heresy. The figures of the Gnostic, the holy man, and the mystic are all sequels of the Israelite prophet. They reflect a mode of religiosity that is characterized by high intensity. It is centripetal and activist by nature and emphasizes sectarianism and polemics, esoteric knowledge, or gnosis and charisma. The other mode of religiosity, obviously much more common than the first one, is centrifugal and irenic. It favors an ecumenical attitude, contents itself with a widely shared faith, or pistis, and reflects, in Weberian parlance, the routinization of the new religious movement. This is the mode of priests and bishops, rather than that of martyrs and holy men. These two main modes of religion, high versus low intensity, exist simultaneously, and cross the boundaries of religious communities. They offer a tool permitting us to follow the transformations of religion in late antiquity in general, and in ancient Christianity in particular, without becoming prisoners of the traditional categories of patristic literature. Through the dialectical relationship between these two modes of religiosity, one can follow the complex transformations of ancient Christianity in its broad religious context.

The Making of the Abrahamic Religions in Late Antiquity

The Making of the Abrahamic Religions in Late Antiquity PDF

Author: Guy G. Stroumsa

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2015-07-30

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 0191059137

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This book presents how ancient Christianity must be understood from the viewpoint of the history of religions in late antiquity. The continuation of biblical prophecy runs like a thread from Jesus through Mani to Muhammad. And yet this thread, arguably the single most important characteristic of the Abrahamic movement, often remains outside the mainstream, hidden, as it were, since it generates heresy. The figures of the Gnostic, the Holy man, and the mystic are all sequels of the Israelite prophet. They reflect a mode of religiosity that is characterized by high intensity. It is centripetal and activist by nature and emphasizes sectarianism and polemics, esoteric knowledge, or gnosis and charisma. The other mode of religiosity, obviously much more common than the first one, is centrifugal and irenic. It favours an ecumenical attitude, contents itself with a widely shared faith, or pistis, and reflects, in Weberian parlance, the routinisation of the new religious movement. This is the mode of priests and bishops, rather than that of martyrs and holy men. These two main modes of religion, high versus low intensity, exist simultaneously, and cross the boundaries of religious communities. They offer a tool permitting us to follow the transformations of religion in late antiquity in general, and in ancient Christianity in particular, without becoming prisoners of the traditional categories of Patristic literature. Through the dialectical relationship between these two modes of religiosity, one can follow the complex transformations of ancient Christianity in its broad religious context.

The End of Sacrifice

The End of Sacrifice PDF

Author: Susan Emanuel

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com

Published: 2011-08-22

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1459627520

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The religious transformations that marked late antiquity represent an enigma that has challenged some of the West's greatest thinkers. But, according to Guy Stroumsa, the oppositions between paganism and Christianity that characterize prevailing theories have endured for too long. Instead of describing this epochal change as an evolution within ...

Religious Polemics and Encounters in Late Antiquity

Religious Polemics and Encounters in Late Antiquity PDF

Author: Timo Nisula

Publisher: Studies on the Children of Abr

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9789004466838

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"Religious Polemics and Encounters in Late Antiquity: Boundaries, Conversions, and Persuasion, explores the intricate identity formation and negotiations of early encounters of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). It explores the ever-pressing challenges arising from polemical inter-religious encounters by analyzing the dynamics of apologetic debate, the negotiation and formation of boundaries of belonging, and the argumentative thrust for persuasion and conversion, as well as the outcomes of these various encounters, including the articulation of novel ideas. The Late Antique authors studied in the present volume represent a variety of voices from North Africa, passing through Rome, to Palestine. Together, these voices of the past offer invaluable insight to shape the present times, in hope for a better future"--

The Idea of Semitic Monotheism

The Idea of Semitic Monotheism PDF

Author: Guy G. Stroumsa

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 019289868X

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The Idea of Semitic Monotheism examines some major aspects of the scholarly study of religion in the long nineteenth century--from the Enlightenment to the First World War. It aims to understand the new status of Judaism and Islam in the formative period of the new discipline. Guy G. Stroumsa focuses on the concept of Semitic monotheism, a concept developed by Ernest Renan around the mid-nineteenth century on the basis of the postulated and highly problematic contradistinction between Aryan and Semitic families of peoples, cultures, and religions. This contradistinction grew from the Western discovery of Sanskrit and its relationship with European languages, at the time of the Enlightenment and Romanticism. Together with the rise of scholarly Orientalism, this discovery offered new perspectives on the East, as a consequence of which the Near East was demoted from its traditional status as the locus of the Biblical revelations. This innovative work studies a central issue in the modern study of religion. Doing so, however, it emphasizes the new dualistic taxonomy of religions had major consequences and sheds new light on the roots of European attitudes to Jews and Muslims in the twentieth century, up to the present day.

Religions of Late Antiquity in Practice

Religions of Late Antiquity in Practice PDF

Author: Richard Valantasis

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2018-06-05

Total Pages: 528

ISBN-13: 0691188165

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This is an unprecedented collection of nearly seventy Late Antique primary religious texts. These texts--all in new English translation and many appearing in English for the first time--represent every major religious current from the late first century until the rise of Islam. Produced through the efforts of thirty-six leading scholars in the field, they constitute a comprehensive view of religious practice in Late Antiquity. Religious life and performance during this period comprised diverse, often unusual practices. Philosophical ascent, magic, legal pronouncement, hymnography, dietary and sexual restriction, and rhetoric were all part of this deeply fascinating world. Religious and political identity often intertwined, as reflected in the Roman persecution of Christians. And a fluid boundary between religion and superstition was contested in daily life. Many practices, including ascetic training, crossed religious boundaries. Others, such as "incubation" at specific temples and certain divination rites, were distinctive practices of individual groups and orders. Intrinsically interesting, the practice of religion in the Late Antique also edifies modern-day religious life. As this volume shows, the origins of the contemporary Western religious terrain can be gleaned in this period. Rabbinic Judaism flourished and spread. Christianity developed still-important theological categories and structures. And even movements that did not survive intact--such as Neoplatonism and the once-powerful Manichaean churches--continue to influence religion today. This rich sourcebook includes discussions of asceticism, religious organization, ritual, martyrdom, religion's social implications, law, and theology. Its unique emphasis on practice and its inclusion of texts translated from lesser-known languages advance the study of religious history in several directions. A strong interdisciplinary orientation will reward scholars and students of religion, theology, gender studies, classical literatures, and history. Each text is accompanied by an introduction and a bibliography for further reading and research, making the book appropriate for use in any university or seminary classroom.

The Family of Abraham

The Family of Abraham PDF

Author: Carol Bakhos

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2014-06-16

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 0674419952

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The term “Abrahamic religions” has gained considerable currency in both scholarly and ecumenical circles as a way of referring to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In The Family of Abraham, Carol Bakhos steps back from this convention to ask a frequently overlooked question: What, in fact, is Abrahamic about these three faiths? Exploring diverse stories and interpretations relating to the portrayal of Abraham, she reveals how he is venerated in these different scriptural traditions and how scriptural narratives have been pressed into service for nonreligious purposes. Grounding her study in a close examination of ancient Jewish textual practices, primarily midrash, as well as medieval Muslim Stories of the Prophets and the writings of the early Church Fathers, Bakhos demonstrates that ancient and early-medieval readers often embellished the image of Abraham and his family—Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac. Her analysis dismantles pernicious misrepresentations of Abraham’s firstborn son, Ishmael, and provocatively challenges contemporary references to Judaism and Islam as sibling religions. As Bakhos points out, an uncritical adoption of the term “Abrahamic religions” not only blinds us to the diverse interpretations and traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam but also artificially separates these faiths from their historical contexts. In correcting mistaken assumptions about the narrative and theological significance of Abraham, The Family of Abraham sheds new light on key figures of three world religions.

The Abrahamic Religions

The Abrahamic Religions PDF

Author: Hamma Mirwaisi

Publisher: Hamma Mirwaisi

Published: 2020-04-29

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13:

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Can you disprove me that Lord Krishna Enslaved the Black African of Egypt? To understand the origin of the Hidden Secrets of the Judaism Religions please read this description with open mind, I did spend 12 years to find out truth about my finding in my books I always was wondering why the members of the Christian religions in Europe, later America, and Australia were guided to study Egyptian civilization instead of the Caucasian Civilization.Indeed, I found out who is behind that guidance. The descendant of Lord Krishna helped the Roman Empire ruler to create this new Christian religion in the name of Jesus Christ after three hundred years of his death. First, they changed Jesus Christ original teaching and then made him be loyal to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) while in his life did not believe it. We are told he throw away the old testament, how can the members of the new Christian religion believes that the old testament is the source or references to their Christian religious Bible.Here is what I found about Lord KrishnaLord Krishna and The Establishment of the Egyptian EmpireLord Krishna and his brother Balarama's stories are the keys to understand Hebrew Jewish and Greek people past. It is clear from ancient document left in India that the Pandavas brother win Kurukshetra war and chased Lord Krishna and his brother Lord Balarama with their supporters and Kauravas army survivors out of today India and Pakistan to today Israel and Greek Island.According to the open sources with listed references 'During its long history, Jerusalem has been attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times, and destroyed twice. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BC or BCE, making Jerusalem one of the oldest cities in the world.Note: The Temple of Yerushaláyim (Jerusalem) is built by Lord Krishna in 3100 BCE and Caucasian people lived on the land thousands of years on the land before his arrival.Archaeological evidence suggests that the first settlement was established near Gihon Spring between 4500–3500 BCE. The first known mention of the city was in c. 2000 BCE in the Middle Kingdom Egyptian Execration Texts in which he was recorded as Rusalimum. The root S-L-M in the name is thought to refer to either "peace" (compare with modern Salam or Shalom in modern Arabic and Hebrew) or Shalim, the god of dusk in the Canaanite religion.Author note: The Greek and Hebrew Jews scholars have been in control of histories and scientist or Archaeology in the last 2000 years. They wrote every kind of misinformation to serve their ancient Deva religion domination of the world. It is clear that Lord Krishna as the God of Deva religion did build the city of Jerusalem and used it as his headquarter to wage war against the Caucasian people as the members of the Aryan religion (Kurukshetra armies) under the leadership of the Pandavas brothers.The Egyptian Empire (3100 - 525 BCE) and the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately followed the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3100 BCE and was assumed to include the First and Second Dynasties, lasting from the Protodynastic Period of Egypt until about 2686 BCE. Egypt was never conquered until 525 BCE when Emperor Cambyses II of the Median Empire, son of Cyrus the Great fulfilled his father’s dream to assume control of Egypt because the Egyptian of black Africans under the leadership of Deva religion leaders namely the descendant of Lord Krishna had waged war against the Caucasian people's Empires since its establishment.Egyptian-led black African tribes conquered the Caucasian lands around 3000 BCE and established two colonies, Canaan between the Red and Mediterranean Seas, while the brother of Lord Krishna by name of Lord Balarama settled on Greek Island with his followers and, which became the home base for the Egyptian Navy. Originally called Sea people, the occupiers of these islands were later known as Greeks. The Greeks, Armenians, Assyrian–Chaldean–Syriac, Amorites, Babylonians, Hebrews and others adopted Aramaic language, which is very close to the African Arabs language.

Abraham or Aristotle? First Millennium Empires and Exegetical Traditions

Abraham or Aristotle? First Millennium Empires and Exegetical Traditions PDF

Author: Garth Fowden

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-04-09

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13: 1316301052

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Judaism, Christianity and Islam - the three scriptural monotheisms, still often studied separately - are here intertwined within a historical frame. The approach outlined in this lecture pivots around the Qur'an as it emerged in seventh-century Arabia on the peripheries of the two world-empires of Iran and Rome, and variously refracts rabbinic Judaism and patristic - especially Syriac - Christianity. The formation and exegesis of scriptural canons helps define the major religious communities and identities both before and after Muhammad. The latter part of the lecture concentrates on the interaction of these communities, and especially their scholars, in the Abbasid Baghdad of the ninth and tenth centuries, and on the theological and philosophical debates that flourished there. The lecture interrogates the newly fashionable concept of 'Abrahamic' religion and proposes a fresh historical periodization inclusive of both late antiquity and Islam, namely the First Millennium.

The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions

The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions PDF

Author: Adam J. Silverstein

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 636

ISBN-13: 0199697760

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The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions includes authoritative yet accessible studies on a wide variety of topics dealing comparatively with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as with the interactions between the adherents of these religions throughout history. The comparativestudy of the Abrahamic Religions has been undertaken for many centuries. More often than not, these studies reflected a polemical rather than an ecumenical approach to the topic. Since the nineteenth century, the comparative study of the Abrahamic Religions has not been pursued either intensively orsystematically, and it is only recently that the comparative study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam has received more serious attention. This volume contributes to the emergence and development of the comparative study of the Abrahamic religions, a discipline which is now in its formative stages.This Handbook includes both critical and supportive perspectives on the very concept of the Abrahamic religions and discussions on the role of the figure of Abraham in these religions. It features 32 essays, by the foremost scholars in the field, on the historical interactions between Abrahamiccommunities; on Holy Scriptures and their interpretation; on conceptions of religious history; on various topics and strands of religious thought, such as monotheism and mysticism; on rituals of prayer, purity, and sainthood, on love in the three religions and on fundamentalism. The volume concludeswith three epilogues written by three influential figures in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities, to provide a broader perspective on the comparative study of the Abrahamic religions. This ground-breaking work introduces readers to the challenges and rewards of studying these threereligions together.