Prophets and Emperors

Prophets and Emperors PDF Author: David Stone Potter
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
To the practical modern mind, the idea of divine prophecy is more ludicrous than sublime. Yet to our cultural forebears in ancient Greece and Rome, prophecy was anything but marginal; it was in fact the basic medium for recalling significant past events and expressing hopes for the future, and it offered assurance that divinities truly cared about mere mortals. Prophecy also served political ends, and it was often invoked to support or condemn an emperor's actions. In Prophets and Emperors, David Potter shows us how prophecy worked, how it could empower, and how the diverse inhabitants of the Roman Empire used it to make sense of their world. This is a fascinating account of prophecy as a social, religious, and political phenomenon. The various systems of prophecy--including sacred books, oracles, astrological readings, interpretation of dreams, the sayings of holy men and women--come into sharp relief. Potter explores the use of prophecy as a nieans of historical analysis and political communication, and he describes it in the context of the ancient city. Finally, he traces the reformation of the prophetic tradition under the influence of Christianity in the fourth century. Drawing on diverse evidence--from inscriptions and ancient prophetic books to Greek and Roman historians and the Bible--Potter has produced a study that will engage anyone interested in the religions of the ancient Mediterranean and in the history and politics of the Roman Empire.

Prophets and Emperors

Prophets and Emperors PDF Author: David Stone Potter
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
To the practical modern mind, the idea of divine prophecy is more ludicrous than sublime. Yet to our cultural forebears in ancient Greece and Rome, prophecy was anything but marginal; it was in fact the basic medium for recalling significant past events and expressing hopes for the future, and it offered assurance that divinities truly cared about mere mortals. Prophecy also served political ends, and it was often invoked to support or condemn an emperor's actions. In Prophets and Emperors, David Potter shows us how prophecy worked, how it could empower, and how the diverse inhabitants of the Roman Empire used it to make sense of their world. This is a fascinating account of prophecy as a social, religious, and political phenomenon. The various systems of prophecy--including sacred books, oracles, astrological readings, interpretation of dreams, the sayings of holy men and women--come into sharp relief. Potter explores the use of prophecy as a nieans of historical analysis and political communication, and he describes it in the context of the ancient city. Finally, he traces the reformation of the prophetic tradition under the influence of Christianity in the fourth century. Drawing on diverse evidence--from inscriptions and ancient prophetic books to Greek and Roman historians and the Bible--Potter has produced a study that will engage anyone interested in the religions of the ancient Mediterranean and in the history and politics of the Roman Empire.

Prophets and Emperors

Prophets and Emperors PDF Author: David Potter
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780674437050
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
To the practical modern mind, the idea of divine prophecy is more ludicrous than sublime. Yet to our cultural forebears in ancient Greece and Rome, prophecy was anything but marginal; it was in fact the basic medium for recalling significant past events and expressing hopes for the future, and it offered assurance that divinities truly cared about mere mortals. Prophecy also served political ends, and it was often invoked to support or condemn an emperor's actions. In Prophets and Emperors, David Potter shows us how prophecy worked, how it could empower, and how the diverse inhabitants of the Roman Empire used it to make sense of their world. This is a fascinating account of prophecy as a social, religious, and political phenomenon. The various systems of prophecy--including sacred books, oracles, astrological readings, interpretation of dreams, the sayings of holy men and women--come into sharp relief. Potter explores the use of prophecy as a nieans of historical analysis and political communication, and he describes it in the context of the ancient city. Finally, he traces the reformation of the prophetic tradition under the influence of Christianity in the fourth century. Drawing on diverse evidence--from inscriptions and ancient prophetic books to Greek and Roman historians and the Bible--Potter has produced a study that will engage anyone interested in the religions of the ancient Mediterranean and in the history and politics of the Roman Empire.

Royal Genealogies : Or, the Genealogical Tables of Emperors, Kings and Princes, from Adam to These Times ; in Two Parts. Part I. Begins with a Chronological History of the World, from the Beginning of Time to the Christian Era, and Then the Genealogies of the Earliest Great Families and Most Ancient Sovereigns of Asia, Europe, Africa and America, Down to Charlemain, and Many of 'em Down to These Times. Part II. Begins with the Grand Revolution of Charlemain, and Carries on the Royal and Princely Genealogies of Europe Down to These Times ; Concluding with Those of the Britannic Isles... By James Anderson,...

Royal Genealogies : Or, the Genealogical Tables of Emperors, Kings and Princes, from Adam to These Times ; in Two Parts. Part I. Begins with a Chronological History of the World, from the Beginning of Time to the Christian Era, and Then the Genealogies of the Earliest Great Families and Most Ancient Sovereigns of Asia, Europe, Africa and America, Down to Charlemain, and Many of 'em Down to These Times. Part II. Begins with the Grand Revolution of Charlemain, and Carries on the Royal and Princely Genealogies of Europe Down to These Times ; Concluding with Those of the Britannic Isles... By James Anderson,... PDF Author: James Anderson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 856

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Book Description


Royal Genealogies: Or, The Genealogical Tables Of Emperors, Kings and Princes, From Adam to These Times In Two Parts

Royal Genealogies: Or, The Genealogical Tables Of Emperors, Kings and Princes, From Adam to These Times In Two Parts PDF Author: James Anderson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Chronology, Historical
Languages : en
Pages : 872

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Book Description
Bill of sale : bought of Walford Brothers 1938 July 20 by Mrs. Virgil Idol.

Master Potter

Master Potter PDF Author: Jill Austin
Publisher: Destiny Image Publishers
ISBN: 0768421721
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 609

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Book Description
The secular market is flooded with books dealing with the supernatural, as reflected in the wildly successful "Harry Potter" series. "Master Potter" is an accurate portrayal that challenges the counterfeit perspective in the current secular market. Supernatural encounters are framed within the Christian experience, satisfying that deep hunger for spiritual experiences.

Royal Genealogies: Or the Genealogical Tables of Emperors, Kings and Princes from Adam to These Times

Royal Genealogies: Or the Genealogical Tables of Emperors, Kings and Princes from Adam to These Times PDF Author: James Anderson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Chronology, Historical
Languages : en
Pages : 864

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Book Description


The New Q

The New Q PDF Author: Richard Valantasis
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0567498735
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
The American and European public has a voracious appetite for more information about Jesus and the formation of early Christianity. The best-selling books on the subject by Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, John Meyer, and Luke Timothy Johnson, among many others, attest to this hunger. But each of these scholars presents his own reading of the historical information, usually beginning with the earliest known Jesus-related material, Jesus' sayings, and leads the public into a particular understanding of Jesus and the early Jesus movements. The New Q will provide the general public with the original source through a fresh translation of the early Sayings Gospel known as Q. This book will guide people through their reading of the texts themselves so that readers will be able to judge the validity of other scholars' reconstructions. The New Q is the companion volume necessary to understand the current writing on the historical Jesus and the history of earliest Christianity. Valantasis provides a new translation of the Synoptic Sayings Source, Q. He translates each section from the Greek of the critical edition of Robinson and Kloppenborg, and he gathers the translation of the full text as a coherent collection of sayings at the end of the book. Avoiding the scholarly arguments that make Q inaccessible, as well as the constant comparison of Matthew and Luke, this commentary will straightforwardly present the text based on the work of those scholars who have provided a critical edition. It provides an initial reading in a language appropriate to religious seekers. The translation itself will be fresh and provocative, since its meaning and interpretation are not linked to its later use in the narrative gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. In fact, readers of this translation will be able to hear the sayings of Jesus as Matthew and Luke heard them before the writing of their gospels. The goal is to recreate the kind of challenging and intellectually stimulating engagement with the sayings that probably put Christianity on the Roman map. Readers will be able to encounter Jesus' voice and the voices of early Christians directly, without the intrusion of the later use of these sayings by the gospel writers. Valantasis also provides a commentary on each of the sayings. The commentary will focus on three facets: what the saying says, what it could have meant at the time, and how is was used by early Christians. The first two questions provide the basic information by developing a literary analysis of the sayings (a reading of Jesus' words) and by positing a significance for the saying in the context of earliest Christianity (what the saying could have meant). The final question directs the reading of the saying toward its use by religious people then and now as a means of forging an alternative subjectivity, defining new religious and social relationships, and constructing an alternative understanding of the nature of the spiritual and physical world. In other words, this commentary will provide an ascetical reading of the sayings to explore the manner in which the sayings source might have been read by individuals and communities in antiquity, and it will provide an alternative to the currently established reading of the sayings in modern scholarship primarily as a window on the historical Jesus' doctrines and teaching.

Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments

Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments PDF Author: William Tabbernee
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004158197
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 524

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Book Description
"Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments" is an insightful case-study of the opposition to Montanism, an early-Christian prophetic movement, by Church and State both before and after 'catholic' Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Revelations

Revelations PDF Author: Elaine Pagels
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 110157707X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
A startling exploration of the history of the most controversial book of the Bible, by the bestselling author of Beyond Belief. Through the bestselling books of Elaine Pagels, thousands of readers have come to know and treasure the suppressed biblical texts known as the Gnostic Gospels. As one of the world's foremost religion scholars, she has been a pioneer in interpreting these books and illuminating their place in the early history of Christianity. Her new book, however, tackles a text that is firmly, dramatically within the New Testament canon: The Book of Revelation, the surreal apocalyptic vision of the end of the world . . . or is it? In this startling and timely book, Pagels returns The Book of Revelation to its historical origin, written as its author John of Patmos took aim at the Roman Empire after what is now known as "the Jewish War," in 66 CE. Militant Jews in Jerusalem, fired with religious fervor, waged an all-out war against Rome's occupation of Judea and their defeat resulted in the desecration of Jerusalem and its Great Temple. Pagels persuasively interprets Revelation as a scathing attack on the decadence of Rome. Soon after, however, a new sect known as "Christians" seized on John's text as a weapon against heresy and infidels of all kinds-Jews, even Christians who dissented from their increasingly rigid doctrines and hierarchies. In a time when global religious violence surges, Revelations explores how often those in power throughout history have sought to force "God's enemies" to submit or be killed. It is sure to appeal to Pagels's committed readers and bring her a whole new audience who want to understand the roots of dissent, violence, and division in the world's religions, and to appreciate the lasting appeal of this extraordinary text.

Jesus the Seer

Jesus the Seer PDF Author: Ben Witherington III
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1451489501
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 629

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Book Description
Increasingly, scholars recognize that prophetic traditions, expressions, and experiences stand at the heart of most religions in the ancient Mediterranean world. This is no less true for the world of Judaism and Jesus. Ben Witherington III offers an extensive, cross-cultural survey of the broader expressions of prophecy in its ancient Mediterranean context, beginning with Mari, moving to biblical figures not often regarded as prophets‒‒Balaam, Deborah, Moses, and Aaron‒‒and to the apocalyptic seer in postexilic prophecy, showing that no single pattern describes all prophetic figures. The consequence is that different aspects of Jesus’s activity touch upon prophetic predecessors: his miracles, on Elijah and Elisha; his self-understanding as the Son of Man, on Daniel and 1 Enoch; his warnings of woe and judgment, on the “writing prophets” in Judean tradition; and his messianic entry into Jerusalem, on Zechariah 9. Witherington also surveys the phenomenon of apocalyptic prophecy in early Christianity, including Paul, Revelation, the Didache, Hermas, and the Montanist movement. Jesus the Seer is a worthy complement to Witherington’s other volume on Jesus, Jesus the Sage (Fortress Press, 2000).