The Media Revolution of Early Christianity

The Media Revolution of Early Christianity PDF Author: Doron Mendels
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Respected historian Doron Mendels poses a daring new theory that Eusebius's monumental Ecclesiastical History (325 C.E.) was meant to serve as a publicity tool to further the cause of early Christianity. Reading The Ecclesiastical History through the lenses of modern media studies, Mendels argues that Eusebius viewed the spread of Christianity as a media revolution and invented a new type of history writing, "media history, " to promote it. By carefully examining Eusebius's methods, Mendels shows that Eusebius worked much like modern journalists do in selecting, shaping, and presenting stories for popular consumption.

The Media Revolution of Early Christianity

The Media Revolution of Early Christianity PDF Author: Doron Mendels
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book Here

Book Description
Respected historian Doron Mendels poses a daring new theory that Eusebius's monumental Ecclesiastical History (325 C.E.) was meant to serve as a publicity tool to further the cause of early Christianity. Reading The Ecclesiastical History through the lenses of modern media studies, Mendels argues that Eusebius viewed the spread of Christianity as a media revolution and invented a new type of history writing, "media history, " to promote it. By carefully examining Eusebius's methods, Mendels shows that Eusebius worked much like modern journalists do in selecting, shaping, and presenting stories for popular consumption.

The Routledge Companion to Early Christian Thought

The Routledge Companion to Early Christian Thought PDF Author: D. Jeffrey Bingham
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135193428
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 479

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Book Description
The shape and course which Christian thought has taken over its history is largely due to the contributions of individuals and communities in the second and third centuries. Bringing together a remarkable team of distinguished scholars, The Routledge Companion to Early Christian Thought is the ideal companion for those seeking to understand the way in which Early Christian thought developed within its broader cultural milieu and was communicated through its literature, especially as it was directed toward theological concerns. Divided into three parts, the Companion: asks how Christianity's development was impacted by its interaction with cultural, philosophical, and religious elements within the broader context of the second and third centuries. examines the way in which Early Christian thought was manifest in key individuals and literature in these centuries. analyses Early Christian thought as it was directed toward theological concerns such as God, Christ, Redemption, Scripture, and the community and its worship.

Understanding Evangelical Media

Understanding Evangelical Media PDF Author: Quentin J Sch Robert Herbert Woods Jr
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN: 1458755312
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 734

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Book Description
As long as there has been a church, there has been Christian communication - people of the book bearing the good news from one place to another, persuading, teaching and even delighting an ever-broadening audience with the message of the gospel. Amid ongoing advances in technology and an ever-more-multicultural context, however, the time...

Science and Technology in World History, Volume 2

Science and Technology in World History, Volume 2 PDF Author: David Deming
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786456426
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
Science is a living, organic activity, the meaning and understanding of which have evolved incrementally over human history. This book, the second in a roughly chronological series, explores the evolution of science from the advents of Christianity and Islam through the Middle Ages, focusing especially on the historical relationship between science and religion. Specific topics include technological innovations during the Middle Ages; Islamic science; the Crusades; Gothic cathedrals; and the founding of Western universities. Close attention is given to such figures as Paul the Apostle, Hippolytus, Lactantius, Cyril of Alexandria, Hypatia, Cosmas Indicopleustes, and the Prophet Mohammed.

Theophilus of Alexandria and the First Origenist Controversy

Theophilus of Alexandria and the First Origenist Controversy PDF Author: Krastu Banev
Publisher:
ISBN: 0198727542
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
In the age of the Theodosian dynasty and the establishment of Christianity as the only legitimate religion of the Roman Empire, few figures are more pivotal in the power politics of the Christian church than archbishop Theophilus of Alexandria (385-412). This work examines the involvement of archbishop Theophilus in the so-called First Origenist Controversy when the famed third-century Greek theologian Origen received, a century and a half after his death, a formal condemnation for heresy. Modern scholars have been successful in removing the majority of the charges which Theophilus laid on Origen as not giving a fair representation of his thought. Yet no sufficient explanation has been offered as to why what to us appears as an obvious miscarriage of justice came to be accepted, or why it was needed in the first place. Kratsu Banev offers a sustained argument for the value of a rhetorically informed methodology with which to analyse Theophilus' anti-Origenist Festal Letters. He highlights that the wide circulation and overt rhetorical composition of these letters allow for a new reading of these key documents as a form of 'mass-media' unique for its time. The discussion is built on a detailed examination of two key ingredients in the pastoral polemic of the archbishop - masterly use of late-antique rhetorical conventions, and in-depth knowledge of monastic spirituality - both of which were vital for securing the eventual acceptance of Origen's condemnation. Dr Banev's fresh approach reveals that Theophilus' campaign formed part of a consistent policy aimed at harnessing the intellectual energy of the ascetic movement to serve the wider needs of the church.

Rethinking Christian Martyrdom

Rethinking Christian Martyrdom PDF Author: Matthew Recla
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350184276
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
This book argues that we have been mistaken about the fundamental assumption that Christianity is the key to understanding the “Christian” martyr. Examining martyrdom in early Christian history, Matt Recla argues that the violent deaths of martyrs, real and imagined, were appropriated for Christian institutional life. Through deconstructing martyrdom and appreciating the complexity of the martyr, we recognize martyrdom not as a socio-historical phenomenon inherent to particular ideologies, and not as a religious “identity” but as the institutional co-optation of violence. The Christian apologist Tertullian argued that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church, but while the seed may be the key to martyrdom, the blood is the key to the martyr. The book shows how martyrs exceed the bounds of institutional narrative. Centering analysis of martyrdom first around the martyr's existential difference and the complex biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors that lead to willing death, this book sheds new light on the motivations of martyrs, our fascination with them, and the parasitic relationship of religion to violent death. In challenging long-held beliefs about the praiseworthiness of martyrdom, this book is of interest to scholars of religion as well as those concerned about the relationship between religion and violence.

Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction

Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Jolyon Mitchell
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191642444
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Martyrdom is not only a sharply contested term and act, but it has a long history of provoking controversy. One person's 'martyr' is another's 'terrorist', and one person's 'martyrdom operation' is another's 'suicide bombing'. Suicide attacks have made recurring questions about martyrdom more pertinent to current discussions. What is martyrdom? Why are some people drawn towards giving up their lives as martyrs? What place does religion play in inciting and creating martyrs? How are martyrs made? Why are some martyrs and martyrdoms remembered more than others? How helpful is the distinction between active and passive martyrdoms? In order both to answer such questions and to understand the contemporary debates about martyrdom, it is helpful to consider its diverse roots. In this Very Short Introduction, Jolyon Mitchell provides a historical analysis to shed light on how the concept and practice of martyrdom has evolved, as well as the different ways in which it is used today. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Memory in Jewish, Pagan and Christian Societies of the Graeco-Roman World

Memory in Jewish, Pagan and Christian Societies of the Graeco-Roman World PDF Author: Doron Mendels
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 9780567080448
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
The ten studies in this book explore the phenomenon of public memory in societies of the Graeco-Roman period. Mendels begins with a concise discussion of the historical canon that emerged in Late Antiquity and brought with it the (distorted) memory of ancient history in Western culture. The following nine chapters each focus on a different source of collective memory in order to demonstrate the patchy and incomplete associations ancient societies had with their past, including discussions of Plato’s Politeia, a site of memory of the early church, and the dichotomy existing between the reality of the land of Israel in the Second Temple period and memories of it.Throughout the book, Mendels shows that since the societies of Antiquity had associations with only bits and pieces of their past, these associations could be slippery and problematic, constantly changing, multiplying and submerging. Memories, true and false, oral and inscribed, provide good evidence for this fluidity.

Ancient Jewish Letters and the Beginnings of Christian Epistolography

Ancient Jewish Letters and the Beginnings of Christian Epistolography PDF Author: Lutz Doering
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
ISBN: 9783161522369
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 628

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Book Description
The author provides the most extensive analysis available of ancient Jewish letter writing from the Persian period until the early rabbinic literature. In addition, he demonstrates the significance of Jewish letters for the development of early Christian letter writing.

The Scriptural Universe of Ancient Christianity

The Scriptural Universe of Ancient Christianity PDF Author: Guy G. Stroumsa
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674974867
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
The passage of texts from scroll to codex created a revolution in the religious life of late antiquity. It played a decisive role in the Roman Empire’s conversion to Christianity and eventually enabled the worldwide spread of Christian faith. The Scriptural Universe of Ancient Christianity describes how canonical scripture was established and how scriptural interpretation replaced blood sacrifice as the central element of religious ritual. Perhaps more than any other cause, Guy G. Stroumsa argues, the codex converted the Roman Empire from paganism to Christianity. The codex permitted a mode of religious transmission across vast geographical areas, as sacred texts and commentaries circulated in book translations within and beyond Roman borders. Although sacred books had existed in ancient societies, they were now invested with a new aura and a new role at the core of religious ceremony. Once the holy book became central to all aspects of religious experience, the floodgates were opened for Greek and Latin texts to be reimagined and repurposed as proto-Christian. Most early Christian theologians did not intend to erase Greek and Roman cultural traditions; they were content to selectively adopt the texts and traditions they deemed valuable and compatible with the new faith, such as Platonism. The new cultura christiana emerging in late antiquity would eventually become the backbone of European identity.