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Taking the Emperor’s Clothes Seriously: The New Testament and The Roman Emperor By Justin Meggitt
The Quest for Wisdom: Essays in Honour of Philip Budd, edited by C. Joynes (Cambridge: Orchard Academic, 2002)
Introduction: The figure of the Roman emperor has, until relatively recently, been of marginal interest to students of the New Testament. Even though interest has increased, it has not been the object of an extensive study since Stauffer’s Christ and the Caesars in 1955 and has only played a significant part in a handful of other published works. Indeed, those who have argued that the figure of the emperor is a sustained concern of any part of the New Testament have often found themselves the object of ridicule and their interest regarded as, at best, somewhat eccentric (an example of this can be seen in R. P. Martin’s remarks about Karl Bornhäuser’s Jesus imperator mundi in the former’s Carmen Christi).
At first sight this general lack of concern about emperors is unsurprising. After all, the New Testament itself only directly refers to emperors in a few places, even if they do seem to cast a long shadow over some of its proceedings, albeit from the wings, as in Acts (where, in the final chapters, Nero appears to be something like Godot, often talked about but never putting in an appearance). New Testament scholars are perhaps familiar with the fact that the term
euangellion is also found in imperial propaganda at the time of the birth of Jesus or that Revelation 13 probably includes allusions to Nero and other emperors, but little beyond that.
However, such a neglect of the figure of the Roman emperor is, I contend, a significant failing on the part of New Testament scholarship. The Roman emperor was a central feature of the cultural context of the first century and must be taken consistently into account in exegesis of the New Testament.
Read more here:
Click here to read this article from Justin Meggitt’s website
Posted 6th/9/12
The Quest for Wisdom: Essays in Honour of Philip Budd, edited by C. Joynes (Cambridge: Orchard Academic, 2002)
Introduction: The figure of the Roman emperor has, until relatively recently, been of marginal interest to students of the New Testament. Even though interest has increased, it has not been the object of an extensive study since Stauffer’s Christ and the Caesars in 1955 and has only played a significant part in a handful of other published works. Indeed, those who have argued that the figure of the emperor is a sustained concern of any part of the New Testament have often found themselves the object of ridicule and their interest regarded as, at best, somewhat eccentric (an example of this can be seen in R. P. Martin’s remarks about Karl Bornhäuser’s Jesus imperator mundi in the former’s Carmen Christi).
At first sight this general lack of concern about emperors is unsurprising. After all, the New Testament itself only directly refers to emperors in a few places, even if they do seem to cast a long shadow over some of its proceedings, albeit from the wings, as in Acts (where, in the final chapters, Nero appears to be something like Godot, often talked about but never putting in an appearance). New Testament scholars are perhaps familiar with the fact that the term
euangellion is also found in imperial propaganda at the time of the birth of Jesus or that Revelation 13 probably includes allusions to Nero and other emperors, but little beyond that.
However, such a neglect of the figure of the Roman emperor is, I contend, a significant failing on the part of New Testament scholarship. The Roman emperor was a central feature of the cultural context of the first century and must be taken consistently into account in exegesis of the New Testament.
Read more here:
Click here to read this article from Justin Meggitt’s website
Posted 6th/9/12
Christian Mysticism as a Threat to Papal Traditions
By Hayley E. Pangle
Grand Valley Journal of History, Vol. 1, Iss. 1 (2011)
Introduction: From the Gnostics of the second century to the Waldesians of the thirteenth century, popular religion as practiced outside the structures of the Roman Church challenged the religious authority of the papacy and greatly influenced the decisions it made as it refined doctrines, decrees, and practices that it deemed acceptable to the church. Christian mysticism, although having its roots in the earliest days of Christianity, expanded and intensified in the
eleventh through fourteenth centuries in Europe. Several aspects of the mystic Christianity in the Middle Ages challenged the traditions of the church, including the mystics’ theological interpretation of scripture, their graphic visions, and their threat to established gender roles.
But first it is important to explain the basics of Christian mysticism. The term mysticism taken by itself embodies an idea that is prevalent amongst the world’s religions: that a human has the ability to experience a deep connection with the divine on his or her own terms, without the use of scripture, doctrine, and other rules dictating how the person should perceive or believe in the
divine. Mysticism “is an experience, not an idea” which cannot be explained easily since it stresses the “inability of human reasoning to know the incomprehensible deity.” Commonly a mystical movement within a religion is viewed with skepticism from the doctrinal tradition; this was especially true with the medieval papacy and Christian mysticism. For although mysticism
produced wonderful role models of Christian believers to laypeople, many of its aspects, i.e. the mystical interpretation of scripture, mystic visions, and challenge to gender roles, were “often on the periphery of acceptable practice” and directly challenged Roman Catholic traditions.
Reead more here;
Click here to read this article from Grand Valley State University
Posted 4th/9/2012
By Hayley E. Pangle
Grand Valley Journal of History, Vol. 1, Iss. 1 (2011)
Introduction: From the Gnostics of the second century to the Waldesians of the thirteenth century, popular religion as practiced outside the structures of the Roman Church challenged the religious authority of the papacy and greatly influenced the decisions it made as it refined doctrines, decrees, and practices that it deemed acceptable to the church. Christian mysticism, although having its roots in the earliest days of Christianity, expanded and intensified in the
eleventh through fourteenth centuries in Europe. Several aspects of the mystic Christianity in the Middle Ages challenged the traditions of the church, including the mystics’ theological interpretation of scripture, their graphic visions, and their threat to established gender roles.
But first it is important to explain the basics of Christian mysticism. The term mysticism taken by itself embodies an idea that is prevalent amongst the world’s religions: that a human has the ability to experience a deep connection with the divine on his or her own terms, without the use of scripture, doctrine, and other rules dictating how the person should perceive or believe in the
divine. Mysticism “is an experience, not an idea” which cannot be explained easily since it stresses the “inability of human reasoning to know the incomprehensible deity.” Commonly a mystical movement within a religion is viewed with skepticism from the doctrinal tradition; this was especially true with the medieval papacy and Christian mysticism. For although mysticism
produced wonderful role models of Christian believers to laypeople, many of its aspects, i.e. the mystical interpretation of scripture, mystic visions, and challenge to gender roles, were “often on the periphery of acceptable practice” and directly challenged Roman Catholic traditions.
Reead more here;
Click here to read this article from Grand Valley State University
Posted 4th/9/2012
Dualist heresy in Aquitaine and the Agenais, c.1000-c.1249
By Claire Taylor
PhD Dissertation, University of Nottingham, 1999
Abstract: This thesis offers an account of dualist heresy in medieval Aquitaine. The first part asserts that the heresy referred to in early eleventh-century sources was dualist and originated in Balkan Bogomilism. It does this by combining two established methodologies. Through the first, reading the sources in their social context, it finds the poor experiencing increased
poverty and oppression, and that some amongst the laity and clergy were observing signs prefiguring The End of historical time. Not unexpectedly, some responded through dissent and demanded reform and justice: a new system of values, in other words. Then the thesis adopts a comparative methodology in a ‘global’ context. It finds that the accounts of dissent do more than identify Apocalypticism or primitive communism. They make reference to dualist cosmology and practice. Dualists in the Balkans were intent on spreading their teaching
world-wide, and this period saw increased contacts with the west. The spread of Bogomilism to Aquitaine was thus both likely and possible, and appears to have had some success
The second part of this thesis makes three contributions to the history of Catharism. First it suggests why twelfth-century Aquitaine was almost entirely untouched by the heresy except in the county of Agen. It points to actively Catholic lay authority and a relatively dynamic monasticism in Aquitaine, and finds these largely absent in the heretical Agenais. Second, it examines the Cathar diocese of Agen and the impact upon it of the Albigensian Crusade and the
Medieval Inquisition. In this it argues that Agenais lay society was very diverse and divided, but notes close collaboration between its heretics and those of neighbouring Quercy. Third, it argues that a better understanding of aspects of the crusade can be gamed through its examination in the context of relations between the dukes of Aquitaine – who were also kings of England – and
the counts of Toulouse, the kings of France and the Papacy.
Read article here; Click here to read this thesis from the University of Nottingham
Posted 10/9/12
By Claire Taylor
PhD Dissertation, University of Nottingham, 1999
Abstract: This thesis offers an account of dualist heresy in medieval Aquitaine. The first part asserts that the heresy referred to in early eleventh-century sources was dualist and originated in Balkan Bogomilism. It does this by combining two established methodologies. Through the first, reading the sources in their social context, it finds the poor experiencing increased
poverty and oppression, and that some amongst the laity and clergy were observing signs prefiguring The End of historical time. Not unexpectedly, some responded through dissent and demanded reform and justice: a new system of values, in other words. Then the thesis adopts a comparative methodology in a ‘global’ context. It finds that the accounts of dissent do more than identify Apocalypticism or primitive communism. They make reference to dualist cosmology and practice. Dualists in the Balkans were intent on spreading their teaching
world-wide, and this period saw increased contacts with the west. The spread of Bogomilism to Aquitaine was thus both likely and possible, and appears to have had some success
The second part of this thesis makes three contributions to the history of Catharism. First it suggests why twelfth-century Aquitaine was almost entirely untouched by the heresy except in the county of Agen. It points to actively Catholic lay authority and a relatively dynamic monasticism in Aquitaine, and finds these largely absent in the heretical Agenais. Second, it examines the Cathar diocese of Agen and the impact upon it of the Albigensian Crusade and the
Medieval Inquisition. In this it argues that Agenais lay society was very diverse and divided, but notes close collaboration between its heretics and those of neighbouring Quercy. Third, it argues that a better understanding of aspects of the crusade can be gamed through its examination in the context of relations between the dukes of Aquitaine – who were also kings of England – and
the counts of Toulouse, the kings of France and the Papacy.
Read article here; Click here to read this thesis from the University of Nottingham
Posted 10/9/12
The Family of Wilfred I, the Hairy:
Marriage and the Consolidation of Power, 800-1000
By Stefano Maria Cingolani
Imago temporis: medium Aevum, No.4 (2010)
Marriage and the Consolidation of Power, 800-1000
By Stefano Maria Cingolani
Imago temporis: medium Aevum, No.4 (2010)
Abstract: The reconstruction of the family relations of count Wilfred the Hairy still contains points of contention about which not all studies are in agreement. In a deep reconsideration of the traditional hypotheses, the clarification of some of these points goes hand in hand with a more exact understanding of the matrimonial relations established by Wilfred’s family and the marital strategies that they employed. Finally, the different interpretation of these problems is motivated and justified by reflecting on the modalities of establishing power in the Marca Hispanica, the Spanish March, during the ninth and tenth centuries. It is also justified by reflecting on the dynamics of this establishment which should help illuminate and better explain their functions.
Click here to read this article from Imago temporis: medium Aevum
Click here to read this article from Imago temporis: medium Aevum