Memory and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
Memory and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity

Author: Tom Thatcher

Publisher: Society of Biblical Lit

Published: 2014-08-29

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 1589839544

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Essential reading for scholars and students interested in sociology and biblical studies In this collection scholars of biblical texts and rabbinics engage the work of Barry Schwartz, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology at the University of Georgia. Schwartz provides an introductory essay on the study of collective memory. Articles that follow integrate his work into the study of early Jewish and Christian texts. The volume concludes with a response from Schwartz that continues this warm and fruitful dialogue between fields. Features: Articles that integrate the study of collective memory and social psychology into religious studies Essays from Barry Schwartz Theories applied rather than left as abstract principles

Retrieving History
Retrieving History

Author: Stefana Dan Laing

Publisher: Baker Academic

Published: 2017-04-18

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780801096433

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This volume introduces the early Christian ideas of history and history writing and shows their value for developing Christian communities of the patristic era. It examines the ways early Christians related and transmitted their history: apologetics, martyrdom accounts, sacred biography, and the genre of church history proper. The book shows that exploring the lives and writings of both men and women of the ancient church helps readers understand how Christian identity is rooted in the faithful work of preceding generations. It also offers a corrective to the individualistic and ahistorical tendencies within contemporary Christianity.

Identity, Memory, and Narrative in Early Christianity
Identity, Memory, and Narrative in Early Christianity

Author: Coleman A. Baker

Publisher: Pickwick Publications

Published: 2011-06

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 9781498256544

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Description: Social identity, social memory, and narrative theory intersect in this study of the characterization of Peter and Paul in the book of Acts. Baker argues that the authorial audience's memories of Peter and Paul are reinterpreted as their characters are encountered in the narrative, and as a result, the audience is to understand themselves as united by a superordinate ingroup identity that transcends cultural boundaries. As prototypes of this common identity, the characters of Peter and Paul demonstrate the open, inclusive identity the audience is expected to embrace. Endorsements: ""Coleman Baker employs a sophisticated and insight-producing method to examine the function of the characters Peter and Paul in Acts as prototypes of a reconciled identity for a divided and conflicted movement. Baker's study is a significant contribution toward understanding the social and literary components of identity formation in the early Christian movement."" -Warren Carter Professor of New Testament Brite Divinity School About the Contributor(s): Coleman A. (J.C.) Baker received his PhD in New Testament from Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University. He is Adjunct Professor of New Testament at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas, and a member of the Context Group, which studies the Bible in its sociocultural context.

Language and Identity in Ancient Narratives
Language and Identity in Ancient Narratives

Author: Julia A. Snyder

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Published: 2014-06-24

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9783161532641

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When a Christian writer refers to Jesus as "the Lord," what does it signify? Is it primarily a way of making a political or theological statement, or might social concerns have had more influence on the writer's choice of words? Studies of early Christianity regularly depend on a nuanced understanding of lexical significance, but current research often fails to consider social aspects of "what words mean." Julia A. Snyder argues that methodological improvements are needed in how lexical significance in ancient Greek texts is determined, based on an analysis of the relationship between speech patterns and addressee identity in the Acts of the Apostles, Acts of John, and Acts of Philip. She also illustrates how sociolinguistic variation contributes to characterization and the construction of Christian identity in the narratives, how it sheds light on the rewriting of ancient texts, and how it informs the question of whether apostolic narratives were produced for evangelistic purposes.

Memory, Tradition, and Text
Memory, Tradition, and Text

Author: Alan K. Kirk

Publisher: Society of Biblical Lit

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1589831497

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Social and cultural memory theory examines the ways communities and individuals reconstruct and commemorate their pasts in light of shared experiences and current social realities. Drawing on the methods of this emerging field, this volume both introduces memory theory to biblical scholars and restores the category "memory" to a preeminent position in research on Christian origins. In the process, the volume challenges current approaches to research problems in Christian origins, such as the history of the Gospel traditions, the birth of early Christian literature, ritual and ethics, and the historical Jesus. The essays, taken in aggregate, outline a comprehensive research agenda for examining the beginnings of Christianity and its literature and also propose a fundamentally revised model for the phenomenology of early Christian oral tradition, assess the impact of memory theory upon historical Jesus research, establish connections between memory dynamics and the appearance of written Gospels, and assess the relationship of early Christian commemorative activities with the cultural memory of ancient Judaism. --From publisher's description.

Memory and Memories in Early Christianity
Memory and Memories in Early Christianity

Author: Simon Butticaz

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9783161557293

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This interdisciplinary volume originates from talks given at the international conference "Memory and Memories in Early Christianity", held at the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva in June 2016. Exploring a fresh problem in the study of the origins of Christianity and of the New Testament, namely the "work of memory" undertaken in the discourses and practices of the believers in Jesus, these studies not only apply a heuristic analytical tool - "social memory theory" - to the literature and history of Christian beginnings, but also endeavour to show the socio-religious resonance of this "work of memory" in the language and ideology of the first believers.

The Construction of Exodus Identity in Ancient Israel
The Construction of Exodus Identity in Ancient Israel

Author: Linda M. Stargel

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2018-05-22

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1532640986

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Collective identity creates a sense of “us-ness” in people. It may be fleeting and situational or long-lasting and deeply ingrained. Competition, shared belief, tragedy, or a myriad of other factors may contribute to the formation of such group identity. Even people detached from one another by space, anonymity, or time, may find themselves in a context in which individual self-concept is replaced by a collective one. How is collective identity, particularly the long-lasting kind, created and maintained? Many literary and biblical studies have demonstrated that shared stories often lie at the heart of it. This book examines the most repeated story of the Hebrew Bible—the exodus story—to see how it may have functioned to construct and reinforce an enduring collective identity in ancient Israel. A tool based on the principles of the social identity approach is created and used to expose identity construction at a rhetorical level. The author shows that exodus stories are characterized by recognizable language and narrative structures that invite ongoing collective identification.

Memory, Identity, Community
Memory, Identity, Community

Author: Lewis P. Hinchman

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1997-01-01

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 9780791433232

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This multidisciplinary volume documents the resurrection of the importance of narrative to the study of individuals and groups and argues that narrative may become a lingua franca of future debates in the human sciences.

Performing Early Christian Literature
Performing Early Christian Literature

Author: Kelly Iverson

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-10-07

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1009033859

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Scholars of early Christian literature acknowledge that oral traditions lie behind the New Testament gospels. While the concept of orality is widely accepted, it has not resulted in a corresponding effort to understand the reception of the gospels within their oral milieu. In this book, Kelly Iverson reconsiders the experiential context in which early Christian literature was received and interpreted. He argues that reading and performance are distinguishable media events, and, significantly, that they produce distinctive interpretive experiences for readers and audiences alike. Iverson marshals an array of methodological perspectives demonstrating how performance generates a unique experiential context that shapes and informs the interpretive process. Iverson's study explores the dynamic oral environment in which ancient audiences experienced the gospel stories. He shows why an understanding of oral performance has important implications for the study of the NT, as well as for several issues that are largely unquestioned by biblical scholars.

Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianity
Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianity

Author: Karl Galinsky

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 421

ISBN-13: 0198744765

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Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianity presents perspectives from an international and interdisciplinary range of contributors on the literature, history, archaeology, and religion of a major world civilization, based on an informed engagement with important concepts and issues in memory studies.