A Table of Self-Identifications in Early Christian Writings

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4 responses to “A Table of Self-Identifications in Early Christian Writings”

1. 

   November 11, 2013

   Kunigunde Kreuzerin

   Thanks, great work ! Kunigunde

   Reply
2. 

   November 12, 2013

   Kunigunde Kreuzerin

   Dear Peter Kirby, I have a question, but my english ist not so good. Sorry for this ! I hope that you have a minute for me, to detect what i mean 😉 and can give me a little help.

   I find your tables very instructive, but it would be nice for me to have an additional table or additional informations about four, five points. First I will a little explain what I mean.

   I read the Didache several months ago and my impression was, that in the Didache is a very low christological “knowlegde” und no christological “ambition”. I would say, that for instance in the pastoral epistles is little more knowledge, but also no ambition. Than, I would further say, we have for instance 2 Corinthians and 2 Peter with broad christological knowledge and also with distinct ambition, than Hebrews with very high knowledge and distinct ambition and so on. But there are also “warnings” or “downplays” of knowledge and ambition (for instance pastorals, James, Jude, 1 Corinthians 8, 1), sometimes is the ambition and the warning in the same paper. That all is one point. I think we can try this with other points, for instance

   – collective faith vs. individual seeking (Gospel of Thomas, Gnosis ?) – with or without distinct structure of the community, local (John ?) or supraregional network or connections (Paul´s “Hauptbriefe”), relevance of “love” and help in the community, existence of opponents and so on
   – relevance of humility, piety, sexual abstinence, ritual purification or other rituals
   – personal transformation of the believers (Albert Schweitzer´s “Sein in Christo” in Paul, Gospel of Thomas and so on)
   – other points ?

   Do you know a book, which try to explain such differences between the early chrstian writings ? Or can you make me the table of my wishes 😉 ? I´m not in the position to make such greater things.

   Thank you much, Kunigunde

   Reply
   1. 

      November 12, 2013

      Peter Kirby

      Hi Kunigunde,

      Thanks for your comment! You present a compelling set of problems and questions. I wish I had quick and easy answers! But I have not done the study needed to give a proper answer.

      I’ve been asking questions of the sources that are pretty easy to answer with searching tools. Titles for Christ, names for Christians, and terms for leadership are all easy enough searches. My next thought was actually to go for another easy answer and come up with a table of references to particular apostles as well as a few more christological titles I hadn’t included before.

      But we can’t just ask the easy questions! Your questions are excellent and well-considered, but they will require a thorough reading of the sources, with an eye to these questions, to bring out a comprehensive answer. They don’t show up very obviously with word searches; at least, the search could miss those times when the concept appears without any of the obvious associated terms.

      One of the particular tasks you mention–finding areas of relevance for “humility, piety, sexual abstinence, ritual purification, or other rituals”–was indeed where I wanted to go next, after surveying the easy-to-search stuff. This would basically come into two separate studies: a survey of the ethical teachings found in Christian writings (what they emphasized, where they disagreed) and a survey of the evidence for rituals left in Christian writings (daily ablutions, circumcision, fasting, Jewish holidays VS new holidays, sabbath VS sunday, baptism, chrism, eucharist, etc.).

      But you also bring up things I haven’t even thought much about. Which texts emphasize the role of authority or of common worship, and which are more individualistic? What styles of community can we imagine? What kind of outreach and help existed inside and outside these groups? Good questions.

      It’s also very interesting to ask where opponents are identified or implied in the texts. Basically just a catalogue of the opponents and where they appear… complicated, of course, by how many different identifications have been made of most every reference to opponents in the New Testament.

      I also appreciate the distinction you make between the “knowledge” and the “ambition” of the author in relation to the presentation of christology. An author can put a high emphasis on the subject with a relatively low opinion of the incarnation, or the author can accept the most complicated and exalted opinion while considering it scarcely a topic to discuss.

      I personally do not know any book that will explain all these things. Let me know if you find one! That would be an interesting read.

      Best wishes,
      Peter Kirby

      Reply
      1. 

         November 14, 2013

         Kunigunde Kreuzerin

         Hi Peter, thank you. I will keep an eye out for these two studies. It seems to me, that many writings stressed these points and ethical teachings or the relevance of rituals were really hot topics for a lot of the early christians. Greetings, Kunigunde

         Reply