Antike und Christentum

The volume contains thirteen essays written between 1990 and 1997, ten in English and three in German. As the title indicates, the essays represent new scholarly contributions to the ongoing discussion about early Christianity in the context of Graeco-Roman antiquity. Individual studies deal with the historical Jesus, the origins of Christianity, Graeco-Roman religions (magic, hero cult, gnosticism, Hermetica, Orphic gold tablets), and the importance of Paul for the origins of Christianity. The concluding essay surveys the history of the theme 'antiquity and Christianity' from the New Testament to the 20th century. The studies represent the cutting edge of contemporary international research.Vorwort - Wellhausen's Dictum »Jesus was not a Christian but a Jew« in Light of Recent Scholarship - Jesus and the Cynics: Survey and Analysis of a Hypothesis - Jesus and the Purity of the Temple (Mark 11:15-18): A Comparative Religion Approach - Eduard Norden und die frühchristliche Literatur - The Birth of Christianity as a Hellenistic Religion: Three Theories of Origin - Heroenverehrung und Christusglaube. Religionsgeschichtliche Beobachtungen zu Philostrats Heroicus - VII. Secrecy in the Greek Magical Papyri - The Changing Self of the Magician according to the Greek Magical Papyri - Jewish Magic in the Greek Magical Papyri (PGM VII.260-71) - Hermetism and Gnosticism: The Question of the Poimandres - »Der Erde Kind bin ich und des gestirnten Himmels«. Zur Lehre vom Menschen in den orphischen Goldplättchen - The Apostle Paul between Judaism and Hellenism: Creating a Space for Christianity - Antiquity and Christianity