Philosophy

This volume contributes to the reconstruction of the history of ancient Christians on the basis of an exemplary selection of Greek inscriptions. Fifteen essays discussing inscriptions from Asia Minor and Greece offer striking insights into the lives, beliefs, and diversity of Christian communities that literary sources largely pass over.

Gotthold E. Lessing's literary work reveals a profound theological dimension. Especially in his early writings, the pastor's son engages critically and intensely with Christianity. Christian anthropology however is, as Steffen Götze's analysis shows, a cornerstone of Lessing's literary oeuvre.

Literature or textbook? In antiquity, no clear distinction was made in this respect, as Christian Neumann demonstrates regarding the complex interplay of literary design and didactic function in Plutarch's Quaestiones Graecae and Romanae and Gellius' Noctes Atticae.

Amelie Rüppel analyses church interpretations of the financial crises of 1929 and 2008 based on empirical digital text analysis. Through three guiding narratives - sin, trust, and creation - she demonstrates how religious interpretive patterns shape economic action and inform theological-ethical reflections on responsibility and trust.