For practical reasons, biblical scholars in Germany need to be generalists. On average, Professors for New Testament have to teach from Alexander the Great to the Bar-Kokhba revolt and from Matthew to Revelation. As regards hermeneutics and methodology, they are expected to be fluent in Patristic exegesis as well as post-structuralist literary theory – and everything in between. As no one is able to master everything, most of us occupy several islands of knowledge in an ocean of ignorance. Some of these islands are smaller, others are larger and some are very fruitful while others seem to be barren and not very appealing to visitors.Exploring these islands is nevertheless fascinating, both for the one who lives there and those who visit. My range of islands consists of gospels and narrative tradition especially Mark and Luke, Pseudepigraphy, biblical methodology and hermeneutics, bible and economic thought, social memory theory, (early) Christian identity formation, cultural-scientific exegesis and the use of digitalization for research communication and teaching. I welcome visitors to my island and like to receive postcards from other fascinating locations. Eventually throw a message in a bottle into the sea of ignorance to see how it is received. In case you are interested to learn more, discuss and exchange ideas, I will be happy to receive a signal. Phone: +49-851-5092040 Address: Michaeligasse 13 94032 Passau Germany
Paper presented at the CISSR Annual Meeting on Christian Origins (Bertinoro, 30.09.2016)
The hyp... more Paper presented at the CISSR Annual Meeting on Christian Origins (Bertinoro, 30.09.2016)
The hypothesis that Mark's gospel can be read as an anti-gospel to the rise of Vespasian has recently gained currency especially in German-speaking scholarship. Building on C.G. Jung's distinction between sensors and intuitors, this paper will in a first step explore possible points of critique from a social memory theory-point of view. A second step takes a more distanced look at the overall question and considers contexts of reception categories and their potential in 21st century exegesis after the linguistic and the cultural turn.
Seminar paper presented at 71. General Meeting of the SNTS (Montréal, 05.08.2016)
A closer look ... more Seminar paper presented at 71. General Meeting of the SNTS (Montréal, 05.08.2016)
A closer look at the third gospel or Luke’s narration of the Jesus story quickly reveals that Luke does not only tell a slightly different story than the other Synoptics and John, but also presents a remarkably different depiction of the main character, Jesus. Luke’s Jesus does not only already as a child dispute with the teachers in the Temple; he is also able to read and mingles with wealthy people and persons of influence more frequently than in other gospels. A close reading of the text further reveals that wealthy people and persons of influence do not only appear in Luke’s gospel strikingly more often than in the other canonical Gospels but they are also presented differently. The same holds true for Jesus himself who seems to be a good deal better off than in Mark, Matthew and John. How do these observations inform the purpose and pragmatics of Luke’s text as a whole? The seminar paper explores what memory theory can contribute to a deeper understanding of Luke’s diegesis, his understanding of Jesus and the identity construction(s) the text offers to the reader – both Theophilus and the antique reception community.
Paper given at the conference: Memory and the Reception of Jesus in Early Christianity (London, 1... more Paper given at the conference: Memory and the Reception of Jesus in Early Christianity (London, 11.06.2016)
As the first narrative text about Jesus, the Gospel of Mark always held a distinct position in historical and especially historical Jesus research. In the aftermath of the cultural turn, the text is today no longer regarded as a source providing information about how things have actually taken place, but with an increasingly scholarly interest perceived as a witness to Jesus memories, displaying a Jesus remembered. Reading Mark as an artefact of Early Christian collective memory has further paved the way to understanding the text as a source of distinct reception of Jesus and Jesus tradition – woven into a founding story for the generations to come. The paper reflects upon the hermeneutical shaping of the image of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel, considering how the text is both indebted to previous receptions of Jesus and providing a unique image of Jesus in the light of its social circumstances.
Paper given at the Conference: Memory and Memories in Early Christianity (Lausanne, 02.06.2016)
... more Paper given at the Conference: Memory and Memories in Early Christianity (Lausanne, 02.06.2016)
The concept generational gap (30-50 years) and floating gap (80-120 years), developed in social memory theory to get a better grasp not only of the distinction between collective memory and cultural memory, but also for processes of media change, textualization and canonization in collective memory, can also be used to get a fresh view on questions of the textualization of the New Testament and periods in Early Christianity. This contribution teams findings of social memory theory with observations from biblical scholars regarding these questions and explores the potential of a social memory theory-sensitive epoch model both for the understanding of Early Christianity and readings of early Christian texts as snapshots – frozen moments – of early Christian identity construction.
In der Pseudepigraphenforschung haben in den letzten Jahren zwei Paradigmenwechsel zu neuen Zugri... more In der Pseudepigraphenforschung haben in den letzten Jahren zwei Paradigmenwechsel zu neuen Zugriffen auf den Forschungsgegenstand geführt. Zum einen der Ansatz, pseudepigraphische Texte als fiktionale Texte zu behandeln, und zum anderen die Vermutung, dass pseudepigraphe Texte sich nicht auf eine autoritative Größe in der Vergangenheit rückbeziehen, sondern diese ihrerseits erst herzustellen suchen. Der vorliegende Beitrag bringt beide Gedanken mit einer kulturwissenschaftlich-gedächtnistheoretischen Perspektive zusammen und stellt am Beispiel des Kolosserbriefs dar, inwiefern Pseudepigraphie als Strategie in frühchristlichen Identitätsdiskursen verstanden werden kann.
Considrations using the example of Colossians in the area of research in pseudepigraphy, two paradigm shift have led to new perspectives on the object of research. One is the approach to regard pseudepigraphal writings as fictional texts, the other is the assumption that pseudepigraphy does not refer to an authority of the past, but rather aims at establishing this authority. The article links both ideas with cultural memory theory and uses the example of Colossians to explore to what extent pseudepigraphy can be understood as a strategy in Early Christian identity discourses.
A close examination of perspectives in the Second Gospel reveals that quite different gospels are... more A close examination of perspectives in the Second Gospel reveals that quite different gospels are proclaimed by Jesus and the narrating voice. With the help of Possible Worlds Theory, one of the latest turns in narratology, it becomes clear that when the character Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God to be at hand and invites other characters to make an existential decision to realize his possible world, this is quite different from the world of the text and from the wishes and intentions of other characters and of the narrating voice. The latter proclaims Jesus as the Son of God and orders recipients to organize their lives according to the implications of that belief – in other words, to make the world of the narrating voice a reality. The «gospel of Jesus Christ» is thus understood quite differently depending on which agent within the narrative is asked. What does this mean for those who construct their identity based on the Gospel of Mark? A brief glance at reception of Jesus, Mark and the βασιλεία in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke will shed further light on the question of how Jesus’ initial invitation into the kingdom of God is used by the Synoptics in order to provide models for Christian identity.
The good news is that social memory theory has finally found its way into Biblical Studies. The b... more The good news is that social memory theory has finally found its way into Biblical Studies. The bad news is that it is often unclear to what social memory theory really is about. Biblical scholars often import social memory theory into their work without being aware of the theoretical concept on which it is based – you cannot have social memory theory without a constructivist worldview accompanying it. Similarly, they are often unclear about their definitions. This last problem, of course, is not simply a problem for biblical scholarship; it is found in many other disciplines as well. Thus, working on these theoretical foundations will be a major task for biblical studies in the years to come. Knowing that this is an enterprise requiring a thorough discussion, this paper can only represent a single voice in a larger choir and can concentrate on but one aspect of the phenomenon. The aim of this article is to shed light on the question of terminology in order to de-confuse the terms social, collective and cultural memory on the one hand and soziales, kommunikatives and kulturelles Gedächtnis on the other. Examples from recent German historical documentaries will help to clarify the different types of social memory – here kommunikatives and kulturelles Gedächtnis – and suggest a way in which the concepts can be applied to Biblical Studies.
In this article, the story of the two men wandering to Emmaus (Luke24:13-35) is read from the per... more In this article, the story of the two men wandering to Emmaus (Luke24:13-35) is read from the perspective of cultural memory theory. The starting point of the argument is the notion that group identity is established via memory texts and that these texts are fabricated in discourse, refer to certain cultural frames and are handed down in conversation (which can also be textual). The Emmaus narrative is than explained as an example of how memory texts can be shaped and which cultural frames they might refer to in the Gospel of Luke. It will turn out that in telling the Emmaus story, Luke manages several things: he does not only tell how group identity is fabricated through memory texts and how two outsiders find their way into the Jerusalem group. In narrating how the Emmaus wanderers become integrated into the Urgemeinde, he speaks at the same time about the possibilities of late comers to become part of the (Christian) Community.
This paper is a lecture given at the Hussite Theological Faculty. Charles University (10.05.2018)... more This paper is a lecture given at the Hussite Theological Faculty. Charles University (10.05.2018). It combines a brief general introduction into Social Memory Theory with applications published in the article "Frozen Moments".
Studi
Marco Aimone, L’iscrizione cristiana del piatto Gualino (Torino, Galleria Sabauda). Nuovi ... more Studi
Marco Aimone, L’iscrizione cristiana del piatto Gualino (Torino, Galleria Sabauda). Nuovi spunti di interpretazione
Osvalda Andrei, Le settanta settimane di Daniele (Dn 9,24-27) in Giulio Africano tra ermeneutica cronografica e polemica contro l’esegesi escatologica
Ludovico Battista, Damnatus gratias agit. Il problema teologico-politico e la questione della secolarizzazione nell’Apologeticum di Tertulliano
Emanuele Castelli, Il I capitolo del Pastore di Erma alla luce delle recenti acquisizioni sul P. Bodmer XXXVIII e sulla Vulgata
Gabriele Castiglia, Between Aksum and Byzantium. The Rise of Early Christianity in the Horn of Africa: Sources and New Archaeological Data
Paola De Santis, Velia Polito, Tituli picti. Testimonianze epigrafiche dipinte dal complesso cimiteriale di Lamapopoli a Canosa di Puglia alla luce di recenti acquisizioni (ipogei F e G)
Sandra Huebenthal, Polycarp Unchained: How Cultural Studies Enhance Patristic Research
Luigi Lafasciano, ‘Praising the Saints’ in Order to See Them: Victricius of Rouen and the Development of the Early Christian Ritual of incubatio
Vincenzo Lomiento, Tessuto di immagini: l’esordio del secondo libro delle Confessioni di Agostino
Mario Resta, Donne sub districtione aeclesiastica: il ratto di vedove e consacrate nella legislazione canonica tardoantica
Note e discussioni
Rossana Barcellona, Percorsi di una religione dentro la storia e la letteratura. Riflessioni a margine di un libro recente: E. Prinzivalli, Il cristianesimo antico in Occidente fra tradizioni e traduzioni, Città Nuova, Roma 2019.
Das Lehrbuch erschließt mit seinem innovativen Ansatz
erstmals die Erkenntnisse interdisziplinäre... more Das Lehrbuch erschließt mit seinem innovativen Ansatz erstmals die Erkenntnisse interdisziplinärer Forschung zu Gedächtnis und Erinnerung für die Interpretation des Neuen Testaments. Jenseits der Frage wie es gewesen ist, werden die Texte des Neuen Testaments nicht als historische Berichte, Geschichtsschreibung oder Augenzeugenerinnerung, sondern als Zeugnisse frühchristlicher Identitätsbildung gelesen, die sich sozialen Aushandlungsprozessen verdanken. Neben einer grundlegenden Einführung in die Grundbegriffe kulturwissenschaftlicher Gedächtnistheorie, die auch jenseits der Arbeit mit der Heiligen Schrift stimulierend ist, bietet es exemplarische Lektüren neutestamentlicher Texte als Identitätstexte, an die Leser:innen mit ihren eigenen Erfahrungen anknüpfen können, und einen Ausblick in das Potential kulturwissenschaftlicher Exegese.
Paper presented at the CISSR Annual Meeting on Christian Origins (Bertinoro, 30.09.2016)
The hyp... more Paper presented at the CISSR Annual Meeting on Christian Origins (Bertinoro, 30.09.2016)
The hypothesis that Mark's gospel can be read as an anti-gospel to the rise of Vespasian has recently gained currency especially in German-speaking scholarship. Building on C.G. Jung's distinction between sensors and intuitors, this paper will in a first step explore possible points of critique from a social memory theory-point of view. A second step takes a more distanced look at the overall question and considers contexts of reception categories and their potential in 21st century exegesis after the linguistic and the cultural turn.
Seminar paper presented at 71. General Meeting of the SNTS (Montréal, 05.08.2016)
A closer look ... more Seminar paper presented at 71. General Meeting of the SNTS (Montréal, 05.08.2016)
A closer look at the third gospel or Luke’s narration of the Jesus story quickly reveals that Luke does not only tell a slightly different story than the other Synoptics and John, but also presents a remarkably different depiction of the main character, Jesus. Luke’s Jesus does not only already as a child dispute with the teachers in the Temple; he is also able to read and mingles with wealthy people and persons of influence more frequently than in other gospels. A close reading of the text further reveals that wealthy people and persons of influence do not only appear in Luke’s gospel strikingly more often than in the other canonical Gospels but they are also presented differently. The same holds true for Jesus himself who seems to be a good deal better off than in Mark, Matthew and John. How do these observations inform the purpose and pragmatics of Luke’s text as a whole? The seminar paper explores what memory theory can contribute to a deeper understanding of Luke’s diegesis, his understanding of Jesus and the identity construction(s) the text offers to the reader – both Theophilus and the antique reception community.
Paper given at the conference: Memory and the Reception of Jesus in Early Christianity (London, 1... more Paper given at the conference: Memory and the Reception of Jesus in Early Christianity (London, 11.06.2016)
As the first narrative text about Jesus, the Gospel of Mark always held a distinct position in historical and especially historical Jesus research. In the aftermath of the cultural turn, the text is today no longer regarded as a source providing information about how things have actually taken place, but with an increasingly scholarly interest perceived as a witness to Jesus memories, displaying a Jesus remembered. Reading Mark as an artefact of Early Christian collective memory has further paved the way to understanding the text as a source of distinct reception of Jesus and Jesus tradition – woven into a founding story for the generations to come. The paper reflects upon the hermeneutical shaping of the image of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel, considering how the text is both indebted to previous receptions of Jesus and providing a unique image of Jesus in the light of its social circumstances.
Paper given at the Conference: Memory and Memories in Early Christianity (Lausanne, 02.06.2016)
... more Paper given at the Conference: Memory and Memories in Early Christianity (Lausanne, 02.06.2016)
The concept generational gap (30-50 years) and floating gap (80-120 years), developed in social memory theory to get a better grasp not only of the distinction between collective memory and cultural memory, but also for processes of media change, textualization and canonization in collective memory, can also be used to get a fresh view on questions of the textualization of the New Testament and periods in Early Christianity. This contribution teams findings of social memory theory with observations from biblical scholars regarding these questions and explores the potential of a social memory theory-sensitive epoch model both for the understanding of Early Christianity and readings of early Christian texts as snapshots – frozen moments – of early Christian identity construction.
In der Pseudepigraphenforschung haben in den letzten Jahren zwei Paradigmenwechsel zu neuen Zugri... more In der Pseudepigraphenforschung haben in den letzten Jahren zwei Paradigmenwechsel zu neuen Zugriffen auf den Forschungsgegenstand geführt. Zum einen der Ansatz, pseudepigraphische Texte als fiktionale Texte zu behandeln, und zum anderen die Vermutung, dass pseudepigraphe Texte sich nicht auf eine autoritative Größe in der Vergangenheit rückbeziehen, sondern diese ihrerseits erst herzustellen suchen. Der vorliegende Beitrag bringt beide Gedanken mit einer kulturwissenschaftlich-gedächtnistheoretischen Perspektive zusammen und stellt am Beispiel des Kolosserbriefs dar, inwiefern Pseudepigraphie als Strategie in frühchristlichen Identitätsdiskursen verstanden werden kann.
Considrations using the example of Colossians in the area of research in pseudepigraphy, two paradigm shift have led to new perspectives on the object of research. One is the approach to regard pseudepigraphal writings as fictional texts, the other is the assumption that pseudepigraphy does not refer to an authority of the past, but rather aims at establishing this authority. The article links both ideas with cultural memory theory and uses the example of Colossians to explore to what extent pseudepigraphy can be understood as a strategy in Early Christian identity discourses.
A close examination of perspectives in the Second Gospel reveals that quite different gospels are... more A close examination of perspectives in the Second Gospel reveals that quite different gospels are proclaimed by Jesus and the narrating voice. With the help of Possible Worlds Theory, one of the latest turns in narratology, it becomes clear that when the character Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God to be at hand and invites other characters to make an existential decision to realize his possible world, this is quite different from the world of the text and from the wishes and intentions of other characters and of the narrating voice. The latter proclaims Jesus as the Son of God and orders recipients to organize their lives according to the implications of that belief – in other words, to make the world of the narrating voice a reality. The «gospel of Jesus Christ» is thus understood quite differently depending on which agent within the narrative is asked. What does this mean for those who construct their identity based on the Gospel of Mark? A brief glance at reception of Jesus, Mark and the βασιλεία in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke will shed further light on the question of how Jesus’ initial invitation into the kingdom of God is used by the Synoptics in order to provide models for Christian identity.
The good news is that social memory theory has finally found its way into Biblical Studies. The b... more The good news is that social memory theory has finally found its way into Biblical Studies. The bad news is that it is often unclear to what social memory theory really is about. Biblical scholars often import social memory theory into their work without being aware of the theoretical concept on which it is based – you cannot have social memory theory without a constructivist worldview accompanying it. Similarly, they are often unclear about their definitions. This last problem, of course, is not simply a problem for biblical scholarship; it is found in many other disciplines as well. Thus, working on these theoretical foundations will be a major task for biblical studies in the years to come. Knowing that this is an enterprise requiring a thorough discussion, this paper can only represent a single voice in a larger choir and can concentrate on but one aspect of the phenomenon. The aim of this article is to shed light on the question of terminology in order to de-confuse the terms social, collective and cultural memory on the one hand and soziales, kommunikatives and kulturelles Gedächtnis on the other. Examples from recent German historical documentaries will help to clarify the different types of social memory – here kommunikatives and kulturelles Gedächtnis – and suggest a way in which the concepts can be applied to Biblical Studies.
In this article, the story of the two men wandering to Emmaus (Luke24:13-35) is read from the per... more In this article, the story of the two men wandering to Emmaus (Luke24:13-35) is read from the perspective of cultural memory theory. The starting point of the argument is the notion that group identity is established via memory texts and that these texts are fabricated in discourse, refer to certain cultural frames and are handed down in conversation (which can also be textual). The Emmaus narrative is than explained as an example of how memory texts can be shaped and which cultural frames they might refer to in the Gospel of Luke. It will turn out that in telling the Emmaus story, Luke manages several things: he does not only tell how group identity is fabricated through memory texts and how two outsiders find their way into the Jerusalem group. In narrating how the Emmaus wanderers become integrated into the Urgemeinde, he speaks at the same time about the possibilities of late comers to become part of the (Christian) Community.
This paper is a lecture given at the Hussite Theological Faculty. Charles University (10.05.2018)... more This paper is a lecture given at the Hussite Theological Faculty. Charles University (10.05.2018). It combines a brief general introduction into Social Memory Theory with applications published in the article "Frozen Moments".
Studi
Marco Aimone, L’iscrizione cristiana del piatto Gualino (Torino, Galleria Sabauda). Nuovi ... more Studi
Marco Aimone, L’iscrizione cristiana del piatto Gualino (Torino, Galleria Sabauda). Nuovi spunti di interpretazione
Osvalda Andrei, Le settanta settimane di Daniele (Dn 9,24-27) in Giulio Africano tra ermeneutica cronografica e polemica contro l’esegesi escatologica
Ludovico Battista, Damnatus gratias agit. Il problema teologico-politico e la questione della secolarizzazione nell’Apologeticum di Tertulliano
Emanuele Castelli, Il I capitolo del Pastore di Erma alla luce delle recenti acquisizioni sul P. Bodmer XXXVIII e sulla Vulgata
Gabriele Castiglia, Between Aksum and Byzantium. The Rise of Early Christianity in the Horn of Africa: Sources and New Archaeological Data
Paola De Santis, Velia Polito, Tituli picti. Testimonianze epigrafiche dipinte dal complesso cimiteriale di Lamapopoli a Canosa di Puglia alla luce di recenti acquisizioni (ipogei F e G)
Sandra Huebenthal, Polycarp Unchained: How Cultural Studies Enhance Patristic Research
Luigi Lafasciano, ‘Praising the Saints’ in Order to See Them: Victricius of Rouen and the Development of the Early Christian Ritual of incubatio
Vincenzo Lomiento, Tessuto di immagini: l’esordio del secondo libro delle Confessioni di Agostino
Mario Resta, Donne sub districtione aeclesiastica: il ratto di vedove e consacrate nella legislazione canonica tardoantica
Note e discussioni
Rossana Barcellona, Percorsi di una religione dentro la storia e la letteratura. Riflessioni a margine di un libro recente: E. Prinzivalli, Il cristianesimo antico in Occidente fra tradizioni e traduzioni, Città Nuova, Roma 2019.
Das Lehrbuch erschließt mit seinem innovativen Ansatz
erstmals die Erkenntnisse interdisziplinäre... more Das Lehrbuch erschließt mit seinem innovativen Ansatz erstmals die Erkenntnisse interdisziplinärer Forschung zu Gedächtnis und Erinnerung für die Interpretation des Neuen Testaments. Jenseits der Frage wie es gewesen ist, werden die Texte des Neuen Testaments nicht als historische Berichte, Geschichtsschreibung oder Augenzeugenerinnerung, sondern als Zeugnisse frühchristlicher Identitätsbildung gelesen, die sich sozialen Aushandlungsprozessen verdanken. Neben einer grundlegenden Einführung in die Grundbegriffe kulturwissenschaftlicher Gedächtnistheorie, die auch jenseits der Arbeit mit der Heiligen Schrift stimulierend ist, bietet es exemplarische Lektüren neutestamentlicher Texte als Identitätstexte, an die Leser:innen mit ihren eigenen Erfahrungen anknüpfen können, und einen Ausblick in das Potential kulturwissenschaftlicher Exegese.
Uploads
The hypothesis that Mark's gospel can be read as an anti-gospel to the rise of Vespasian has recently gained currency especially in German-speaking scholarship. Building on C.G. Jung's distinction between sensors and intuitors, this paper will in a first step explore possible points of critique from a social memory theory-point of view. A second step takes a more distanced look at the overall question and considers contexts of reception categories and their potential in 21st century exegesis after the linguistic and the cultural turn.
A closer look at the third gospel or Luke’s narration of the Jesus story quickly reveals that Luke does not only tell a slightly different story than the other Synoptics and John, but also presents a remarkably different depiction of the main character, Jesus. Luke’s Jesus does not only already as a child dispute with the teachers in the Temple; he is also able to read and mingles with wealthy people and persons of influence more frequently than in other gospels. A close reading of the text further reveals that wealthy people and persons of influence do not only appear in Luke’s gospel strikingly more often than in the other canonical Gospels but they are also presented differently. The same holds true for Jesus himself who seems to be a good deal better off than in Mark, Matthew and John. How do these observations inform the purpose and pragmatics of Luke’s text as a whole? The seminar paper explores what memory theory can contribute to a deeper understanding of Luke’s diegesis, his understanding of Jesus and the identity construction(s) the text offers to the reader – both Theophilus and the antique reception community.
As the first narrative text about Jesus, the Gospel of Mark always held a distinct position in historical and especially historical Jesus research. In the aftermath of the cultural turn, the text is today no longer regarded as a source providing information about how things have actually taken place, but with an increasingly scholarly interest perceived as a witness to Jesus memories, displaying a Jesus remembered. Reading Mark as an artefact of Early Christian collective memory has further paved the way to understanding the text as a source of distinct reception of Jesus and Jesus tradition – woven into a founding story for the generations to come. The paper reflects upon the hermeneutical shaping of the image of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel, considering how the text is both indebted to previous receptions of Jesus and providing a unique image of Jesus in the light of its social circumstances.
The concept generational gap (30-50 years) and floating gap (80-120 years), developed in social memory theory to get a better grasp not only of the distinction between collective memory and cultural memory, but also for processes of media change, textualization and canonization in collective memory, can also be used to get a fresh view on questions of the textualization of the New Testament and periods in Early Christianity. This contribution teams findings of social memory theory with observations from biblical scholars regarding these questions and explores the potential of a social memory theory-sensitive epoch model both for the understanding of Early Christianity and readings of early Christian texts as snapshots – frozen moments – of early Christian identity construction.
Considrations using the example of Colossians in the area of research in pseudepigraphy, two paradigm shift have led to new perspectives on the object of research. One is the approach to regard pseudepigraphal writings as fictional texts, the other is the assumption that pseudepigraphy does not refer to an authority of the past, but rather aims at establishing this authority. The article links both ideas with cultural memory theory and uses the example of Colossians to explore to what extent pseudepigraphy can be understood as a strategy in Early Christian identity discourses.
Knowing that this is an enterprise requiring a thorough discussion, this paper can only represent a single voice in a larger choir and can concentrate on but one aspect of the phenomenon. The aim of this article is to shed light on the question of terminology in order to de-confuse the terms social, collective and cultural memory on the one hand and soziales, kommunikatives and kulturelles Gedächtnis on the other. Examples from recent German historical documentaries will help to clarify the different types of social memory – here kommunikatives and kulturelles Gedächtnis – and suggest a way in which the concepts can be applied to Biblical Studies.
Marco Aimone, L’iscrizione cristiana del piatto Gualino (Torino, Galleria Sabauda). Nuovi spunti di interpretazione
Osvalda Andrei, Le settanta settimane di Daniele (Dn 9,24-27) in Giulio Africano tra ermeneutica cronografica e polemica contro l’esegesi escatologica
Ludovico Battista, Damnatus gratias agit. Il problema teologico-politico e la questione della secolarizzazione nell’Apologeticum di Tertulliano
Emanuele Castelli, Il I capitolo del Pastore di Erma alla luce delle recenti acquisizioni sul P. Bodmer XXXVIII e sulla Vulgata
Gabriele Castiglia, Between Aksum and Byzantium. The Rise of Early Christianity in the Horn of Africa: Sources and New Archaeological Data
Paola De Santis, Velia Polito, Tituli picti. Testimonianze epigrafiche dipinte dal complesso cimiteriale di Lamapopoli a Canosa di Puglia alla luce di recenti acquisizioni (ipogei F e G)
Sandra Huebenthal, Polycarp Unchained: How Cultural Studies Enhance Patristic Research
Luigi Lafasciano, ‘Praising the Saints’ in Order to See Them: Victricius of Rouen and the Development of the Early Christian Ritual of incubatio
Vincenzo Lomiento, Tessuto di immagini: l’esordio del secondo libro delle Confessioni di Agostino
Mario Resta, Donne sub districtione aeclesiastica: il ratto di vedove e consacrate nella legislazione canonica tardoantica
Note e discussioni
Rossana Barcellona, Percorsi di una religione dentro la storia e la letteratura. Riflessioni a margine di un libro recente: E. Prinzivalli, Il cristianesimo antico in Occidente fra tradizioni e traduzioni, Città Nuova, Roma 2019.
Recensioni
Schede bibliografiche
Libri pervenuti in Redazione
erstmals die Erkenntnisse interdisziplinärer Forschung
zu Gedächtnis und Erinnerung für die Interpretation
des Neuen Testaments. Jenseits der Frage wie es
gewesen ist, werden die Texte des Neuen Testaments
nicht als historische Berichte, Geschichtsschreibung
oder Augenzeugenerinnerung, sondern als Zeugnisse
frühchristlicher Identitätsbildung gelesen, die sich sozialen
Aushandlungsprozessen verdanken. Neben einer
grundlegenden Einführung in die Grundbegriffe kulturwissenschaftlicher
Gedächtnistheorie, die auch jenseits
der Arbeit mit der Heiligen Schrift stimulierend ist, bietet
es exemplarische Lektüren neutestamentlicher Texte
als Identitätstexte, an die Leser:innen mit ihren eigenen
Erfahrungen anknüpfen können, und einen Ausblick in
das Potential kulturwissenschaftlicher Exegese.
The hypothesis that Mark's gospel can be read as an anti-gospel to the rise of Vespasian has recently gained currency especially in German-speaking scholarship. Building on C.G. Jung's distinction between sensors and intuitors, this paper will in a first step explore possible points of critique from a social memory theory-point of view. A second step takes a more distanced look at the overall question and considers contexts of reception categories and their potential in 21st century exegesis after the linguistic and the cultural turn.
A closer look at the third gospel or Luke’s narration of the Jesus story quickly reveals that Luke does not only tell a slightly different story than the other Synoptics and John, but also presents a remarkably different depiction of the main character, Jesus. Luke’s Jesus does not only already as a child dispute with the teachers in the Temple; he is also able to read and mingles with wealthy people and persons of influence more frequently than in other gospels. A close reading of the text further reveals that wealthy people and persons of influence do not only appear in Luke’s gospel strikingly more often than in the other canonical Gospels but they are also presented differently. The same holds true for Jesus himself who seems to be a good deal better off than in Mark, Matthew and John. How do these observations inform the purpose and pragmatics of Luke’s text as a whole? The seminar paper explores what memory theory can contribute to a deeper understanding of Luke’s diegesis, his understanding of Jesus and the identity construction(s) the text offers to the reader – both Theophilus and the antique reception community.
As the first narrative text about Jesus, the Gospel of Mark always held a distinct position in historical and especially historical Jesus research. In the aftermath of the cultural turn, the text is today no longer regarded as a source providing information about how things have actually taken place, but with an increasingly scholarly interest perceived as a witness to Jesus memories, displaying a Jesus remembered. Reading Mark as an artefact of Early Christian collective memory has further paved the way to understanding the text as a source of distinct reception of Jesus and Jesus tradition – woven into a founding story for the generations to come. The paper reflects upon the hermeneutical shaping of the image of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel, considering how the text is both indebted to previous receptions of Jesus and providing a unique image of Jesus in the light of its social circumstances.
The concept generational gap (30-50 years) and floating gap (80-120 years), developed in social memory theory to get a better grasp not only of the distinction between collective memory and cultural memory, but also for processes of media change, textualization and canonization in collective memory, can also be used to get a fresh view on questions of the textualization of the New Testament and periods in Early Christianity. This contribution teams findings of social memory theory with observations from biblical scholars regarding these questions and explores the potential of a social memory theory-sensitive epoch model both for the understanding of Early Christianity and readings of early Christian texts as snapshots – frozen moments – of early Christian identity construction.
Considrations using the example of Colossians in the area of research in pseudepigraphy, two paradigm shift have led to new perspectives on the object of research. One is the approach to regard pseudepigraphal writings as fictional texts, the other is the assumption that pseudepigraphy does not refer to an authority of the past, but rather aims at establishing this authority. The article links both ideas with cultural memory theory and uses the example of Colossians to explore to what extent pseudepigraphy can be understood as a strategy in Early Christian identity discourses.
Knowing that this is an enterprise requiring a thorough discussion, this paper can only represent a single voice in a larger choir and can concentrate on but one aspect of the phenomenon. The aim of this article is to shed light on the question of terminology in order to de-confuse the terms social, collective and cultural memory on the one hand and soziales, kommunikatives and kulturelles Gedächtnis on the other. Examples from recent German historical documentaries will help to clarify the different types of social memory – here kommunikatives and kulturelles Gedächtnis – and suggest a way in which the concepts can be applied to Biblical Studies.
Marco Aimone, L’iscrizione cristiana del piatto Gualino (Torino, Galleria Sabauda). Nuovi spunti di interpretazione
Osvalda Andrei, Le settanta settimane di Daniele (Dn 9,24-27) in Giulio Africano tra ermeneutica cronografica e polemica contro l’esegesi escatologica
Ludovico Battista, Damnatus gratias agit. Il problema teologico-politico e la questione della secolarizzazione nell’Apologeticum di Tertulliano
Emanuele Castelli, Il I capitolo del Pastore di Erma alla luce delle recenti acquisizioni sul P. Bodmer XXXVIII e sulla Vulgata
Gabriele Castiglia, Between Aksum and Byzantium. The Rise of Early Christianity in the Horn of Africa: Sources and New Archaeological Data
Paola De Santis, Velia Polito, Tituli picti. Testimonianze epigrafiche dipinte dal complesso cimiteriale di Lamapopoli a Canosa di Puglia alla luce di recenti acquisizioni (ipogei F e G)
Sandra Huebenthal, Polycarp Unchained: How Cultural Studies Enhance Patristic Research
Luigi Lafasciano, ‘Praising the Saints’ in Order to See Them: Victricius of Rouen and the Development of the Early Christian Ritual of incubatio
Vincenzo Lomiento, Tessuto di immagini: l’esordio del secondo libro delle Confessioni di Agostino
Mario Resta, Donne sub districtione aeclesiastica: il ratto di vedove e consacrate nella legislazione canonica tardoantica
Note e discussioni
Rossana Barcellona, Percorsi di una religione dentro la storia e la letteratura. Riflessioni a margine di un libro recente: E. Prinzivalli, Il cristianesimo antico in Occidente fra tradizioni e traduzioni, Città Nuova, Roma 2019.
Recensioni
Schede bibliografiche
Libri pervenuti in Redazione
erstmals die Erkenntnisse interdisziplinärer Forschung
zu Gedächtnis und Erinnerung für die Interpretation
des Neuen Testaments. Jenseits der Frage wie es
gewesen ist, werden die Texte des Neuen Testaments
nicht als historische Berichte, Geschichtsschreibung
oder Augenzeugenerinnerung, sondern als Zeugnisse
frühchristlicher Identitätsbildung gelesen, die sich sozialen
Aushandlungsprozessen verdanken. Neben einer
grundlegenden Einführung in die Grundbegriffe kulturwissenschaftlicher
Gedächtnistheorie, die auch jenseits
der Arbeit mit der Heiligen Schrift stimulierend ist, bietet
es exemplarische Lektüren neutestamentlicher Texte
als Identitätstexte, an die Leser:innen mit ihren eigenen
Erfahrungen anknüpfen können, und einen Ausblick in
das Potential kulturwissenschaftlicher Exegese.