Hellenistic “Judaism” and the Social Origins of the “Pagan-Christian” Debate

Why did Latin writers label non-Christians with a word that evoked lack of culture (paganus) while their Greek brethren used a word (Hellene) that connoted the finest education around? This article proposes that Christians who used the latter adopted it from the world of the late Second Temple perio...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Boin, Douglas (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press 2014
In: Journal of early Christian studies
Year: 2014, Volume: 22, Issue: 2, Pages: 167-196
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)

MARC

LEADER 00000naa a22000002 4500
001 1789914132
003 DE-627
005 20220217053517.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 220217s2014 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.1353/earl.2014.0017  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1789914132 
035 |a (DE-599)KXP1789914132 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 1  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |a Boin, Douglas  |e VerfasserIn  |4 aut 
109 |a Boin, Douglas 
245 1 0 |a Hellenistic “Judaism” and the Social Origins of the “Pagan-Christian” Debate 
264 1 |c 2014 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a Why did Latin writers label non-Christians with a word that evoked lack of culture (paganus) while their Greek brethren used a word (Hellene) that connoted the finest education around? This article proposes that Christians who used the latter adopted it from the world of the late Second Temple period. In 2 Maccabees “Hellenism” is a straw man, used to contrast “real Judaism” with other Jews who were looked down upon for acting “Greek.” This dynamic suggests a new model for understanding the rise of paganus. Living in the wake of the so-called Edict of Milan, some Christians believed that social separation and rejection of Rome were non-negotiable aspects of Christian identity. Seeing themselves as heirs of Jewish tradition, embracing the legacy of the Maccabean martyrs who rejected aspects of Hellenistic culture, and writing in Greek, they adopted the word Hellene to disparage their more accommodating Christian peers. In Latin, the force of this argument was lost in translation. Drawing instead upon a tradition that divided “true Christian soldiers” from their more “civilian Christian peers,” Latin writers used paganus as a substitute. Hellene and pagan were thus deployed for similar ideological reasons throughout the fourth century: to draw lines in the sand between Christians over the issue of assimilation and accommodation. 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Journal of early Christian studies  |d Baltimore, Md. : Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1993  |g 22(2014), 2, Seite 167-196  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)302925481  |w (DE-600)1492973-9  |w (DE-576)266224059  |x 1086-3184  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:22  |g year:2014  |g number:2  |g pages:167-196 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.1353/earl.2014.0017  |x Resolving-System  |z lizenzpflichtig  |3 Volltext 
856 4 0 |u https://muse.jhu.edu/article/546835  |x Verlag  |z lizenzpflichtig  |3 Volltext 
935 |a mteo 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
ITA |a 1  |t 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 4060942669 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1789914132 
LOK |0 005 20220217053517 
LOK |0 008 220217||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 035   |a (DE-Tue135)IxTheo#2022-01-27#60544AC4E32E05F1CA6AA0BF10572878DD15592D 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a ixzs  |a ixrk  |a zota 
ORI |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw 

Similar Items

more