The Challenge of Homer : School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity.
Title:
The Challenge of Homer : School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity.
Author:
Sandnes, Karl Olav.
ISBN:
9780567601117
Personal Author:
Edition:
1st ed.
Physical Description:
1 online resource (337 pages)
Series:
The Library of New Testament Studies ; v.400
The Library of New Testament Studies
Contents:
Contents -- Abbreviations -- Note on Sources -- Preface -- PART 1: SCHOOL AND ENCYCLICAL EDUCATION IN ANTIQUITY -- 1 INTRODUCTION -- 1.1 A Young Boy's Textbook and a Big Challenge -- 1.2 Literacy and Education among the Christians -- 1.3 Is Greek Education Mentioned in the New Testament? -- 1.4 The Aim of this Study -- 1.5 Method -- 2 SCHOOL IN THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD -- 2.1 Introductory Comments -- 2.2 Sources -- 2.3 The Marrou Tradition: A Tripartite Educational Pattern -- 2.4 Teaching Methods and Discipline -- 2.5 Looking for a Teacher - Starting a Climb to the Top -- 2.6 Girls Participating as Well? -- 3 THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF HOMER -- 3.1 Homer: the Omniscient -- 3.2 Homer: the Inspired -- 3.3 Homer: Forming the Identity of a Culture -- 3.4 Homer: Interpreted and Criticized -- 4 KNOWLEDGE AND FORMATION: THE INSUFFICIENCY OF ENCYCLICAL STUDIES -- 4.1 Teachers as Artisans: An Aristocratic Tradition -- 4.2 What Does Teaching Do to the Students? Some Illustrations -- 4.3 Propaideutic -- 4.4 Penelope and her Maidservants -- 4.5 Becoming a Good Man (vir bonus) -- 5 PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA: A HELLENISTIC JEW ON GREEK EDUCATION -- 5.1 Sarah and Hagar -- 5.2 'Pre-school' -- 5.3 Why Encyclical Studies? -- 5.4 Real Paideia: The Law of Moses -- 6 SUMMARY OF PART 1 -- PART 2: THE CHRISTIAN AGÓN OVER ENCYCLICAL STUDIES IN THE FIRST FOUR CENTURIES CE -- 7 JUSTIN MARTYR, HIS STUDENT TATIAN AND TWO PS.JUSTINS -- 7.1 Justin Martyr -- 7.2 Tatian: A Student of Justin -- 7.3 Two Ps.Justins -- 8 THE APOSTOLIC TRADITION: PROHIBITED OCCUPATIONS -- 9 THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES (DIDASKALIA APOSTOLORUM) AND THE SYRIAC TRADITION: 'AVOID ALL THE BOOKS OF THE GENTILES' -- 10 TERTULLIAN: LEARNING BUT NOT TEACHING ENCYCLICAL STUDIES -- 10.1 A Pattern of Insurmountable Contrasts -- 10.2 On Idolatry -- 11 CLEMENT AND ORIGEN: CHRISTIAN TEACHERS IN ALEXANDRIA.
11.1 Clement of Alexandria: Propaideia Protects Faith -- 11.2 Origen: The Silver and Gold of the Egyptians -- 11.3 Origen and Celsus: Christian Faith for the Unlearned? -- 11.4 The Alexandrian 'Summary' -- 12 FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIANUS - EMPEROR AND APOSTATE: CHRISTIAN TEACHERS ARE IMMORAL -- 12.1 A Law Concerning Christian Teachers -- 12.2 Imperial Rhetoric Inspired by Aristotle and the Bible -- 13 THE CAPPADOCIAN FATHERS -- 13.1 Basil of Caesarea/Basil the Great: Ad adolescentes -- 13.2 Gregory of Nazianzus' Encomium for Basil -- 13.3 Gregory of Nyssa's Life of Moses -- 14 JEROME: AN ASCETIC ADDICTED TO GREEK LEARNING -- 14.1 Renunciation -- 14.2 Greek Education and the Wisdom of Christ (1 Cor. 1-2) -- 14.3 Jerome Ambivalent -- 14.4 Jerome Defends Paul or Rather Vice Versa: Commentary on Paul's Letter to Titus -- 14.5 Encyclical Studies Taught in a Christian Setting - Towards Monastery Schools? -- 15 AUGUSTINE: LIBERAL STUDIES - A WINDOW ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GREEK CULTURE AND CHRISTIAN FAITH -- 15.1 Liberal Studies and Conversion -- 15.2 De doctrina Christiana -- 16 SUMMARY OF PART 2 -- 16.1 Common Ground - Talking at Cross-Purposes -- 16.2 Opposition to Encyclical Studies -- 16.3 Encyclical Studies Cannot Be Avoided -- 16.4 Advocates of Encyclical Studies -- 16.5 Arguments Employed in the Debate -- PART 3: LOOKING BACK TO THE NEW TESTAMENT -- 17 THE NEW TESTAMENT AND ENCYCLICAL STUDIES -- 17.1 General Observations -- 17.2 Paul on Encyclical Studies? -- 17.3 Summarizing Paul on Encyclical Studies -- 18 CONCLUSION -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX OF REFERENCES -- INDEX OF AUTHORS -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.
Abstract:
Homer was the gateway to education, to the skills of reading and writing. These skills were necessary for the nascent Church. Knowledge of Homer's writings was a sign of Greekness, of at-home-ness in the society. Education was embedded in the mythology, immorality and idolatry of these writings. This challenged the Christians. This study presents how Christians responded to this. The opinions varied from rejection of Homer and all pagan literature, considering them works of the Devil, to critical involvement with this literature. This study attempts to trace the discourse on Homer and education among the Christians back to the New Testament. The topic does not come to the surface, but it is argued that in Paul's letters contrasting attitudes towards the propaideutic logic and the philosophical principle of usus (making right use of) are present. He opposed a logic wherein Christian faith represented the peak of education, the culmination of liberal studies. In his instruction on how to relate to the pagan world, Paul argues in accordance with the principle of usus. The New Testament is not so dependent upon the Homeric poems, as assumed by some scholars. The first Christians faced two hermeneutical challenges of fundamental importnce: that of interpreting the Old Testament and how to cope with the Greek legacy embedded in Homer. The latter is not explicitly raised in the New Testament. But since the art of interpreting any text, presupposes reading skills, conveyed through liberal studies, the Homeric challenge must have been of outmost importance.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
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