Public Disputation Power And Social Order In Late Antiquity

Richard Lim explores the importance of verbal disputation in Late Antiquity, offering a rich socio-historical and cultural examination of the philosophical and theological controversies. He shows how public disputation changed with the advent of Christianity from a means of discovering truth and self-identification to a form of social competition and "winning over" an opponent. He demonstrates how the reception and practice of public debate, like other forms of competition in Late Antiquity, were closely tied to underlying notions of authority, community and social order. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1995.

Integrating patristics and early Jewish mysticism, this book examines Gregory of Nyssa's tabernacle imagery, as found in Life of Moses 2. 170-201. Previous scholarship has often focused on Gregory's interpretation of the darkness on Mount Sinai as divine incomprehensibility. However, true to Exodus, Gregory continues with Moses's vision of the tabernacle 'not made with hands' received within that darkness. This innovative methodology of heuristic comparison doesn't strive to prove influence, but to use heavenly ascent texts as a foil, in order to shed new light on Gregory's imagery. Ann Conway-Jones presents a well-rounded, nuanced understanding of Gregory's exegesis, in which mysticism, theology, and politics are intertwined. Heavenly ascent texts use descriptions of religious experience to claim authoritative knowledge. For Gregory, the high point of Moses's ascent into the darkness of Mount Sinai is the mystery of Christian doctrine. The heavenly tabernacle is a type of the heavenly Christ. This mystery is beyond intellectual comprehension, it can only be grasped by faith; and only the select few, destined for positions of responsibility, should even attempt to do so.

“Adam Schor explores the social and doctrinal role of Theodoret in a novel and lively way, making use of social theory, and seeing Theodoret's activities and contacts against the rich documentation provided by the great ecclesiastical controversies of his time.” —Fergus Millar, author of A Greek Roman Empire: Power and Belief under Theodosius II, 408-450 “Schor's proposal that modern social network theory is the key to understanding Theodoret of Cyrus's social positioning and mode of controversy makes for compelling reading. His nuanced yet powerful analysis shows the continued relevance of socio-scientific methods for understanding the history of late antique Christianity.” —Richard Lim, author of Public Disputation, Power and Social Order in Late Antiquity "Adam Schor has written a lively and incisive study of a notoriously difficult era. Mining the substantial (but greatly understudied) letter collections of the times, applying the insights of network theory, and boldly taking on the entire corpus of Theodoret's writings—an ambitious project in itself—Schor has produced strikingly fresh material throughout. With rich insight and rigorous attention to detail, Schor opens new vistas on the late antique landscape. Thought-provoking at every turn!” Susan Ashbrook Harvey, author of Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination

Explore the different aspects of religious identity as it evolved from the third century onward from multiple contributors and different methodological approaches.