Social Memory and Social Identity in the Study of Early Judaism and Early Christianity (eBook)

Samuel Byrskog, Raimo Hakola, Jutta Maria Jokiranta (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF

2016 | 1. Auflage
312 Seiten
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Unipress (Verlag)
9783647593753 (ISBN)

Infos

The concepts of social memory and social identity have been increasingly used in the study of ancient Jewish and Christian sources. In this collection of articles, international specialists apply interdisciplinary methodology related to these concepts to early Jewish and Christian sources. The volume offers an up-to-date presentation of how social memory studies and socio-psychological identity approach have been used in the study of Biblical and related literature. The articles examine how Jewish and Christian sources participate in the processes of collective recollection and in this way contribute to the construction of distinctive social identities. The writers demonstrate the benefits of the use of interdisciplinary methodologies in the study of early Judaism and Christianity but also discuss potential problems that have emerged when modern theories have been applied to ancient material.In the first part of the book, scholars apply social, collective and cultural memory approaches to early Christian sources. The articles discuss philosophical aspects of memory, the formation of gospel traditions in the light of memory studies, the role of eyewitness testimony in canonical and non-canonical Christian sources and the oral delivery of New Testament writings in relation to ancient delivery practices. Part two applies the social identity approach to various Dead Sea Scrolls and New Testament writings. The writers analyse the role marriage, deviant behaviour, and wisdom traditions in the construction of identity in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Other topics include forgiveness in the Gospel of Matthew, the imagined community in the Gospel John, the use of the past in Paul's Epistles and the relationship between the covenant and collective identity in the Epistle to the Hebrews and the First Epistle of Clement.

Raimo Hakola has a ThD in Biblical Studies and is Acting University Lecturer in New Testament Studies at the University of Helsinki.

Inhalt

Title Page 4
Copyright 5
Body 8
Raimo Hakola/Samuel Byrskog/Jutta Jokiranta: Introduction 8
Social and Collective Memory 10
Social Identity Approach 12
The Articles of the Book 14
I Social Memory 22
Samuel Byrskog: Philosophical Aspects on Memory: Aristotle, Augustine and Bultmann 24
Memory in Perspective 24
Aristotle, De Memoria et Reminiscentia 28
Augustine, Confessiones 31
Bultmann, Jesus and The Presence of Eternity 38
Conclusions 42
Alan Kirk: The Formation of the Synoptic Tradition: Cognitive and Cultural Approaches to an Old Problem 50
Mental Schemas, Cultural Schemas, and Memory Formation 51
Memory in Communications Media: Genres, Gattungen, Forms 56
From “Collaborative Remembering” to Tradition Artifacts 57
Cognitive-Cultural Coupling: Tradition as Cybernetic Memory 60
Whatever Happened to the Eyewitness Memories? 62
Tradition as an Autonomous Cognitive System 64
Oral and Written Media 65
Making Sense of the Synoptic Tradition 66
Sandra Huebenthal: Reading the Gospel of Mark as Collective Memory 70
Social Memory Theory and the New Testament 71
Reading Mark as Collective Memory, or: what does the Gospel of Mark narrate beyond the story of Jesus? 77
Please join in: How the Gospel invites recipients to become part of it 80
Technical observations, or: how does the narration achieve its goals? 82
Concluding remarks: Was the Markan concept successful? 86
Kari Syreeni: Eyewitness Testimony, First-Person Narration and Authorial Presence as Means of Legitimation in Early Gospel Literature 90
Introduction 90
Mark 92
Matthew 95
Luke 97
John 100
The Gospel of Thomas 104
The Gospel of Peter 105
The Gospel of Mary 106
Jewish Christian Gospels 107
Infancy Gospels 108
Conclusion: “The Mnemonic Trajectory” in a Literary and Socio-Cognitive Perspective 109
Dan Nässelqvist: Dual Conventions: The Oral Delivery of New Testament Writings in Light of First-Century Delivery Practices 112
The Uniform Model: Oral Performance 112
A More Diversified Model: Tellings and Public Readings 115
Distinguishing the Types 116
Oral Performance 116
Public Reading 117
Fitting New Testament Writings into the Picture 118
A Comparison of the Two Types 120
Conclusions 124
II Social Identity 126
Cecilia Wassén: The Importance of Marriage in the Construction of a Sectarian Identity in the Dead Sea Scrolls 128
Introduction 128
General Views on Marriage and Sexual Relations 131
4QMMT 133
Social Identity Approach 138
Key texts in the Damascus Document 141
CD 2:14?3:12 142
CD 4:13?5:11 144
CD 7:4?9 148
Conclusion 149
Jutta Jokiranta: Black Sheep, Outsiders, and the Qumran Movement: Social-Psychological Perspectives on Norm-Deviant Behaviour 152
Introduction 152
Categorization 155
Social Cognition and Social Self 156
Outgroup Homogeneity Effect 157
Black Sheep Effect 157
Deviant Behaviour in the Community Rule: When to Excuse and When not to? 161
People of Injustice in Community Rule: Outgroup, or Ingroup Deviants? 164
Conclusions 172
Elisa Uusimäki: Wisdom, Scripture, and Identity Formation in 4QBeatitudes 176
Introduction 176
Social Identity and Religious Texts 177
Fortunate Ones and the Prospect of Eternal Curses in 4Q525 178
The Acts of Blessing and Cursing 181
The Performative Role of Words in 4Q525 183
Language and Creation of Social Reality in 4Q525 186
Conclusions 187
Rikard Roitto: Forgiveness, Rituals, and Social Identity in Matthew: Obliging Forgiveness 188
Introduction 188
Forgiveness and the Narrative Rationale of the Group 190
Forgiveness and Contrast to Outgroups 193
The Imagination of Sin in Matthew 195
Formation of Social Identity through Rituals of Divine Forgiveness 197
The Lord's Prayer 197
Intercessory Prayers for Sinners 199
The Eucharist 203
Interpersonal Forgiveness and Identity Formation 205
Forgiveness and Non-Retaliation Towards Outsiders 206
Intra-group Forgiveness 208
Integration of Divine and Interpersonal Forgiveness 208
Summary 209
Raimo Hakola: The Johannine Community as a Constructed, Imagined Community 212
No Johannine Community at all? 213
From Sociohistorical Relations to Communities as Imagined Constructions 218
The Origins of the Community 223
The Boundaries of the Community 227
The Symbols of Belonging and the Unity of the Community 230
The Community and the World 236
Conclusion 240
Nina Nikki: Contesting the Past, Competing over the Future: Why is Paul Past-Oriented in Galatians and Romans, but Future-Oriented in Philippians? 242
Introduction 242
Social memory, possible social identities and leadership in inter-group conflict 243
Contesting the past in Galatians 247
Unity through a shared past in Romans 251
Forgetting the past and embracing the future in Philippians 253
Conclusions 256
Martin Wessbrandt: Covenant, Conflict and Collective Identity: The Relationship between Hebrews and 1 Clement 258
Earlier Discussions of the Relationship 258
Collective Identity 260
The Letter to the Hebrews and Collective Identity 263
Hebrews 13 and the Drawing of Boundaries 265
Covenant and the Construction of Community in Hebrews 267
1 Clement and Collective Identity 268
Covenant in 1 Clement 270
The Jerusalem Cult in 1 Clement 272
Collective Identity in 1 Clement 274
Conclusion 275
Bibliography 276
Abbreviations 310

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 12.9.2016
• Reihe/Serie: Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus / Studien zur Umwelt des Neuen Testaments
• Reihe/Serie: Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus / Studien zur Umwelt des Neuen Testaments
• Reihe/Serie: Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus / Studien zur Umwelt des Neuen Testaments.
• Co-Autor: Samuel Byrskog, Raimo Hakola, Jutta Maria Jokiranta, Sandra Huebenthal
• Verlagsort: Göttingen
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Christentum
• Schlagworte: Christentum • Exegese • Frühjudentum • Neues Testament
• ISBN-13: 9783647593753 / 9783647593753