Experiencing the Shepherd of Hermas

Published by De Gruyter 2022

Experiencing the Shepherd of Hermas

Edited by: Angela Kim Harkins and Harry O. Maier

Volume 10 in the series Ekstasis: Religious Experience from Antiquity to the Middle Ages

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110780741

Overview
Contents

About this book

The Shepherd of Hermas is one of the oldest and most well-attested Christian works. Its popularity arguably exceeded that of the canonical Gospels. Many early Christian thinkers regarded the Shepherd as authoritative and cited it in their own writings, even though its status as Scripture was controversial. The far-reaching influence of the Shepherd during the first few centuries is attested in part by the many languages in which it was copied: Latin, Ethiopic, Coptic, Middle Persian, and Georgian. The early dating and wide dissemination of the Shepherd of Hermas offers us access to a period when canonical boundaries were elastic. This volume treats religious experience in the Shepherd, a topic that has received little scholarly attention. It complements a growing body of literature that explores the text from social-historical perspectives. Leading scholars approach it from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, including critical literary theory, anthropology, cognitive science, affect theory, gender studies, intersectionality, and text reception. In doing so, they pose fresh questions to one of the most widely read texts in the early church, offering new insights to scholars and students alike.

Author / Editor information

Angela Kim Harkins, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, USA, and Harry O. Maier, Vancouver School of Theology, Canada.

Reviews

"Many of the contributions use social-science models and theories to expand the understanding of Hermas. All move beyond the assumptions of traditional Western methods and perspectives. With this collection, the interpretation of Hermas is open to new possibilities." Carolyn Osiekin: The Catholic Biblical Quaterly, 2023

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Foreword Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
I The Shepherd, the Self, and Subjectivity
Negotiating the Experience of Possession in Hermas’s Shepherd Giovanni B. Bazzana Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
A True Prophet as a Mouthpiece of the Spirit? Cultivating Virtue and Control Jung H. Choi Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
Gender, Volubility, and Transformation in the Shepherd of Hermas B. Diane Lipsett Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
The Affect and Happy Objects of the Shepherd of Hermas Harry O. Maier Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
II Visions and Experiences of the Divine
Psychotropic Elements in Hermas’s First Two Visions: Between Experience and Culture Luca Arcari Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
Entering the Narrative World of Hermas’s Visions Angela Kim Harkins Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	117
Experience through Narrative in the Shepherd of Hermas Aldo Tagliabue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
Shepherd of Hermas Vision 5 and the Christian Experience of Pagan Epiphany Jason Robert Combs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
God’s Multiple Forms: Divine Fluidity in the Shepherd of Hermas Brittany E. Wilson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
III Experiencing the Shepherd as Text
The Former Slave Hermas, Lady Church and ‘the Book’ Marianne Bjelland Kartzow Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
Authority, Fragmentation, Dilution: Experiencing an Apocalyptic Text in Late Antiquity Dan Batovici Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235
List of Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	257
Index of Subjects Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	261
Ancient Text Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	265

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Scholars in the fields of early Christianity, cognitive science of religion, the social sciences, and social history.
Pages
- Front matter: 12
- Main content: 275
Keywords: Prophecy; visions; Self / Subjectivity; religious experience.

eBook

Published: June 6, 2022
ISBN: 9783110780741

Hardcover

Published: June 6, 2022
ISBN: 9783110779547