Märtyrer und Sophisten als religiöse Virtuosen? Zur performance religiösen Wissens in der römischen Kaiserzeit
Starting with modern discussions (from 1900 onwards) about the notion of the »religious virtuoso« (religiöser Virtuose), the article reconstructs the emergence of the early Christian term »martyr« during the first and second century in the cultural environment of the Roman Empire. In Christian autho...
| Published in: | Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | German |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Diagonal-Verlag
2012
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| In: |
Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Starting with modern discussions (from 1900 onwards) about the notion of the »religious virtuoso« (religiöser Virtuose), the article reconstructs the emergence of the early Christian term »martyr« during the first and second century in the cultural environment of the Roman Empire. In Christian authors (e. g. Paulus, Ignatius of Antioch, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Justin) the issue of religious authority of clerics, martyrs and confessors is connected to the debate about »true prophecy«. This culminates in the rhetorical or even real performance of the claim of religious authority in the political arena of the Roman amphitheatre. A comparison between Christian discourse and contemporary Second Sophistic debates about religious and philosophical knowledge points to divination as a central concern of pagan intellectuals (a close parallel to the Christian discourse about »true prophecy«). Moreover, the question of performance was addressed, albeit in a different way: religion was regarded as »cultural asset« of »Greek education”« (paideía) in the rhetorical performances by famous sophists. Max Weber’s notion of the »religious virtuoso« only partly describes these facts. It is true that there where debates about different religious qualifications during the first and second century, but they were not limited to the »religion of salvation« (Heilsreligion) called Christianity. Rather the discussion about religious knowledge, its performance and its authority was important to both Christian and pagan intellectuals. |
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| ISSN: | 2194-508X |
| Contains: | In: Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/zfr.2009.17.1.5 |