Notes on rehabilitating “magic” in the study of early Christian literature
This article offers an introduction to the study of magic in early Christian literature. In the first part of the article, I discuss the types of evidence scholars of early Christian texts often use to “reconstruct” ancient magic, as well as the methodological problems associated with these scholarl...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
2021
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| In: |
Religion compass
Year: 2021, Volume: 15, Issue: 10 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article offers an introduction to the study of magic in early Christian literature. In the first part of the article, I discuss the types of evidence scholars of early Christian texts often use to “reconstruct” ancient magic, as well as the methodological problems associated with these scholarly reconstructions. In the second part, I argue for the rehabilitating “magic” as a critical category in the study of early Christian literature despite the problems outlined throughout this article. Ultimately, I claim that the modern conceptual baggage associated with magic has resistive potential in undermining dominant historiographical narratives of how Christianity developed as something wholly distinct from magic. |
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| ISSN: | 1749-8171 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion compass
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/rec3.12415 |