Memory, Tradition, And Text: Uses of the Past in Early Christianity (Society of Biblical Literature Semeia Studies) (Semeia Studies-Society of Biblical Literature)

Alan Kirk (Editor)

ISBN 10: 1589831497 / ISBN 13: 9781589831490

Published by Society of Biblical Literature, 2005

About this Item

Seller Inventory # BSM.1869L

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Memory, Tradition, And Text: Uses of the Past in Early Christianity (Society of Biblical Literature Semeia Studies) (Semeia Studies-Society of Biblical Literature)
• Publisher: Society of Biblical Literature
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1589831497
• ISBN 13: 9781589831490
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: very_good

About this title

Synopsis

Social and cultural memory theory examines the ways communities and individuals reconstruct and commemorate their pasts in light of shared experiences and current social realities. Drawing on the methods of this emerging field, this volume both introduces memory theory to biblical scholars and restores the category “memory” to a preeminent position in research on Christian origins. In the process, the volume challenges current approaches to research problems in Christian origins, such as the history of the Gospel traditions, the birth of early Christian literature, ritual and ethics, and the historical Jesus. The essays, taken in aggregate, outline a comprehensive research agenda for examining the beginnings of Christianity and its literature and also propose a fundamentally revised model for the phenomenology of early Christian oral tradition, assess the impact of memory theory upon historical Jesus research, establish connections between memory dynamics and the appearance of written Gospels, and assess the relationship of early Christian commemorative activities with the cultural memory of ancient Judaism.

About the Author

Alan Kirk is Associate Professor of Religion at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Tom Thatcher is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Cincinnati Christian University and the author of the SBL volume The Riddles of Jesus in John: A Study in Tradition and Folklore.