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This fascinating and lively book provides the first comprehensive discussion of the production, circulation, and use of books in early Christianity. It explores the extent of literacy in early Christian communities; the relation in the early church between oral tradition and written materials; the physical form of early Christian books; how books were produced, transcribed, published, duplicated, and disseminated; how Christian libraries were formed; who read the books, in what circumstances, and to what purposes. Harry Y. Gamble interweaves practical and technological dimensions of the production and use of early Christian books with the social and institutional history of the period. Drawing on evidence from papyrology, codicology, textual criticism, and early church history, as well as on knowledge about the bibliographical practices that characterized Jewish and Greco-Roman culture, he offers a new perspective on the role of books in the first five centuries of the early church.
"This volume is a thorough and detailed study of the transmission of this letter in the early church, with a consideration of the shorter forms that circulated at various times and areas during the first centuries of the Church." - Bruce Metzger "Gamble examines the structure and composition of the New Testament letter in a way that not only contributes to the understanding of Romans, but is also of great value for Pauline studies in general. He shows himself master of the details of this intricate problem and of work on the Pauline letters as a whole." - G. D. Kilpatrick
Free-thinking Thomas Jefferson established the University of Virginia as a secular institution and stipulated that the University should not provide any instruction in religion. Yet over the course of the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth, religion came to have a prominent place in the University, which today maintains the largest department of religious studies of any public university in America. Given his intentions, how did Jefferson's university undergo such remarkable transformations? In God on the Grounds, esteemed religious studies scholar Harry Gamble offers the first history of religion’s remarkably large role—both in practice and in study—at UVA. Jefferson’s ...
This careful evaluation of the Òproblem of the New Testament canonÓ engages historical, literary, and theological questions often not raised by the general reader. How did this collection of writings come into being? What assumptions and intentions contributed to its formation? Who or what determined its contents? On what basis did special authority come to be attached to these writings? How does the character of this collection bear upon its interpretation? In what ways does this collection claim or exercise religious authority? After grappling with these basic questions, Gamble concludes: ÒThe history of the canon indicates clearly enough that the contents of the New Testament were determined by the church on the basis of tradition...one cannot have scripture without also having tradition.Ó
What does it mean to speak of a "canon" of scripture? How, when, and where did the canon of the Hebrew Bible come into existence? Why does it have three divisions? What canon was in use among the Jews of the Hellenistic diaspora? At Qumran? In Roman Palestine? Among the rabbis? What Bible did Jesus and his disciples know and use? How was the New Testament canon formed and closed? What role was played by Marcion? By gnostics? By the church fathers? What did the early church make of the apocrypha and pseudepigrapha? By what criteria have questions of canonicity been decided? Are these past decisions still meaningful faith communities today? Are they open to revision? These and other debated qu...
Friedrich Schleiermacher's groundbreaking work in theology and philosophy was forged in the cultural ferment of Berlin at the convergence of the Enlightenment and Romanticism. The three sections of this book include illuminating sketches of Schleiermacher's relationship to contemporaries (Mendelssohn, Hegel and Kierkegaard), his work as public theologian (dialogue on Jewish emancipation, founding the University of Berlin) as well as the formation and impact of his two most famous books, On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers and The Christian Faith. Richard Crouter examines Schleiermacher's stance regarding the status of doctrine, Church and political authority, and the place of theology among the academic disciplines. Dedicated to the Protestant Church in the line of Calvin, Schleiermacher was equally a man of the university who brought the highest standards of rationality, linguistic sensitivity and a sense of history to bear upon religion.
The Early Text of the New Testament aims to examine and assess from our earliest extant sources the most primitive state of the New Testament text now known. What sort of changes did scribes make to the text? What is the quality of the text now at our disposal? What can we learn about the nature of textual transmission in the earliest centuries? In addition to exploring the textual and scribal culture of early Christianity, this volume explores the textual evidence for all the sections of the New Testament. It also examines the evidence from the earliest translations of New Testament writings and the citations or allusions to New Testament texts in other early Christian writers.
After the turn of the twentieth century, schools played a pivotal role in the construction of French West Africa. But as this dynamic, deeply researched study reveals, the expanding school system also became the site of escalating conflicts. As French authorities worked to develop truncated schools for colonial "subjects," many African students and young elites framed educational projects of their own. Weaving together a complex narrative and rich variety of voices, Harry Gamble explores the high stakes of colonial education. With the disruptions of World War II, contests soon took on new configurations. Seeking to forestall postwar challenges to colonial rule, French authorities showed a ne...
Your son or your queen - what price can Elizabeth demand for loyalty? Young Elizabeth I's path to the throne has been a perilous one, and already she faces a dangerous crisis. French troops have landed in Scotland to quell a rebel Protestant army and Elizabeth fears that once entrenched on the border, they will invade England. Isabel Thornleigh, recently returned from the New World with her Spanish husband, Carlos Valverde, and their young son, is recruited by the queen to smuggle money to the Scottish rebels. Yet Elizabeth's trust only goes so far - Isabel's son will be the queen's pampered hostage until she completes her mission. But matters grow worse when Isabel's husband is engaged as military advisor to the French, putting the couple on opposite sides in a deadly spying war... Praise for Barbara Kyle: 'Unfurls a complex and fast paced plot, mixing history with vibrant characters.' Publishers Weekly 'Kyle is adept at layering her tale with colourful descriptions, accurate details and exciting twists with a fast-paced plot designed to keep readers' attention.' Romantic Times