Author: Louis Markos Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com ISBN: 1458726797 Category : Christianity and literature Languages : en Pages : 442
Book Description
''The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact.'' - C.S. LEWIS In From Achilles to Christ, Louis Markos introduces readers to the great narratives of classical mythology from a Christian perspective. From the battles of Achilles and the adventures of Odysseus to the feats of Hercules and the trials of Aeneas, Markos demonstrates how the characters, themes and symbols within these myths both foreshadow and find their fulfillment in the story of Jesus Christ - the ''myth made fact.'' Along the way, he dispels misplaced fears about the dangers of reading classical literature and offers a Christian approach to the appropriation and interpretation of these great literary works. This engaging and eminently readable book is an excellent resource for Christian students, teachers and readers of classical literature. ''this is a much-needed Christian introduction to the classical pagan sources that framed the Mediterranean culture in which the apostles proclaimed the gospel. The argument of this book would have been obvious to the church fathers.'' PATRICK HENRY REARDON, senior editor, Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, and author of The Trial of Job.
Author: Leland Ryken Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers ISBN: 1725208407 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 240
Book Description
Throughout history, great literature has been a cohesive force in Western culture. It interprets our experiences and tells us the truth about our fears and longings. It is a catalyst to our thinking and an invaluable index to the minds and feelings of people around us. In 'Realms of Gold,' Leland Ryken proceeds chronologically through some of the best of the best, from Homer through Shakespeare to Camus, offering not only a taste of the classics, but a framework in which to analyze them. For students studying literature, this book serves as an introduction to the classics as friends; for those who have not read the classics in a long time, it is motivation to renew delightful acquaintances; for people who already know the classics as intimate friends, it offers the opportunity to renew acquaintance within a Christian context.
Author: Dennis Ronald MacDonald Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 9780300080124 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 284
Book Description
In this groundbreaking book, Dennis R. MacDonald offers an entirely new view of the New Testament gospel of Mark. The author of the earliest gospel was not writing history, nor was he merely recording tradition, MacDonald argues. Close reading and careful analysis show that Mark borrowed extensively from the Odyssey and the Iliad and that he wanted his readers to recognise the Homeric antecedents in Mark's story of Jesus. Mark was composing a prose anti-epic, MacDonald says, presenting Jesus as a suffering hero modeled after but far superior to traditional Greek heroes. Much like Odysseus, Mark's Jesus sails the seas with uncomprehending companions, encounters preternatural opponents, and suffers many things before confronting rivals who have made his house a den of thieves. In his death and burial, Jesus emulates Hector, although unlike Hector Jesus leaves his tomb empty. Mark's minor characters, too, recall Homeric predecessors: Bartimaeus emulates Tiresias; Joseph of Arimathea, Priam; and the women at the tomb, Helen, Hecuba, and Andromache. And, entire episodes in Mark mirror Homeric episodes, including stilling the sea, walking on water, feeding the multitudes, the Triumphal E
Author: Dyan Elliott Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN: 0812206932 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 477
Book Description
The early Christian writer Tertullian first applied the epithet "bride of Christ" to the uppity virgins of Carthage as a means of enforcing female obedience. Henceforth, the virgin as Christ's spouse was expected to manifest matronly modesty and due submission, hobbling virginity's ancient capacity to destabilize gender roles. In the early Middle Ages, the focus on virginity and the attendant anxiety over its possible loss reinforced the emphasis on claustration in female religious communities, while also profoundly disparaging the nonvirginal members of a given community. With the rising importance of intentionality in determining a person's spiritual profile in the high Middle Ages, the title of bride could be applied and appropriated to laywomen who were nonvirgins as well. Such instances of democratization coincided with the rise of bridal mysticism and a progressive somatization of female spirituality. These factors helped cultivate an increasingly literal and eroticized discourse: women began to undergo mystical enactments of their union with Christ, including ecstatic consummations and vivid phantom pregnancies. Female mystics also became increasingly intimate with their confessors and other clerical confidants, who were sometimes represented as stand-ins for the celestial bridegroom. The dramatic merging of the spiritual and physical in female expressions of religiosity made church authorities fearful, an anxiety that would coalesce around the figure of the witch and her carnal induction into the Sabbath.
Author: Louis Markos
Author: 
Author: 
Author: 
Author: 
Author: Laura Jepsen
Author: 
Author: Leland Ryken
Author: Dennis Ronald MacDonald
Author: Dyan Elliott