Experientia, Volume 1: Inquiry into Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Christianity (Symposium Series 40)

Cover......Page 1
EXPERIENTIA, VOLUME 1: Inquiry into Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Christianity......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
Abbreviations......Page 8
Frances Flannery: Introduction: Religious Experience, Past and Present......Page 12
Part 1: Body and Self in Religious Experience......Page 22
Frances Flannery: The Body and Ritual Reconsidered, Imagined, and Experienced......Page 24
Paul’s Own Mysticism......Page 30
The Spiritual Body and Its Presence in Ascent Mysticism......Page 34
Transformation into the Christ......Page 36
1 Corinthians 15......Page 41
Martyrdom and Transformation......Page 43
1 Corinthians 15:37–57......Page 47
Introduction: Problematic Previous Approaches to Possession......Page 52
Medical Anthropology: The Social and Political Meaning of Illness and Healing......Page 53
Frantz Fanon, Spirit Possession, and Exorcism among African Peoples......Page 55
Roman Emperor Cult in Greek Cities......Page 59
Responses to Imperial Power in Roman Judea......Page 60
Spirit Possession and Exorcism in the Gospel of Mark......Page 62
Conclusion......Page 67
Rodney A. Werline: The Experience of Prayer and Resistance to Demonic Powers in the Gospel of Mark......Page 70
Approaching Mark......Page 72
Prayer and Confrontation with Demonic Powers: The Temptation in the Wilderness......Page 73
Confrontations with the Sea......Page 75
The Disciples’ Struggles......Page 76
Confrontation with Empire......Page 77
Habitus: Apotropaic Prayers in other Second Temple Texts......Page 78
The Practice of Prayer and Religious Experience......Page 80
Part 2: Text and Religious Experience......Page 84
Steven M. Wasserstrom: The Medium of the Divine......Page 86
Celia Deutsch: Visions, Mysteries, and the Interpretive Task: Text Work and Religious Experience in Philo and Clement......Page 94
Φιλοσοφία, Θεωρία and the Bible......Page 98
Ascent and the Mysteries......Page 100
Παιδεία and Ascent......Page 101
Σοφία’s Illumination and the Mysteries of the Text......Page 102
Παιδεία, Ἄσκησις and the Interpretative Task......Page 104
Γνῶσις and Allegorical Interpretation......Page 105
“Greeks,” Allegory, and the Mysteries......Page 106
Vision and Text......Page 107
Γνῶσις, Sanctuary, and Text......Page 108
Λόγος, the Biblical Text, and the Inexpressible God......Page 110
Access to the Sanctuary of the Text......Page 111
Ascetical Practice, Encyclicals, and the Text......Page 112
Conclusions......Page 113
What Jesus did, the Gospel does......Page 116
John 1–11: The Rebirth of the Readers from Above......Page 119
John’s Readers and Their Reading: A Catachetical Setting......Page 124
John 17–20: Elevating the Reader......Page 126
John 20: John’s Easter Story......Page 128
The Gospel’s Reception: Register and Function......Page 130
John: Midwife of Rebirth from Above......Page 133
Crispin Fletcher-Louis: Religious Experience and the Apocalypses......Page 136
Phases One and Two......Page 137
The Third Phase: A New Perspective on Apocalyptic......Page 143
Three Texts Illustrating the New Perspective......Page 145
Daniel and the New Perspective......Page 146
1 Enoch and the New Perspective......Page 148
Joseph and Aseneth and the New Perspective......Page 150
The Similarities between Daniel, 1 Enoch and Joseph and Aseneth......Page 153
Religious Experience and the New Perspective on Apocalyptic......Page 154
Part 3: Paul and Religious Experience......Page 156
Against “Religious Experience” in Paul......Page 158
For “Religious Experience” in Paul......Page 162
The Importance of Religious Experience in Paul......Page 166
Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte: Paul’s Rapture: 2 Corinthians 12:2–4 and the Language of the Mystics......Page 170
Paul’s Rapture as Described in 2 Cor 12:2–4......Page 173
Paul’s Experience and Jewish Mysticism......Page 180
Paul, Christ, and Visionary Experiences......Page 184
Conclusion......Page 186
Introduction, Method, and Purpose......Page 188
Attitudes Toward Dreams/Visions in Antiquity......Page 189
Dreams/Visions and the Question of Religious Experience......Page 191
Method and Purpose......Page 194
Textual Discussion: Saul’s/Paul’s Conversion (Acts 9, 22, and 26)......Page 195
Paul’s Dream/Vision at Troas......Page 198
Concluding Comments on Dreams/Visions, Interpretation, and Religious Experience......Page 202
Colleen Shantz: The Confluence of Trauma and Transcendence in the Pauline Corpus......Page 204
Identifying Religious Experience in the Text.......Page 206
The Pairing of Suffering and Ecstasy......Page 208
Paul’s Body of Knowledge......Page 211
Conclusion......Page 215
Rollin A. Ramsaran: Response to Papers by Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Colleen Shantz, Bert Peerbolte, and John B. Miller......Page 218
Bibliographyy......Page 224
Contributors......Page 246
Subject Index......Page 248
Index of Ancient Texts......Page 254
Index of Modern Authors......Page 268