Conversion and initiation in Antiquity : shifting identities, creating change : [papers originally presented at a conference held in Ebeltoft, Denmark, December 1st-4th 2012, at Aarhus University

For decades, Arthur D. Nock’s famous definition of conversion and his distinction between conversion and adhesion have greatly influenced our understanding of individual religious transformation in the ancient world. The articles in this volume – originally presented as papers at the conference __Conversion and Initiation in Antiquity__ (Ebeltoft, Denmark, December 2012) – aim to nuance this understanding. They do so by exploring different facets of these two phenomena in a wide range of religions in their own context and from new theoretical and empirical perspectives. The result is a compilation of many new insights into ancient initiation and conversion as well as their definitions and characteristics. Cover Contents Abbreviations Introduction In Life and Death: Choice and Conversion in The Cult of Dionysos (Birgitte Bøgh) 1. The choice: reasons, motivations, and results 2. Agency and agents: The context of decision 3. The change: the nature of reorientation 4. Education: instructing and guiding the converts Becoming Christian in Carthage in the Age of Tertullian (Éric Rebillard) 1. Identity markers External markers Tokens of membership recognition Identification by association Identification by abstention Conclusion 2. Christianness Situational selection Multiple identities Intermittency Conclusion Conversion in the oldest Apocryphal Acts (Jan N. Bremmer) 1. The "Acts of John" 2. The "Acts of Peter" 3. The "Acts of Paul" Conclusions and general observations Human and Divine Agency in Conversion in Apologetic Writings of The Second Century: To “Dance With Angels” (Jakob Engberg) Approach, terminology, and previous scholarshipon accounts of conversion The convert as an active agent in his/her conversion The apologists (seeing themselves) as agentsin the conversion of readers Christians (described as) setting examples for converts incharity, morality and by courage Human and divine agency in conversion (conceived as)prompted by prayer and miracles Divine agency in conversion Conclusion: Agency and from ideology to experience Ontological Conversion: a Description and Analysis of Two Case Studies from Tertullian’s "De Baptismo" and Iamblichus’ "De Mysteriis" (Nicholas Marshall) 1. The Study of religious and philosophical conversionfrom psychology to sociology 2. Ontological conversion: Definition and minor examples 3a. Tertullian’s "De baptismo" 3b. Iamblichus’ "De mysteriis" 4. Conclusion Agents of Apostasy, Delegates of Disaffiliation (Zeba Crook) Introduction Collectivism and allocentricity Collectivism and agency The rhetoric of apostasy Contextualising Apostasy as Disaffiliation Conclusion Change and Continuity: Reading A new Augustine’s Conversion (Carmen Cvetković) Conclusions ‘The Devil is in The Details’. Hellenistic Mystery Initiation Rites: Bridge-Burning or Bridge-Building? (Luther H. Martin) Introduction 1. Occultation of the mysteries 2. Essentialisation of the mysteries The Eleusinian family cult The Pan-Hellenic cult of Eleusis The Roman era cult of Eleusis Roman mystery cults Historical puzzles 3. Evidential ambiguity 4. Initiatory consequences Social transformations Transformation of self A. The mind of the initiate B. Cognitive transformations Conclusion Conversion, Conflict, and The Drama of Social Reproduction: Narratives of Filial Resistance in Early Christianity and Modern Britain (Kate Cooper and James Corke-Webster) Adolescent withdrawal in the "Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles" The novel before the novel: Identity crisis andthe literature of dislocation Sympathy with the devil: Narrative focalisation and thecognitive wound of dissonant empathy Conclusion There and Back Again: Temporary Immortality in The Mithras Liturgy (Radcliffe G. Edmonds III) The Mithras Liturgy à la van Gennep The mystery of the Mithras Liturgy The Mithras Liturgy as a rite of extreme purification Patterns of purification rituals from simple to extreme Identity Formation Through Catechetical Teaching In Early Christianity (Anders-Christian Jacobsen) Baptismal catechesis and early Christian identity formation Identity – what is that? The organisation of catechetical instruction Identity formation through catechetical instruction Moral and doctrinal identity formation Doctrinal identity formation Moral identity formation Conclusions The Role of Religious Education in six of The Pagan Religions of The Hellenistic-Roman Period (Per Bilde) 1. Purpose, background, focus, issue, and sources 2. Definitions and procedure 3. The position of my opponents 4. General considerations 5.1 Orphism 5.2 Eleusis 5.3. The cult of Bacchus 5.4 The cult of Isis 5.5 Cybele and Atargatis 5.6 The Roman cult of Mithras 5.7 Conclusion 6. Results Educating a Mithraist (Roger Beck) Observations on Late Antique Rabbinic Sources on Instruction of Would-Be Converts (Elisabetta Abate) Introduction The sources Instruction for converts in the making Conclusion The Role of Philosophy and Education in Apologists’ Conversion to Christianity: The Case of Justin and Tatian (Tobias Georges) 1. Historical context and method 2. The role of philosophy and education in connection withconversion according to Justin’s and Tatian’s accounts 3. Final questions General Index Index Locorum Biblical books and apocryphal literature Modern literature Papyri Inscriptions The articles explore individual religious transformation in Antiquity, with a focus on initiation and conversion and their definitions, content and characteristics. They investigate different facets of these phenomena in a wide range of religions in their own context and from new theoretical and empirical perspectives.