Sceptic and Believer in Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen Zum Neuen Testament, 443)

"What are the roles of doubt and scepticism in the religious landscape of the ancient Mediterranean? How is doubt expressed within a specific religious community, and what reactions does it provoke? How does "insider doubt" differ from the sceptical attitude of outsiders? Exploring these questions with respect to a wide range of religious contexts and topics (including early Christianity Greco-Roman religions, Egyptian religions, astrology, and magic), the essays in this volume confirm the thesis that doubting one's own religious tradition is not simply a "Western" post-Enlightenment phenomenon. On the contrary, ancient religions offered opportunities and contexts wherein aspects of doubt are not just tolerated but accepted; moreover, doubt and scepticism concerning certain religious ideas or aspects of belief also motivated creative reinterpretation of those ideas." -- Publisher, inside front flap of dust jacket Cover Title Table of Contents Introduction Clifford Ando — Disbelief and Cognate Concepts in Roman Antiquity Jan Assmann — Ancient Egyptian Disbelief in the Promises of Eternity Tim Whitmarsh — The Invention of Atheism and the Invention of Religion in Classical Athens Jan N. Bremmer — Youth, Atheism, and (Un)Belief in Late Fifth-Century Athens Matthew A. Fox — Disbelief in Rome: A Reappraisal Babett Edelmann-Singer — “Who Will Worship This Man as a God, Who Will Believe in Him?” – Seneca’s Apocolocyntosis and the Hermeneutical Categories of Belief and Scepticism in Emperor Cult Kai Trampedach — Plutarch als Apologet des Orakels von Delphi Janet Downie — Belief and Doubt in Aelius Aristides’s Isthmian Oration: To Poseidon Inger N. I. Kuin — Loukianos Atheos? Humour and Religious Doubt in Lucian of Samosata Tobias Nicklas — Skepsis und Christusglaube: Funktionen, Räume und Impulse des Zweifels bei Paulus David P. Moessner — Luke as Sceptical “Insider” – Re-configuring the “Tradition” by Re-figuring the “Synoptic” Plot Benjamin Schliesser — The Gospel for Sceptics: Doubting Thomas (John 20:24–29) and Early Christian Identity Formation Anna Van den Kerchove — “Why Do You Doubt?” – Scepticism and Some Nag Hammadi Writings Richard L. Gordon — Evading Doubt: Astrology and Magic in the Greco-Roman Period General Bibliography List of Contributors Index of Sources Index of Modern Authors Index of Names, Places, and Subjects What are the roles of doubt and scepticism in the religious landscape of the ancient Mediterranean? How is doubt expressed within a specific religious community, and what reactions does it provoke? How does "insider doubt" differ from the sceptical attitude of outsiders? Exploring these questions with respect to a wide range of religious contexts and topics (including early Christianity Greco-Roman religions, Egyptian religions, astrology, and magic), the essays in this volume confirm the thesis that doubting one's own religious tradition is not simply a "Western" post-Enlightenment phenomenon. On the contrary, ancient religions offered opportunities and contexts wherein aspects of doubt are not just tolerated but accepted; moreover, doubt and scepticism concerning certain religious ideas or aspects of belief also motivated creative reinterpretation of those ideas. --Dust Jacket Front Inside Flap