Among the Gentiles: Greco-Roman Religion and Christianity

474 Pages·2009·7.056 MB·English

by  Luke Timothy Johnson

AMONG THE GENTILES
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AMONG
THE GENTILES
Greco- Roman Religion
and Christianity
LUKE TIMOTHY JOHNSON
Yale University Press
New Haven & London
The Anchor Yale logo is a trademark of Yale University.
Copyright © 2009 by Luke Timothy Johnson.
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including
illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and
108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press),
without written permission from the publishers.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Control Number: 2009928180
ISBN 978-0-300-14208-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Joy
My Darling Girl
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CONTENTS
Preface ix
one Beyond Attack and Apology: A New Look at
an Old Debate 1
two Beginning a New Conversation 15
three A Preliminary Profi le of Greco- Roman Religion 32
four Religion as Participation in Divine Benefi ts:
Aelius Aristides 50
fi ve Religion as Moral Transformation: Epictetus 64
six Religion as Transcending the World: Poimandres 79
seven Religion as Stabilizing the World: Plutarch 93
eight Ways of Being Jewish in the
Greco- Roman World 111
nine The Appearance of Christianity in the
Greco- Roman World 130
ten New Testament Christianity as Participation in
Divine Benefi ts 142
viii Contents
eleven New Testament Christianity as Moral Transformation 158
twelve Christianity in the Second and Third Centuries:
Participation in Divine Benefi ts 172
thirteen Moral Transformation in Second- and
Third- Century Christianity 194
fourteen Transcending the World in Second- and
Third- Century Christianity 214
fi fteen Stabilizing the World in Second- and
Third- Century Christianity 234
sixteen After Constantine: Christianity as Imperial Religion 255
Epilogue 275
Notes 285
Scripture Index 405
Index of Ancient Authors 418
Index of Modern Authors 444
Subject Index 453
PREFACE
The question of Christianity’s relation to the other religions of the world is
more pertinent and diffi cult today than ever before. It is more pertinent be-
cause we live in a global village that makes virtual neighbors of people in lands
far away, and in which people living in our neighborhoods have religious com-
mitments foreign to most Christians. It is more diffi cult because pluralism presses
on us in a way that makes avoidance impossible, and because Christians are ill
equipped to engage those adhering to religions other than their own.
Christianity’s historical failure to appreciate or to actively engage Judaism is
notorious. Less understood is Christianity’s even more shoddy record with re-
spect to “pagan” religions. Christians have inherited a virtually unanimous
theological tradition that thinks of paganism in terms of demonic possession,
and of Christian missions as a rescue operation that saves pagans from inher-
ently evil practices.
At least in part, such perceptions are shaped by the same texts that have
formed Christian attitudes toward Jews. Christianity’s failure to adequately come
to grips with its fi rst pagan neighbors inhibits any positive effort to engage present-
day adherents of world religions.
Except in its very last paragraphs, this book does not deal with theology. It is,
rather, a study of religion. It undertakes a fresh inquiry into early Christianity
and Greco- Roman religion. Rather than viewing “Christianity” and “pagan-
ism” as monolithic entities, I allow the sources to reveal unexpected complexi-
ties. At the level of sensibility or temperament, I argue, Christians w ere religious
pretty much in the ways that Gentiles were religious.
I think that my argument may have some pertinence both to internal Chris-
tian ecumenism and to a chastened understanding of Christian mission. The
ix