Ritual Boundaries: Magic and Differentiation in Late Antique ChristianityA free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. In Ritual Boundaries, Joseph E. Sanzo transforms our understanding of how early Christians experienced religion in lived practice through the study of magical objects, such as amulets and grimoires. Against the prevailing view of late antiquity as a time when only so-called elites were interested in religious and ritual differentiation, the evidence presented here reveals that the desire to distinguish between religious and ritual insiders and outsiders cut across diverse social strata. The magical evidence also offers unique insight into early biblical reception, exposing a textual world in which scriptural reading was multisensory and multitraditional. As they addressed sickness, demonic struggle, and interpersonal conflicts, Mediterranean people thus acted in ways that challenge our conceptual boundaries between Christians and non-Christians; elites and non-elites; and words, materials, and images. Sanzo helps us rethink how early Christians imagined similarity and difference among texts, traditions, groups, and rituals as they went about their daily lives. |
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Ritual Boundaries: Magic and Differentiation in Late Antique Christianity Joseph E. Sanzo Limited preview - 2024 |
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AMS 9 amulets ancient magic apotropaic armbands artifacts Arzt-Grabner Benovitz Boustan Brill Brit British Museum British Museum gem chapter Christ Christian amulets Christian ritual clients contexts Coptic cross crucified Jesus cultural Cyrus and John David Frankfurter death demons depicted Deut discourses discussion diverse early Christian edited editio princeps Egypt elements every-other-word evidence extant gesture Gospel Gospel of John Greek Magical Papyri Harley Harley-McGowan harmful ritual healing highlighted Iaō Sabaōth improper ritual incantation bowls includes instance Israel Jerusalem Jesus’s Jesus's crucifixion Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Jews Justin Martyr late antique late antique Christian late antique lived late antique magical Leiden literary magical objects material noted Oxford P.Oxy Papyri patristic phylaktērion practitioner prayer religious boundaries religious differentiation Ritual Boundaries ritual objects ritual practice Sanzo scholarly scholars social spell symbols syncretism taxonomies textual tion tradition translation triumphal University Press visual words