Christian Reading: Language, Ethics, and the Order of ThingsChristian Reading shifts the assumption that study of the Bible must be about the content of the Bible or aimed at confessional projects of religious instruction. Blossom Stefaniw focuses on the lesson transcripts from the Tura papyri, which reveal verbatim oral classroom discourse, to show how biblical texts were used as an exhibition space for the traditional canon of general knowledge about the world. Stefaniw demonstrates that the work of Didymus the Blind in the lessons reflected in the Tura papyri was similar to that of other grammarians in late antiquity: articulating the students’ place in time, their position in the world, and their connection to their heritage. But whereas other grammarians used revered texts like Homer and Menander, Didymus curated the cultural patrimony using biblical texts: namely, the Psalms and Ecclesiastes. By examining this routine epistemological and pedagogical work carried out through the Bible, Christian Reading generates a new model of the relationship of Christian scholarship to the pagan past. |
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according adiaphora Alexandria anagogical appropriate Arist Aristotle Arsenios ascetic asceticism Bible biblical texts body chapter Chin Christ chronographic Classroom codex commentaries connection cosmos Cribiore cultural curator definition Didy Didymus explains Didymus the Blind Didymus’s differentiation Dionysius Thrax discussion divine early Christian EcclT edited empire epistemic ethical Evagrius Evagrius Ponticus example exegesis exegetical father grammar grammarian Greek Homer human hyperfocus identify interpretation John the Dwarf king late ancient late antiquity Layton lesson transcripts literary patrimony logic Lord means mimēsis monastery monks narrative nature Nelson notion oikonomia one’s Origen Origenist pagan passage past pedagogical person philosophical Plato practice proper Psalms and Ecclesiastes reading refers Religion religious rhetoric righteous Roman scripture sense Septuagint Sketis slave someone soul specific Stoic student questions syllogism teacher teaching textual things tion tradition translated Tura papyri University Press verse virtue words writing