In her book Barbarian or Greek?: The Charge of Barbarism and Early Christian Apologetics, Stamenka Antonova examines different aspects of the charge of barbarism in the Greek and Latin Christian apologetic texts (2-4th centuries) and the various responses to it by the early Christians. The author demonstrates that the charge of barbarism encompasses a broad range of meanings, such as low social class, inadequate education, immorality, criminal activity, political treason, as well as foreign ethnicity and language. In addition to contextualizing the charge of barbarism in ancient rhetorical practices, the author also applies literary criticism and post-colonial theory to shed light on the concept of the barbarian as an ideological-rhetorical tool for othering, marginalization and persecution in the Roman Empire.
In her book Barbarian or Greek?: The Charge of Barbarism and Early Christian Apologetics, Stamenka Antonova examines different aspects of the charge of barbarism in the Greek and Latin Christian apologetic texts (2-4th centuries) and the various responses to it by the early Christians. The author demonstrates that the charge of barbarism encompasses a broad range of meanings, such as low social class, inadequate education, immorality, criminal activity, political treason, as well as foreign ethnicity and language. In addition to contextualizing the charge of barbarism in ancient rhetorical practices, the author also applies literary criticism and post-colonial theory to shed light on the concept of the barbarian as an ideological-rhetorical tool for othering, marginalization and persecution in the Roman Empire.
Paul and Seneca in Dialogue assembles an international group of scholars to compare the philosophical and theological strands in Paul and Seneca’s writings, placing them in dialogue with one another. Arguably, no other first-century, non-Christian writer’s thoughts resemble Paul’s as closely as Seneca’s, and scholars have often found value in comparing Pauline concepts with Seneca’s writings. Nevertheless, apart from the occasional article, broad comparison, or cross-reference, an in-depth critical comparison of these writers has not been attempted for over fifty years – since Sevenster’s monograph of 1961. In the light of the vast amount of research offering new perspectives on both Paul and Seneca since the early 1960s, this new comparison of the two writers is long overdue.
Paul and Seneca in Dialogue assembles an international group of scholars to compare the philosophical and theological strands in Paul and Seneca’s writings, placing them in dialogue with one another. Arguably, no other first-century, non-Christian writer’s thoughts resemble Paul’s as closely as Seneca’s, and scholars have often found value in comparing Pauline concepts with Seneca’s writings. Nevertheless, apart from the occasional article, broad comparison, or cross-reference, an in-depth critical comparison of these writers has not been attempted for over fifty years – since Sevenster’s monograph of 1961. In the light of the vast amount of research offering new perspectives on both Paul and Seneca since the early 1960s, this new comparison of the two writers is long overdue.