Valentinianism: New Studies

Valentinianism: New Studies
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 522
Release: 2019-10-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004414819

Valentinianism: New Studies offers fresh contributions by leading experts on the history of the Valentinian “Gnostic” church, on contested aspects of Valentinian doctrine, and on the use and interpretation of the New Testament by the Valentinians.

The Interpretation of the Old Testament in Greco-Roman Paganism

The Interpretation of the Old Testament in Greco-Roman Paganism
Author: John Granger Cook
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2004
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9783161484742

According to the available evidence not many pagans knew the Greek Bible (Septuagint) before the advent of Christianity. Those pagans who later became aware of Christian texts were among the first, according to the surviving data, to seriously explore the Septuagint. They found the Bible to be difficult reading. The pagans who reacted to biblical texts include Celsus (II C.E.), Porphyry (III C.E.), and Julian the Apostate (IV C.E.). These authors thought that if they could refute one of the primary foundations of Christianity, namely its use or interpretation of the Septuagint, then the new religion would perhaps crumble. John Granger Cook analyzes these pagans' voice and elaborates on its importance, since it shows how Septuagint texts appeared in the eyes of Greco-Roman intellectuals. Theirs was not an abstract interest, however, because they knew that Christianity posed a grave danger to some of their dearest beliefs, self-understanding, and way of life.