Christian Interpretation Research Articles

I Know My Redeemer Lives: A Case of Christological Commitments in Christian Preaching of the Book of Job

This article explores Christian interpretation and preaching of Job 19:25–27 as a case in which christological commitments of the Christian faith come into tension with the pre-Christian meanings of the text. Borrowing a term from David Stark, this article explores the hermeneutical crisis of the “historical-christological” binary and proposes the importance of critical self-awareness for sound hermeneutical method. One of the central claims of this article is that the Christian interpreter cannot fully suspend their beliefs or commitments when encountering the texts of the Old Testament; complete objectivity is not possible. Rather, the interpreter must assess their own interpretive horizon - the traditions and contexts that shape one’s perspective - even as they explore the historical moorings of the text. Concluding this article, an analysis of Gardner Taylor’s sermon on Job 19 offers an occasion for homiletical considerations that uphold both Christian commitments and the historical meanings of the text.

Double Identities and Identity Struggles in Kongolese Catholicism of the 1700s: Vita Kimpa, Antonian Movement, and a Kongolese Interpretation of Christianity

Among many Central, West, and East African countries, Kongo/Angola was the earliest to have modern European missionaries. Portuguese catholic missionaries arrived in the Kingdom of Kongo in the 1400s during European exploration, conquest, colonialism, and missions. These early encounters brought about the double identity that Africans would generally wrestle with in the contemporary period. Starting from the former Nganga Marinda priestess, Kimpa Vita, who later converted to Christianity and wanted to integrate some of her African cultural and religious practices but was persecuted, rejected, and burned at the stake, questions of identity, contextualization, and African consciousness have always been raised in African Christianity. Although Kimpa Vita was killed because of her beliefs, her movement continued to resurface in modern times in African consciousness, feminism, religiosity, resistance to colonialism, and black consciousness. This paper uses the theory of the double consciousness of W.E.B. Du Bois to examine the story of Kimpa Vita in her rejection of western colonial religion for a more Kongolese contextual Christianity.

통곡하는 아버지와 찌른 바 된 아들: 유대교와 기독교 해석사의 다윗과 압살롬 (삼하 15-19장)

다윗 왕의 아들 압살롬의 암울한 그림자는 우리야와 그의 아내 밧세바로 인한 다윗의 몰락 이후 역사적 내러티브(삼하 15~19장)에서 깊게 드리운다. 선지자 나단을 통해 선포된 하나님의 판결에서 예고된 바와 같이(삼하 12:10~12), 압살롬은 그 이후 아버지 다윗의 죄로 기인한 신적 심판의 대리인으로 불행한 역할을 감당하며 쿠데타 시도 가운데 그의 삶이 종결된다. 요압이 나무에 머리카락이 매달린 압살롬을 찔러 죽인 장면이나 다윗이 죽은 아들을 위해 통곡하며 애도하는 모습은, 여러 세대에 걸쳐 독자들에게 심오한 신학적 성찰을 불러일으켰다. 본 논문은 다윗이 압살롬으로 인해 겪은 시련에 대한 해석적 반응을 유대교와 기독교의 정경 외의 문헌에서 추적하고 이를 비교하여 성경이 척박한 현대의 세상에 던지는 구원의 메시지에 대한 이해를 돕는 것을 목표로 한다. 단 지면의 한계상 제2 성전 시대의 아가딕 미드라시와 초기 교부의 저서 및 종교 개혁의 영향 아래 16세기 말에서 17세기 중반 사이에 출간된 개신교의 목양적 문헌에 중점을 둘 것이다. 고대의 다양한 주해적 설명을 살펴보면 유대교와 기독교 본문 모두 압살롬이란 인물을 각 전통의 전형적인 리더인 모세나 예수 그리스도의 배신자와 연결해 해당 신앙 공동체에 위협을 주는 세력에 대해 경계를 하고 있다는 것을 알 수 있다. 특이하게도 일부 유대교 본문에서는 다윗이 쏟아낸 애통의 간구는 하나님을 감동시켜 압살롬 사후의 지위에 영향을 미치지만, 일부 기독교 본문에서는 다윗의 통곡에서 드러난 일방적이고도 애절한 부성애(父性愛)가 성부의 찌르는 듯한 고통으로 연결되어 예수 그리스도의 수난과 부활로 설명된다. 결론적으로 유대교와 기독교 전통에서는 아들을 잃은 아버지의 고통이 다른 각도에서 부각이 되지만 다윗 자손에게 향한 하나님의 언약적 선택이라는 공통분모가 암시적으로 드러나 있음을 볼 수 있다.

A Reconciliation between Yi Nationality’s Religious Beliefs and Modern Political Identities: An Interpretation of Christianity in a Yi Village

In order to explore how ethnic minorities in China reshape their perception of themselves today, I conducted field research in K Village in southwest China. In this anthropological research about this village which has a majority of Yi minorities, I did in-depth interviews, discourse analysis, and participatory observance to examine the conflicts between three different identities, the tensions behind the contemporary society, the history of Christianity in this village, and the meaning of different identities to individuals. Based on the analysis of this cultural phenomena in K Village, I interpret the cultural meaning of Christianity there––Yi minorities in this village are using Christianity as a tool to reconcile their modern political identities and cultural or religious identities. This research not only contributes to the understanding of ethnic minorities’ bodily practices of negotiating various cultures, but also assists governments in developing better ethnic policies.

Paul the Middle Platonist? Exegetical Traditions on Timaeus 28c and the Characterization of Paul in Acts 17:16–31

AbstractPaul’s speech to the Areopagus in Acts 17 places the apostle in philosophical dialogue with Stoics and Epicureans. This article identifies important points of contact between Paul’s speech and Middle Platonic exegesis of a famous Platonic phrase from Timaeus 28c. There, the philosopher declares that the maker and father of the world is hard to find, and even more difficult to talk about. Many later interpreters of Plato commented on the dictum. Middle Platonists such as Plutarch mused about the theological implications of naming god both “maker” and “father.” Jewish and Christian interpreters like Philo and Justin employed Plato’s phrase to describe their access to divine revelation. The first portion of this article argues that the Areopagus speech contains evidence of similar exegesis, both in its references to god’s roles as maker and father and in Paul’s claim to declare the unknown god. These resonances do more than clarify the author’s philosophical background; they also have previously unexplored implications for our understanding of Paul’s characterization in Acts 17. The second half of the article argues that in aligning Paul with the Platonic tradition, the author participates in an established Greco-Roman practice of depicting the Platonists, Stoics, and Epicureans in theological dialogue.

The Crucified Book: Sacred Writing in the Age of Valentinus by Anne Starr Kreps

Reviewed by: The Crucified Book: Sacred Writing in the Age of Valentinus by Anne Starr Kreps David Brakke The Crucified Book: Sacred Writing in the Age of Valentinus. By Anne Starr Kreps. [Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion.] (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 2022. Pp. 186. $65.00. ISBN 978-0-8122-5387-0.) According to the Gospel of Truth, preserved in Nag Hammadi Codex I (“Jung Codex”), “Jesus appeared. He rolled himself in that book and was nailed to a tree and published the edict of the Father on the cross” (1). This striking image of the crucified Jesus as a crucified book inspires Anne Starr Kreps’s innovative study of scriptural practices among Valentinians and other Christians and Jews of the second and third centuries. Kreps contributes significantly to recent scholarship that revises the standard narrative of the emergence of Christian scriptures and the development of the canon. Valentinian Christians, Kreps argues, effaced the distinctions between human being and text and among Christian, Jewish, and other revelatory books: “The body-as-book, then, signaled a mode of holy book that resisted Irenaeus’s call for a fixed collection of written texts” (p. 117). The Crucified Book consists of four chapters divided into two parts and framed by an introduction and conclusion. The two chapters of part 1 focus on Valentinus and the Valentinians. Chapter 1 studies closely two passages that present Jesus’s death as the publication of a book; Kreps contextualizes this image within Jewish and Christian interpretations of Wisdom in Proverbs 8 and within Roman book culture. Although she admits that it cannot be proved that Valentinus wrote this work, she accepts his authorship and says that attribution to another Valentinian would not affect her reading (p. 19). Chapter 2 examines the implications of understanding the book as at once divine, human, and textual for how Valentinian Christians wrote, read, and transmitted sacred texts (their scriptural practices). The fragments of Valentinus, Heracleon, and Ptolemy evince an openness to the continued dissemination of revelation in multiple books. Part 2 considers early Christians who opposed the Valentinian scriptural program and Jews whose practices resembled those of the Valentinians. Chapter 3 shows that the heresiologists Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Epiphanius recognized the Valentinians’ fluid approach to scripture, claimed that it led to contradiction and [End Page 789] error, and opposed it with the notion of a limited canon. Kreps suggests that the Jung Codex provides evidence for the persistence of the Valentinian “theory of open revelation” in fourth-century Egypt (p. 87). Working from two rabbinic stories of “Jewish sages mutating into scrolls upon their timely deaths” (p. 92), Chapter 4 argues that the rabbis also developed a “corpora of living books” with illuminating similarities with and differences from Valentinian practice (p. 114). A summary cannot capture this book’s many stimulating ideas, nor can it replicate its lucid, often eloquent prose. Kreps works easily with sources in Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Hebrew, and she adduces revealing comparative materials from across the Mediterranean; the book fulfills the Divinations series’ goal of “rereading late ancient religion.” I might complicate Kreps’s account by placing the Valentinians Ptolemy and Heracleon closer to Irenaeus and farther from Valentinus (Gospel of Truth and fragments) than she does; for example, I think that when Ptolemy invested authority in “the words of our Savior,” he had in mind written gospels, not oral traditions (p. 57). Nonetheless, as Kreps notes, I coined the term “scriptural practices” a decade ago as an invitation to scholars to write less teleological histories of the New Testament and early Christian literature. The Crucified Book represents precisely the kind of work that I hoped to see. I enthusiastically recommend it to historians of Christianity interested in textuality, canon formation, and what we used to call “Gnosticism.” David Brakke The Ohio State University Copyright © 2022 The Catholic University of America Press

An Insufficient Canon: The Popol Wuj, Book of Mormon, and Other Scriptures

An Insufficient Canon: The Popol Wuj, Book of Mormon, and Other Scriptures

Осмысление человека в контексте меметической теории религии: от «образа и подобия» к «транспортному средству»

The article is devoted to the study of the idea of a human in the context of the modern memetic theory of religion. The work consistently reveals the main provisions of the memetic concept in the works of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Susan Blackmore. Richard Dawkins is regarded as the founder of the replicator-centric interpretation of the evolutionary process, which contributed to the formation of the idea of the meme as a unit of cultural information. Memes compete with each other in the process of cultural evolution, pursuing their own benefits, regardless of the possible benefits of host organisms. To such "selfish" memes, R. Dawkins, first of all, refers to religious ideas. R. Dawkins' concept has a popular scientific character and its author, considering a person to be a bearer of memes, does not clarify the ways of interaction between specific memes and the human mind. This philosophical aspect of the memetic concept is developed in the theory of Daniel Dennett, who, distracting from the scientific (biological) context, builds a naturalistic metanarrative based on the concept of memes. D. Dennett argues that the human mind is not only an effective means of transportation for memes, but also literally an artifact created in the process of memetic evolution and acquired, thanks to it, a tendency to select and prefer certain (evolutionarily successful) types of memes ... Such an interpretation of man is consolidated in the psychological theory of S. Blackmore, who asserts that the theory of memes finally and convincingly debunks both the religious ideas about the free and autonomous personality of God, who is responsible for the existence of the world, and the traditional ideas about the free and autonomous personality of man, who is responsible both for his own existence in general, and, in particular, for the morally significant decisions of their lives. S. Blackmore proposes to consolidate the new concept of a person as a vehicle with appropriate psychological techniques that get rid of the "false" feelings of their own autonomy and freedom. The author of this article considers the memetic concept of religion, culture and man as a non-trivial version of classical naturalism and suggests the possible productivity of criticism of this concept based on the unique Christian interpretation of personality as irreducibility to nature.

Deviation from the Orthodox

Some events that occurred after the Christian movement became the state religion of the Roman Empire can be regarded as one sort of historical revisionism. Theodosius had sanctioned the state persecution of all those who did not uphold the Nicene version of Christianity. This resulted in the loss of many works by those who were deemed unorthodox Christians. For many, the Christian movement bifurcated, then permutated only after the Protestant Reformation. Had it not been for the discovery of some of these so-called unorthodox texts in the twentieth century, we would not have known that alternate views existed even in the distant past. This paper does not argue about Christian doctrines but rather focuses on the deliberate attempt to obliviate some early believers because they had a different interpretation of Christ and his teachings. Perhaps this is comparable to how powerful leaders today use mainstream media to promote their version of the truth and create a diversion from ground reality. Another issue is whether such censorship is justifiable. Had it not been for the unifying endeavours of the early church leaders, there might not have been a Christian community as we know of now. In the same way, if a leader of state does not present a grander-than-life narrative, perhaps there would be more chaos than order. When we weigh in such factors, do they make the effacement of some parts of reality necessary? After all, we are not talking about personal or even social morality, but institutional morality, if there is such a thing. Perhaps promoting a version of truth over another is not condemnable in the larger scheme of things but we need to admit our complicity when this happens.

“Shall I show joy or sorrow?” (Poem 31). Pain of loss – a study of Paulinus of Nola’s works

Unfortunately, Paulinus of Nola is not a very appreciated Father of the Church today, because he did not contribute much to the development of the dogmas of the early Church, and yet his contemporaries respected him and indicated him as an example and referred to his conversion and spiritual path. He was regarded as a spiritual master. Therefore, when discussing the issue of passiones, and above all the pain after the loss of loved ones, it is worth and should refer to the preserved works of Paulinus: his letters and poems. He himself experienced the tragic death of his brother, the premature death of his only son, and finally the death of his wife Therasia. All this allows us to find in his works an answer to the question of how to deal with emotions after the departure of a loved one and about a Christian interpretation of experiencing death and mourning. Thanks to the analyzes of the surviving Paulinus’ texts and their results, presented in this article, we can see that Paulinus, although educated on the classical models, shows the Christian understanding of mourning contained in the title question: on the one hand, he emphasizes its human side and the sadness over the passing of a loved one, on the other hand, he emphasizes the supernatural joy of salvation and being with God. In his works, Paulinus also shows other aspects of experiencing death, which together create a rich phenomenon expressed by four Stoic passiones: spes - metus - gaudium - dolor.

Does Justin Argue with Jews? Reconsidering the Relevance of Philo

Abstract Several recent studies on Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho the Jew have argued that the Dialogue should not be read as a witness to the state of theological debate between Jews and Christ-followers in the second century. Such arguments conclude that Justin does not engage with actual Jewish perspectives, but rather reconstructs a hypothetical Judaism from second-hand, polemical sources, or merely uses Trypho’s “Judaism” as a stand-in for what are actually (in Justin’s view) heterodox Christian interpretations. This article challenges this claim by returning to an older debate in Justin scholarship: the question of his relationship with Philo of Alexandria. By attending particularly to the role of the Logos in each author’s exegesis of Pentateuchal theophanic texts, the article argues that Justin’s interpretations in the Dialogue carefully avoid a kind of Logos theology that is well represented in the writings of Philo. This rhetorical distancing supports the conclusion that, in the Dialogue, Justin is in fact responding to exegetical traditions which he knows from the writings of Hellenized Judaism.

Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 527

Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 527

Missing Cultural Lens in the Cognitive Science of Religion

White’s recent book An Introduction to the Cognitive Science of Religion provides a state-of-the-art review of the field, geared toward students and readers interested in learning more about the cognitive underpinnings of religion. This commentary focuses on the missing cultural lens in the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) in general, as evidenced by White’s summary of relevant theories and methods. I reflect on the grounding of the field in a specific version of evolutionary psychology which tends to downplay the role of culture for human behavior. The concept of functional equivalence from the cultural psychology toolkit may help researchers think through the Tinbergian questions within each cultural context. I then provide a basic bibliometric study of the authors cited within the book. Similar to the larger field of psychology, there is a distinct cultural bias in the contributors to the field. This bias is probably even more detrimental to this subject area because researchers are located mainly within one religious (Christian) tradition. It is important to overcome imposed etic perspectives and more carefully question assumptions, theories, and methods to evaluate whether a Christian interpretation is cast onto religious phenomena more generally. Finally, I provide two scientific and one moral reason why the CSR has much to gain from embracing cultural dynamics in its theorizing and scientific practice.

Christ’s Wounded Body, Sorrowful Soul and Joyful Spirit: The Interpretation of Christ’s Passion in a Forgotten 16th Century Classic of Mystical Literature

The Passion of Christ is not only an important theme in Christian theological and devotional literature, iconography, and music, but it is likewise the focus of considerable attention in contemplative, mystical literature. This contribution focuses on a specific interpretation of the suffering of Christ, which is to be found in an important but now somewhat forgotten mystical text, namely the Evangelical Pearl. This text is to be situated within the broad mystical network and initiatives of the Cologne Carthusians in the early sixteenth century. The Pearl has a remarkable interpretation of Christ’s passion, namely that—simultaneously—his body was in terrible pain, his soul was deeply sorrowful and his spirit was joyful. These reflections culminate in a radical theology of deification.

Jonah: Introduction and Commentary by Amy Erickson

Reviewed by: Jonah: Introduction and Commentary by Amy Erickson Steven T. Mann amy erickson, Jonah: Introduction and Commentary by (Illuminations; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021). Pp. xxiv + 466. $70. Amy Erickson offers readers an extensive and insightful overview of the history of interpretation regarding the Book of Jonah, as well as an intriguing analysis of its translation and meaning. E. divides the study into two parts: an introduction and a commentary. Each part is organized into smaller sections and subsections that will allow readers to easily locate a particular topic of interest. In addition to providing a broad overview of historical interpretations, the introduction illuminates ways in which interpretations of Jonah are dependent on perspectives of the interpreter and interpreting community. The commentary section demonstrates various ways in which the story itself fosters polyvalent and even ambivalent interpretations. For example, E. points out that each chapter of the book participates in its own distinct genre, generating reflection out of tension and ambiguity. This aspect of Jonah leads E. to suggest similarities with the Book of Job as explored by Carol Newsom (The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations [New York: Oxford University Press, 2003]). The first part of the book begins with a discussion of several preliminary topics including text, language, provenance, genre, and literary characteristics. E. demonstrates ways in which interpretation is never created in a vacuum but is directly tied to specific perspectives and presuppositions held by an interpreter and/or interpretative community. Drawing on an article by Yvonne Sherwood ("Cross-Currents in the Book of Jonah: Some Jewish and Cultural Midrashim on a Traditional Text," BibInt 6 [1998] 49–79), E. points out that "commentators who have read the book as a satire have done so as a result of their Protestant biases and at the expense of a suitably complex characterization of Jonah" (p. 40). Noting that the humor in the story is not restricted to Jonah but extends to every character, E. suggests that it is better to view the story as a parody rather than a satire. The bulk of the first half of this study explores what E. calls the "history of consequences," a term that includes "a range of uses, applications, and effects" that will enable readers "to appreciate those consequences that are not (at least in the traditional sense) textually based or rooted" (p. 66). E. provides an overview of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and modern "consequences" throughout history, with different historical periods discussed separately. This includes interpretations that are found not only in midrash and canonical texts but also literature, liturgy, and various artistic expressions. E. demonstrates that many (but not all) Jewish interpreters have tended to view the character Jonah in a positive light, suggesting, for example, that Jonah refuses to follow Yhwh's initial direction to prophesy against Nineveh because he knows of Assyria's future military action and is attempting to protect Israel. In this way, Jonah's refusal is "a reverent act of disobedience" (p. 79). Jewish readings have also tended to appreciate and debate the tensions in the story in search of deeper meanings. Christian interpretations have similarly sought deep meanings but have [End Page 299] been dominated by two ambivalent perspectives: one that views Jonah typologically to represent the resurrected Christ, and the other presenting Jonah in a supersessionist light that portrays the Jewish people as stubborn and hopeless, abandoned by God in favor of the gentiles. Muslim interpretations tend to view Jonah positively due to his prayer in chap. 2, which is viewed as "a second-person iteration of Islam's basic statement of faith, the shahadah ('There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet')" (p. 194). E. points out that "Jonah (Yūnus) is the only one of the twelve Minor Prophets in the OT mentioned in the Qur'an" and that "one of Muhammad's sayings warns people against saying they are superior to Jonah" (p. 194). In discussing modern consequences, E. exposes several disturbing dominant Christian interpretations of Jonah that have tended to impose inappropriate reductionist and anti-Semitic overtones upon the book. In the commentary section, E. examines several translation issues and explores the story's...

A Queer Heavenly Family: Expanding Godhood Beyond a Heterosexual, Cisgender Couple

A Queer Heavenly Family: Expanding Godhood Beyond a Heterosexual, Cisgender Couple

The God of the Old Testament: Encountering the Divine in Christian Scripture by R. W. L. Moberly

Reviewed by: The God of the Old Testament: Encountering the Divine in Christian Scripture by R. W. L. Moberly Catherine Petrany r. w. l. moberly, The God of the Old Testament: Encountering the Divine in Christian Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020). Pp. xiv + 333. $34.99. This book comprises extended versions of the Hulsean Lectures that R. W. L. Moberly delivered at Cambridge University in the 2019–2020 academic year. Those familiar with M.'s rich body of work will recognize here the hallmarks of his theological approach, developed in previous books such as Old Testament Theology: Reading the Hebrew Bible as Christian Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013). As in that volume, M. here eschews any claims to a systematic biblical theology in favor of localized interpretations of "significant and representative" texts attached to broader theological themes (p. 2). Overall, M.'s approach straddles the boundary between theological ambition and interpretive restraint. His introduction begins with the statement that "[t]his is a book about God," but he qualifies this intention by clarifying his aim to draw out "aspects" of a "grammar" of God (p. 1). In other words, M. wants to articulate what it means for contemporary Christians to respond in word and practice to the sacred texts of ancient Israel, guided by the imperative of Ps 100:3, namely, to "Know that the Lord is God." Hermeneutically astute, M. presents his claims as text-based and partial, set within living contexts that constantly change. As in his other works, M. here shows a particular sensitivity to Jewish–Christian dialogue, evident in his rich interactions with Jewish scholars as well as in his claim that his exegesis is not "the way" but "a way" (p. 3; emphasis original). In all this, one can sense M. deftly, but perhaps also guardedly, tiptoeing around the well-established potholes of any "biblical theology" project, while also affirming his commitment to make qualified claims about the theological implications of these texts as Christian Scripture. The six chapters of the book are arranged neither chronologically nor canonically, but rather in a sequence that seems personally intuitive to M. The topics are as follows: (1) "The Wise God" (Proverbs 8); (2) "The Mysterious God" (Exodus 3); (3) "The Just God" (Psalm 82); (4) "The Inscrutable God" (Genesis 4); (5) "The Only God" (2 Kings 5); and (6) "The Trustworthy God" (Psalm 46; Jeremiah 7; Micah 3). Each chapter begins with a captivating and thematically relevant scene, drawn from contexts as varied as the Parisian storm that transformed Blaise Pascal's life (chap. 2) to the contemporary television show Homeland (chap. 3). A close reading of the selected text follows and is variously supplemented with traditional Jewish and Christian interpretations, modern readings of the text or theological issue at stake, and hermeneutical reflections. M. thus weaves together disparate strands of history and interpretive tradition, with contemporary voices both religious and secular, to [End Page 117] create illuminating readings of these texts, some well loved (e.g., Exodus 3) and others perhaps less familiar to nonspecialists (e.g., Psalm 46). This does lead to chapters that, at times, seem a bit uneven. M.'s approach is highly selective not only in his choice of texts but also in his engagement with past and present voices. For example, in his reading of the history of interpretation of Exod 3:14, M. briefly looks at its iterations in the LXX, the NT, and Hilary of Poitiers's De Trinitate. In his reading of Psalm 82, his historical interlocutors include John Calvin, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, and Robert Bellarmine. While M. acknowledges this selectivity, it is not always clear why this or that voice is heard except that M. himself finds it compelling. Perhaps this is reason enough! Certain omissions, however, such as the lack of any sustained interaction with feminist interpreters, might be a barrier for some readers. Two standout and loosely connected chapters engage the related themes of divine justice (chap. 3) and divine "inscrutability" (chap. 4). M.'s choice of the enigmatic Psalm 82 over more obvious prophetic or legal texts to raise questions of divine justice elevates his discussion. M. sees in the psalm...

“Mir ist so wunderbar”: Considering Opera Traditions Interaction in “Fidelio” by Beethoven (Modern Musicologists on the Quartet’s Genesis)

The canon in the first act of “Fidelio” was generally regarded as one of the best moments in the opera from the very beginning of its hard scenic life. While 19th century critics admired the quartet, scholars in the 20th century showed true scientific interest in this ensemble. This attention made Beethoven’s quartet one of the most famous canons in music. The article represents an attempt to summarize modern musicology’s views on the first act quartet of Beethoven’s “Fidelio”. On this basis in the paper are considered the reasons for including such composition in “Fidelio”, its stylistic background, and in general the origins of Viennese late 18th century’s practice of vocal and opera canons as the context for analysis of Beethoven’s quartet. The author lists operas of the Viennese repertoire 1780–1800 with canons (among them, operas by Martíny Soler, Salieri, Mozart, Paёr, and Cherubini) as hypothetical models for Beethoven and also traces the continuation of this tradition in Italian and Russian 19th century opera. Connection of the musical form of canon with ideas of the Enlightenment and figurative and meaningful interpretation of its pastoral tone is considered on the basis of works by Heinrich Schwab, Dorothea Link, and Larisa Kirillina. It is remarkable that the pastoral of the quartet allows a Christian interpretation that makes the “Benedictus” of “Fidelio” genuine. “Mir ist so wunderbar” is considered as an example of Beethoven’s contemplative lyric on the basis of experience of its philosophical-aesthetic comprehension, presented in Russian musicology. In the quartet, Leonore appears in the opera for the first time, and so this article accentuates the central role of this canon for understanding the main figure with all richness of her literary and mythological genealogy.

Virgin Territories

AbstractIn this wide-ranging conversation, David Serlin (University of California, San Diego) and Roland Betancourt (University of California, Irvine) discuss questions of sexual consent and sexual violence in the visual culture of early Christian art as inspired by Betancourt’s recent book, Byzantine Intersectionality: Sexuality, Gender, and Race in the Middle Ages (2020). Drawing on rare manuscripts and other objects of worship from institutional archives, Betancourt analyzes and contextualizes numerous Byzantine visual texts featuring often confounding representations of sexual acts or gendered behavior that later Christian interpreters would treat as conventional or settled. For Betancourt, early Christian authors and artists were far more open to troubling and experimenting with depictions of sexual and gendered narratives than many medievalists (and, importantly, non-medievalists) have been trained to see.

Близнечный миф в памятниках восточнохристианской письменности

The article reveals a layer of archaic images and representations associated with the mythological motif of twinning in the East Christian post-Canonical manuscripts. The Christian interpretation of the mythologem of twinning is investigated based on the analysis of the semantic structure of Eastern Christian texts, in the first place - the texts devoted to the hagiography of St. Thomas, and other Old Russian manuscripts. А number of the sources under consideration have the status of liturgical texts. Such mythopoetic paradigms as similarity in the biography of twins, bodily markers of twinhood, the motif of the confrontation of twins: the hero and the trickster, the female hypostasis of the twin, the mythopoetic of the name and numerical symbolism are revealed. The Eucharistic symbolism of the touch gesture, which has become key in Eastern Christian imagery, is considered.