Early Christian women and pagan opinion : the power of the hysterical woman / Margaret Y. MacDonald.

By: MacDonald, Margaret Y

Material type: Text

TextPublisher: Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1996Description: xiv, 276 p. ; 22 cmISBN: 0521561744 (hc); 0521567289 (pb)Subject(s): Women in Christianity -- History -- Early church, ca. 30-600 | Christianity and other religions -- Greek | Christianity and other religions -- Roman | Church history -- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600DDC classification: 270.1/082 LOC classification: BR195.W6 | M23 1996Online resources: Publisher description | Table of contents

Contents:

Summary: This is a study of how women figured in public reaction to the church from New Testament times to Christianity's encounter with the pagan critics of the second century CE. The reference to a hysterical woman was made by the most prolific critic of Christianity, Celsus, and he meant a follower of Jesus, probably Mary Magdalene, who was at the centre of efforts to create and promote belief in the resurrection. MacDonald draws attention to the conviction, emerging from the works of several pagan authors, that female initiative was central to Christianity's development; she sets out to explore the relationship between this and the common Greco-Roman belief that women were inclined towards excesses in matters of religion. The findings of cultural anthropologists of Mediterranean societies are examined in an effort to probe the societal values that shaped public opinion and early church teaching. Concerns expressed in New Testament and early Christian texts about the respectability of women, and even generally about their behaviour, are seen in a new light when one appreciates that outsiders focused on early church women and understood their activities as a reflection of the nature of the group as a whole.

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Item type	Current library	Class number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Books / Monographs	Dominican University College Library / Collège Universitaire Dominicain Hours of operation: Monday - Thursday 8am - 8:30 pm; Friday 8am - 4pm \| Les heures d'ouverture : Lundi à jeudi de 8 h à 20 h 30; vendredi 8h - 16h Standard shelving location / Rayonnage standard	BR 195 .W6 M33 1996 (Browse shelf (Opens below))	Available		30000000425623

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Previous	BR 195 .W6 G68 N5 I8 2014 Né Uomo Né Donna	BR 195 .W6 H64 S83 1995 The Status of Women and Gnosticism in Irenaeus and Tertullian	BR 195 .W6 L67 P76 2014 Promenade au jardin des Mères de L'église : Figures de femmes des premiers temps de l'Église-IIe-VIe siècles	BR 195 .W6 M33 1996 Early Christian women and pagan opinion : the power of the hysterical woman /	BR 195 .W6 M54 W65 2005 Women in Early Christianity : Translations from Greek Texts	BR 195 .W6 P47 2003 Les Pères de l'Église et les femmes : actes du colloque de La Rochelle, 6 et 7 septembre 2003	BR 195 .W6 S19 1996 Outrageous Women, Outrageous God : Women in the First Two Generations of Christianity.	Next

Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-271) and index.

pt. 1. Pagan reaction to early Christian women in the second century CE --pt. 2. Celibacy, women, and early church responses to public opinion --pt. 3. Marriage, women, and early church responses to public opinion.

This is a study of how women figured in public reaction to the church from New Testament times to Christianity's encounter with the pagan critics of the second century CE. The reference to a hysterical woman was made by the most prolific critic of Christianity, Celsus, and he meant a follower of Jesus, probably Mary Magdalene, who was at the centre of efforts to create and promote belief in the resurrection. MacDonald draws attention to the conviction, emerging from the works of several pagan authors, that female initiative was central to Christianity's development; she sets out to explore the relationship between this and the common Greco-Roman belief that women were inclined towards excesses in matters of religion. The findings of cultural anthropologists of Mediterranean societies are examined in an effort to probe the societal values that shaped public opinion and early church teaching. Concerns expressed in New Testament and early Christian texts about the respectability of women, and even generally about their behaviour, are seen in a new light when one appreciates that outsiders focused on early church women and understood their activities as a reflection of the nature of the group as a whole.

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