A Reading List on Early Christianity

Some friends asked me to compile a reading list on this topic for them. These are books I've read and learned from. the book descriptions are from Amazon.com:

Bart Ehrman was the Chair of the Religion Dept. at UNC-Chapel Hill when he wrote the following two books:

Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew 

Bart D. Ehrman

The early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs. Some groups of Christians claimed that there was not one God but two or twelve or thirty. Some believed that the world had not been created by God but by a lesser, ignorant deity. Certain sects maintained that Jesus was human but not divine, while others said he was divine but not human.

In Lost Christianities, Bart D. Ehrman offers a fascinating look at these early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. All of these groups insisted that they upheld the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, and they all possessed writings that bore out their claims, books reputedly produced by Jesus's own followers. Modern archaeological work has recovered a number of key texts, and as Ehrman shows, these spectacular discoveries reveal religious diversity that says much about the ways in which history gets written by the winners. Ehrman's discussion ranges from considerations of various "lost scriptures"--including forged gospels supposedly written by Simon Peter, Jesus's closest disciple, and Judas Thomas, Jesus's alleged twin brother--to the disparate beliefs of such groups as the Jewish-Christian Ebionites, the anti-Jewish Marcionites, and various "Gnostic" sects. Ehrman examines in depth the battles that raged between "proto-orthodox Christians"--those who eventually compiled the canonical books of the New Testament and standardized Christian belief--and the groups they denounced as heretics and ultimately overcame.

Scrupulously researched and lucidly written, Lost Christianities is an eye-opening account of politics, power, and the clash of ideas among Christians in the decades before one group came to see its views prevail.

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why

Bart D. Ehrman 

For almost 1,500 years, the New Testament manuscripts were copied by hand––and mistakes and intentional changes abound in the competing manuscript versions. Religious and biblical scholar Bart Ehrman makes the provocative case that many of our widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself are the results of both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes.

In this compelling and fascinating book, Ehrman shows where and why changes were made in our earliest surviving manuscripts, explaining for the first time how the many variations of our cherished biblical stories came to be, and why only certain versions of the stories qualify for publication in the Bibles we read today. Ehrman frames his account with personal reflections on how his study of the Greek manuscripts made him abandon his once ultra–conservative views of the Bible.

These next two books reveal important information about the early Church. The first is about Constantine and the bishops at the time of the writing of the creeds. The second is about happenings about 200 years later:

When Jesus Became God: The Struggle to Define Christianity during the Last Days of Rome 

Richard E. Rubenstein 

The life of Jesus, and the subsequent persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire, have come to define what many of us know about early Christianity. The fervent debate, civil strife, and bloody riots within the Christian community as it was forming, however, is a story that is rarely told. Richard E. Rubenstein takes readers to the streets of the Roman Empire during the fourth century, where a divisive argument over the divinity of Jesus Christ was underway. Ruled by a Christian emperor, followers of Jesus no longer feared for the survival of their monotheistic faith, but they found themselves in different camps—led by two charismatic men—on the topic of Christian theology. Arius, an Alexandrian priest and poet, preached that Jesus, though holy, is less than God, while Athanasius, a brilliant and violent bishop, saw any diminution of Jesus' godhead as the work of the devil. Between them stood Alexander, the powerful Bishop of Alexandria, in search of a solution that would keep the empire united and the Christian faith alive.

Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 years

John Philip Jenkins 

In this fascinating account of the surprisingly violent fifth-century church, Philip Jenkins describes how political maneuvers by a handful of powerful characters shaped Christian doctrine. Were it not for these battles, today’s church could be teaching something very different about the nature of Jesus, and the papacy as we know it would never have come into existence. Jesus Wars reveals the profound implications of what amounts to an accident of history: that one faction of Roman emperors and militia-wielding bishops defeated another.

Finally, here's an entertaining and informative book to read. I'm listing it here because it gives a good introduction to the writing and writers of the Gospels.

Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus

Thomas Cahill 

How did an obscure rabbi from a backwater of the Roman Empire come to be the central figure in Western Civilization? Did his influence in fact change the world? These are the questions Thomas Cahill addresses in his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus.

Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time—a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under overlords who imposed their worldview on their subjects. Here is Jesus the loving friend, itinerate preacher, and quiet revolutionary, whose words and actions inspired his followers to journey throughout the Roman world and speak the truth he instilled—in the face of the greatest defeat: Jesus' crucifixion as a common criminal. Daring, provocative, and stunningly original, Cahill's interpretation will both delight and surprise.

Re reincarnation, early Christians clearly believed in it and many still do today. Some sources say that there was at least one, maybe two, papal encyclical(s) denouncing reincarnation as a heresy. Other sources say that there was no such encyclical. The online list of encyclicals only goes back to about the 13th century, so there's no easy way to determine which side is correct. There's also an ongoing discussion (pro and con) on what the Bible says about reincarnation. The Bible conveniently supports both sides. 

My personal opinion:  Many early Christians (and some still today) believed in reincarnation, and it wasn't in the Church's interest to support that belief. Whether or not there was an encyclical, the belief was certainly suppressed by the Church. Vestiges of the belief can be found in the Bible, although interpretations vary. 

My Jewel Tree of Tibet

Several years ago I read a book with this title by Robert Thurman. I was intrigued by the idea and recently decided to create something based on the important influences in my life. If you want more details about the Tibetan tradition, please read the book.

The first thing I did was to list all those I could think of who have influenced my life. I wrote down the names. My list includes, of course, my parents and other relatives, school teachers, friends, authors of books that have had major influence, etc. If you have a spiritual bent, you -- like me -- can include Jesus, ministers, priests, rabbis, saints, monks, etc. If you have learned from nature, you might want to include pets, a special place, the moon or stars, etc. Be sure to include those who have had what you perceived as negative influence because (in my experience) they were teachers, too. My list includes a couple of school bullies and some failed romances, for example. 

You could stop with just the list if you want to. Even just seeing their names is a reminder of their influence. I've made some mandalas using beads and textiles, so I decided to do something with beads. I especially like the chakra (rainbow) colors. It was easy to assign a one word description for each color. (Relationships = orange, confidence = yellow, love = green, etc.) I added an eighth for Spirit beyond the body (color = clear crystal). I assigned one to eight beads for each person depending on their influence. My plan was to string the beads and find a piece of driftwood to drape them on or create some sort of sculpture. But when I had the beads counted out and in a bowl waiting for stringing, I realized that I liked them loose! I can mix them up and easily add beads for new people as I encounter them. The beads are now in a small crystal bowl in a place where the light hits them and I see them often.

There really aren't any limits on how this could be done. Pictures of the people on a poster or collage, for example. A visit to a craft shop or a scrapbook store would reveal plenty of symbols for love, teachers, etc., whatever categories you choose. Clip art is another possibility. 

The point is to remember all the support you and I have had through our lives and the support we continue to have. Since I "completed" my project a few weeks ago, I've already added beads for five more people! I may have to find a bigger bowl!

What is Infinity?

Infinities

Winter Holidays

See the Diversity in Libraries Blog for links to information about Diwali, Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas and Kwanzaa.

Mythology and Folklore

Mythology encompasses religion--that is, human relationships to god(s) and the god’s relationships with each other.

 Britannica.com:

•    “The term mythology denotes both the study of myth and the body of myths belonging to a particular religious tradition.”

•    In anthropological terms, the word does NOT mean a myth is false. It means that it has been, or is, believed.

Myths are

•    the stories in which people believe and on which they base their moral code

•    they describe people’s understanding of the meaning of life

•    they are accepted as truth by members of the faith

Folklore

•    need not be accepted as truth

•    includes stories about the gods, magic, etc., related to and symbolically illustrating the myths

•    brings religious principles to life

•    includes folk medicine, folk art, folk music, folk tales, etc.

Folk culture is

•    tied to mythology and folklore

•    it includes life style customs (folk medicine, folk art, etc.)

Fairy tales:

•    Tales involving magical occurrences

•    Typically, they have authors, although they are often retellings of traditional tales

Importance of symbols:

•    Myths and folklore originated in prehistory when humans depended on the oral tradition

•    Symbols, according to Jung and Campbell, transcend the oral. They can communicate at a subliminal level, and people need not be able to understand or read the language to relate to the symbols [Book of Kells, Star Wars, e. g.]

Differentiating myth from folklore:

•    For Christians, the Resurrection is a core myth. It’s hard to imagine a Christian without that belief.

BUT you can easily be a Christian and not believe that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland! [although there is symbolic truth to that story -- the dragon/snake is a symbol of the Druids]

Remember about folklore:

•    It’s purpose isn’t to entertain. It’s to transmit traditional beliefs and values.

Brunvand, who studies urban folklore:

•    “...folklore is material that gets orally transmitted in different versions in the traditions of various social groups. Proverbs, riddles, rhymes, jokes, anecdotes, and ballads are among the folk forms that circulate in oral and usually anonymous variants.”

Anthropological views of myth:

•    myth performs an explanatory function. The nature of things is explained as established by the gods

•    myth expresses human or social need; it expresses the culture’s perception of the universe; it affirms the culture rather than explains it.

Creation myths

•    (Creation: the chaos of power out of which the proper conventions and institutions emerge)

•    Some say the universe was created out of nothing; some, that it resulted from violence among the gods

 •    Nearly all creation myths contain a flaw which explains the difference between the perfection of Creation and the imperfect world we live in

•    An element of healing is introduced

•    Creation myths set the model for other aspects of culture

Origin of the deities

•    Most myths reveal specific deities which existed at the time of creation

•    Oldest, earth/mother and father/sky. New deities appear as their offspring

•    Deities may express sacredness in phenomena (lightning, mountains, fire)

•    Involves order and causality

Myths of renewal and rebirth

•    Time is seen as having a cyclical rhythm

•    Rituals are associated with the cycle

•    The creative power runs down or is overrun by the actions of the gods or of humans

•    There is a ritual reenactment of creation

Folklore and children

•    Grimm’s fairy tales in the original are violent and explicit, not intended for children. The tales were collected to study German linguistics.

–  from the oral tradition

–  adults told and retold them for adults, children listened

Bettelheim’s Meaning of Enchantment

•    Bettleheim believed  folklore was/is critical to children's development

–  that they needed the unexpurgated versions because of the layers of meaning they contain. The children would understand based on their level of development.

 Notable writers:

Joseph Campbell wrote many books focusing especially on myth and folklore related to the Hero archetype.

Carl Jung studied and wrote about universal archetypes.

Women and folklore (Some titles)

•    Andrea Dworkin. Woman Hating

•    Jean Shihoda Bolen:

–  Crossing to Avalon

–  Goddesses in Every Woman

•    Maxine Hong Kingston. Woman Warrior

•    Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves

•    Faludi. Backlash

Men and Myth

•    Robert Bly. Iron John

•    Sam Keen. Fire in the Belly

•    Jean Shihoda Bolen. Gods in Every Man

•    Jane Tompkins. West of Everything

•    also

–  Faludi. Stiffed

–  Raising Cain

Family folklore:

Every family has its own folklore based on the families of origin of each of the parents. Examples:

•    traditions (ways of celebrating, grieving, etc.)

•    foods

•    rituals

•    sayings

•    events

•    initiations

Other folklore:

•    local ghost stories

*   occupational lore

*   lore that bonds specific groups

Occupational Lore in Librarianship of the Past:

•     Card Catalogs

•     Corporate entries

•     Early days of automation

•     Library hand

•     Selectric typewriters

•     ALA filing rules

•     P-slips

•     On-order files

•     Storage rooms full of discards and unadded gifts

•     “favorite” characters (staff and patrons)

•     Major events in the life of the library

Lore that Bonds the “Silent Generation” (my generation)

•     D-Day

•     The Cold War

•     “The Shadow Knows…”

•     Burma Shave signs

•     Ed Sullivan

•     Perry Como

•     Captain Video

•     Candy cigarettes

•     Roy Rogers

•     Poodle skirts

•     Crinolines

•     Keds & PF Flyers for gym

•     Nylons in two pieces

•     The bomb

What lore bonds YOUR generation??

Contemporary folklore:

•    folklore isn’t just from the past

•    it’s all around us

•    it reveals something about our personal myth [belief system] and about the myth [belief system] of our culture(s)

Brunvand

“We are not aware of our own folklore any more than we are of the grammatical rules of our language.”

 Urban Folklore and Internet Hoaxes:

•    Jan Harold Brunvand, The Vanishing Hitchhiker, The Choking Doberman

The American Book of Kells

In the late 20th century, the Benedictine monks at St. Johns University in Collegeville, Minnesota, set about the task of creating a handwritten illuminated Bible on vellum in the style of the Book of Kells. In the illustrations, they used traditional Christian symbols, but they added contemporary symbolism (e. g., the DNA spiral) and animals and plants from the U. S. northern plains. They also included women in the illustrations. (In the Book of Kells, Mother Mary is the only female depicted.) I hope to see the St. Johns Bible someday! The first link below is the official page. The second link leads to and article about the Bible. Both links include color pictures of some pages.


The St. Johns Bible

Article about the St. Johns Bible

Introduction to the Book of Kells

    In another post, I will go into more detail about the meaning in the illustrations. 

     I first discovered the Book of Kells when I took a course on the history of the book during my masters program at the University of Washington in Seattle. I was fascinated by the intense detail, the colors and the artwork--especially the tendency to work in small animals or designs at the end of lines. I didn’t learn the symbolic meanings of the art until much later, although I did learn that the designs were pagan in origin and that the book was intended to communicate through its art with new converts who were illiterate. Since then I’ve discovered that there is a good deal more to it.

     Part of the reason I want to share this book with you is its sheer beauty, but I also want to share some of its background and symbolism. When the book was made, Ireland was only newly Christian. The monks were still very much involved in missionary work. They needed a way to communicate with people who could not read and to whom Christianity was strange. The art work is heavily symbolic. Of course, Christian symbols dominate, but the pagan and the ordinary and familiar appear, too.  We can recognize many of the symbols today (the cross, for example), but the meaning of most of the symbols is lost for us. In fact, some of the meaning is even lost on the scholars. Why, for example, are men often shown pulling each other’s beards? Over the centuries, the illuminators began to focus more on “prettiness” and less on visual symbolism. And with increased literacy, there was greater dependence on communicating through words. In very recent years there has been a return to an understanding of the importance of symbols in our lives. I think learning something about this book and its contents can enrich our spiritual lives today.

     Christianity was introduced into Ireland in the late 4th century. The fact that St. Patrick was sent to northern Ireland as a missionary in 431 B.C. suggests that southern Ireland was already evangelized. During the 7th to the 11th centuries, Irish monks established monasteries throughout Europe, among them Bobbio in Italy which was especially known for its illuminated manuscripts. The Book of Kells is the best known of several surviving manuscripts which the Irish monks made. It is not illuminated. That is, no silver or gold leaf was used.

     There is controversy about where the book was made. It was probably made at either the monastery at Iona or the monastery at Kells in the late 8th or 9th century. (It may have been made at both places. The Vikings were attacking the area of Iona at this time, so the monastery at Iona moved to Kells.)

     The Gospel books made by the Irish monks show a mix of styles and influences: Germanic, Mediterranean, and Celtic. The script, often called insular, originated in Northumbria and spread throughout England and Ireland.

Some Symbols Used in the Art

     Below are some of the symbols used in the art work. In another post, I will go into more detail about the meaning in the illustrations. Here are some links where you can see color illustrations and hear a portion of a lecture. I'm also listing links for two books that include color illustrations. Perhaps your local library owns one or both:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B3-cqU-zFE  Timothy Graham's illustrated lecture excerpt

http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Kells-Reproductions-manuscript/dp/039449475X 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Kells-Illustrated-Introduction/dp/0500277907/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Symbols of the Evangelists

[from the prophesies of Ezekiel and the Apocalypse]

a man, a lion, a calf, and an eagle:

     also represents the four stages of Christ’s life: birth, death, resurrection, ascension

     [Christ was a man in his birth, a calf in his death, a lion in his resurrection, and an eagle in his ascension]

In representing the Evangelists the symbols are man=Matthew, calf=Mark, lion=Luke, eagle=John). The symbols are often used together to signify the unity of the Gospels.

Eucharist Symbols

disc often marked with a cross [hosts] scattered throughout. 

Symbols of Christ

fish:  “swimming in the waters of baptism”

And the Greek word for fish (icthus) is an acrostic for Jesus Christ Son of God, Savior

snake: symbol of the Resurrection [also a reminder of the fall of man, the embodiment of evil]

lion: A symbol of Resurrection and of the Breath of Life. Also associated with majesty and power, the Royal House of Judah from which Christ was descended.