Item Details

title

Discerning Witnesses: First and Second Century Textual Studies in Christian Authority

author

Prahlow, Jacob Joseph

abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the sources of authority employed by Marcion, Clement of Rome, and Ignatius of Antioch as they navigated competing theologies during the post-Apostolic period of the early Christian church. Combining textual analysis and historical reconstruction, this study draws upon both the extant works of these early writers and the modern treatments of authority in early Christianity, finding that these authors navigated multiple forms of textual and non-textual authority in constructing their theological programs. Determining the function of the specifically Christian writings which now comprise the New Testament in their pre-canonical employment constitutes an important aspect of the current project. This study concludes that these three writers created a hermeneutic for defining and utilizing all potentially useful sources through their appeals to the central authority found in the person and event of Jesus of Nazareth.

subject

Authority

Christianity

Clement

Ignatius

Jesus

Marcion

contributor

Leonard, Bill J (committee chair)

Foskett, Mary F (committee member)

Boyd, Stephen B (committee member)

date

2014-07-10T08:35:35Z (accessioned)

2015-01-10T09:30:10Z (available)

2014 (issued)

degree

Religion (discipline)

embargo

2015-1-10 (terms)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/39289 (uri)

language

en (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

type

Thesis