tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714437334790446678.post6869566424954390665..comments2023-10-04T09:50:08.070-05:00Comments on Logismoi: 'That We May Be His Temples'—Ss Ignatius the God-bearer & Aphrahat of PersianAaron Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17775589009145031773noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714437334790446678.post-12266548769943547752009-02-11T15:22:00.000-06:002009-02-11T15:22:00.000-06:00Kevin> Nice! Thank you for pointing that out. I...Kevin> Nice! Thank you for pointing that out. It would be neat to read a bit more of what Neusner has to say on the subject.Aaron Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17775589009145031773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714437334790446678.post-2122190526916498812009-02-11T14:05:00.000-06:002009-02-11T14:05:00.000-06:00Here's something folks might not be aware of. Jac...Here's something folks might not be aware of. Jacob Neusner translated St Aphrahat's Demonstrations XI, XII, XIII, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, and XXI in full, and excerpts of XXIII in his <I>Aphrahat and Judaism: The Christian-Jewish Argument in Fourth-Century Iran</I> (Brill, 1971). I'll let him describe it (Preface, p. xi):<BR/><BR/>[quote] Outside of the Babylonian Talmud, Aphrahat (fl. ca/ 300-350 A.D.), a Christian monk in Mesopotamia, provides the only substantial literary evidence on the state of Mesopotamian-Babylonian Judaism in Sasanian times. His Demonstrations furthermore were given final form by the end of the fourth century, if not earlier, and hence antedate the Babylonian Talmud by a hundred years or more. They moreover testify about Judaism and Jews who probably were little affected by rabbinical influence, as we shall see, and thus constitute especially rare and valuable data. In connection with my <I>History of the Jews in Babylonia</I>, it therefore seemed useful to prepare an English translation of Aphrahat's Demonstrations relevant to Judaism, together with studies of some pertinent issues. The result was to serve as an appendix to vol. V.... Since Aphrahat's Demonstrations and related studies proved too long for an appendix to the foregoing volume, I decided to allow them to stand separately. ...<BR/><BR/>My effort is to make use of Aphrahat as a source for the study of Judaism east of the Euphrates. To do so, I have had to discuss his place in the context of both rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. My argument—for the study is intended as an argument—is that Aphrahat was not a "docile pupil of the Jews" but a Christian, standing in important ways within the conventional structure of the argument of the Church on the matter of Judaism, completely original, however, in his development and application of that conventional argument. He was a "docile pupil" of no one, but a powerful, independent mind. [unquote]<BR/><BR/>For the English reader, between the NPNF translations and Neusner's, only a handful of the Demonstrations remain untranslated. It'd be nice to have them all done in one edition. I think we can reasonably expect that in the near future.Kevin P. Edgecombhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16590490181739464401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714437334790446678.post-54492601859478567132009-02-11T12:47:00.000-06:002009-02-11T12:47:00.000-06:00It seems the Zernovs knew everyone in the anglo Or...It seems the Zernovs knew everyone in the anglo Orthodox world back in the day. And they apparently had a very dramatic relationship themselves, very Russian. One can still find some of N. Zernov's books about - I always chuckle when people talk about the importance of Ware's introductory book. It was probably Zernov's <I>The Orthodox Church</I> that brought about the existence of an anglophile Orthodoxy - in part because of the book, in larger part because of the couple behind it.Ochlophobist https://www.blogger.com/profile/13751003558600087713noreply@blogger.com