Homer was the gateway to education, to the skills of reading and
writing. These skills were necessary for the nascent Church. Knowledge
of Homer's writings was a sign of Greekness, of at-home-ness in the
society. Education was embedded in the mythology, immorality and
idolatry of these writings. This challenged the Christians. This study
presents how Christians responded to this. The opinions varied from
rejection of Homer and all pagan literature, considering them works of
the Devil, to critical involvement with this literature. This study
attempts to trace the discourse on Homer and education among the
Christians back to the New Testament. The topic does not come to the
surface, but it is argued that in Paul's letters contrasting attitudes
towards the propaideutic logic and the philosophical principle of usus
(making right use of) are present. He opposed a logic wherein
Christian faith represented the peak of education, the culmination of
liberal studies. In his instruction on how to relate to the pagan
world, Paul argues in accordance with the principle of usus. The New
Testament is not so dependent upon the Homeric poems, as assumed by
some scholars. The first Christians faced two hermeneutical challenges
of fundamental importnce: that of interpreting the Old Testament and
how to cope with the Greek legacy embedded in Homer. The latter is not
explicitly raised in the New Testament. But since the art of
interpreting any text, presupposes reading skills, conveyed through
liberal studies, the Homeric challenge must have been of outmost
importance.
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School, Pagan Poets and Early Christianity
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780567601117
Publisert
2015
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Bloomsbury T&T Clark
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter