Papers by Christoph Markschies
Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity
The contribution examines whether some early Christian thinkers, usually classified as “gnostics,... more The contribution examines whether some early Christian thinkers, usually classified as “gnostics,” were influenced in a special way by interpretations of the biblical account of creation in developing their particular doctrine (Cerinthus, Menander, Simon Magus, and Saturninus/Satornil). It turns out, however, that not only is there too little solid information about these thinkers, but the apparent specifics of interpretation are taken from contemporary Judaism. Only the distance between the supreme God and his helpers in creation seems to be more clearly accentuated than in many texts, but this may also be polemics of these Gnostics majority church opponents.
Adolf Deissmann: Ein (zu Unrecht) fast vergessener Theologe und Philologe, 2019
Ever since the beginnings of orderly reflections on the topic of history in Christianity and the ... more Ever since the beginnings of orderly reflections on the topic of history in Christianity and the first literary attempts to write history, four basic problems have been characteristic of all such attempts. All Christian historical thought and also all Christian historiography can be characterized by basic decisions concerning the following four problem areas: (1) the classification as a specific inside or outside perspective on Christianity; (2) the respective understanding of the position of one's interpretation on a range between historical and theological standards; (3) specific mechanisms of selection; and (4) a small number of models by the help of which the past is reconstructed. These four basic problems of Christian interpretations of history cannot be solved by means of an isolated special theological hermeneutics. They call for an original contribution to the general discussion of history and of the interpretation of history.
Church History and Religious Culture, 2012
The journal is peer-reviewed, which means that all manuscripts will be refereed by the Editors wi... more The journal is peer-reviewed, which means that all manuscripts will be refereed by the Editors with the help of external experts. Manuscripts that are submitted for initial consideration should therefore be complete, including all notes, bibliographical references, tables, etc.
Elsevier eBooks, 2001
Ever since the beginnings of orderly reflections on the topic of history in Christianity and the ... more Ever since the beginnings of orderly reflections on the topic of history in Christianity and the first literary attempts to write history, four basic problems have been characteristic of all such attempts. All Christian historical thought and also all Christian historiography can be characterized by basic decisions concerning the following four problem areas: (a) the classification as a specific inside or outside perspective on Christianity; (b) the respective understanding of the position of one's interpretation on a range between historical and theological standards; (c) specific mechanisms of selection; and (d) a small number of models by the help of which the past is reconstructed. These four basic problems of Christian interpretations of history cannot be solved by means of an isolated special theological hermeneutics. They call for an original contribution to the general discussion of history and of the interpretation of history.
BRILL eBooks, Aug 3, 2022
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity
The paper deals with a little-known Gnostic text from Deir el-Balaizah. After discussing its loca... more The paper deals with a little-known Gnostic text from Deir el-Balaizah. After discussing its localization and dating, the paper addresses why the text was previously largely unknown and also to what extent it can be related to (other) Gnostic texts.
Jews and Christians – Parting Ways in the First Two Centuries CE?, 2021
Rationalization in Religions, 2018
The thesis to be presented in this paper is relatively simple: I wish to demonstrate that a centr... more The thesis to be presented in this paper is relatively simple: I wish to demonstrate that a central element of rationalization, and not only in Antiquity, lies in resolving dualisms, or more precisely, dual models of reality. If we subscribe to Carl Friedrich Gethmann's process-oriented definition of "rationality" as "developing processes for the discursive upholding of claims to validity,"1 then "rationalization" would be defined as the optimization of the discursive upholding of validity claims. The Christian religion asserted such validity claims in Antiquity: It intended that the consensus within a specific religious group as to the truth of certain doctrines and behavioral prescriptions should be shared by the entire society. One notable rationalistic impulse was provided by the so-called Christian Alexandrians, and not by coincidence, as the already Hellenized Judaism of Alexandria had laid the foundations for it, and the city's character as a center of learning was fertile ground for such a rationalizing impulse.2 The Christian Alexandrians, principally Clement of Alexandria (c. 140/150-220 CE) and Origen (c. 185-254 CE), argued for the validity of Christian precepts regarding the world and of behavioral prescriptions according to contemporary criteria of rationality; in contrast to the preceding generations of Christian theologians, they were familiar with those criteria from the source texts of Platonic and Stoic philosophy and not just from compendia or general educational tracts.3 These Alexandrians optimized the hitherto prevalent ways of reflecting upon Christianity as it had existed from the earliest days of Christendom, from Paul in the first century and through apologists such as Justin and bishops like Irenaeus of Lyons in the second century. We can join Gethmann in regarding such a purposeful optimization of rationality as "rationalization."4
Članak promišlja ulogu dvojice biskupa Urzacija i Valensa u defi niranju vjeroispovijesti Datiran... more Članak promišlja ulogu dvojice biskupa Urzacija i Valensa u defi niranju vjeroispovijesti Datiranoga sabora. Najprije se tumače različiti povijesni izvori koji spominju i tumače Sinodu biskupa u Sirmiju 359. godine. Potom se predstavlja njegov povijesni kontekst: politika cara Konstancija i utjecaj dvojice biskupa na cara. Vjeroispovijest Datirane sinode interpretira se kao kompromis različitih teoloških strujanja: distancira se od Arija, u sebi sadrži elemente Antiohijske vjeroispovijesti te sirijski utjecaj. Cjelokupna Vjeroispovijest u svojoj se srži može shvatiti kao homejska. Doprinos dvojice biskupa na Saboru sigurno nije bio malen, ali i dalje ostaje nerazjašnjena njihova uloga. Pojavljivanje Urzacija i Valensa na saboru u Riminiju završilo je katastrofom, vjerojatno zbog same kompromisne formule Datirane sinode, te brisanjem dodatka κατα πάντα, čime se Vjeroispovijest udaljila od zapadnoga mišljenja većine.
Zeitschrift für Ideengeschichte, 2010
Über das Verhältnis der beiden Humboldt-Brüder ist überraschend wenig geschrieben worden. Umso me... more Über das Verhältnis der beiden Humboldt-Brüder ist überraschend wenig geschrieben worden. Umso mehr lohnt eine Beschäftigung mit dem Thema, so weit das die nicht gerade ab undante Quellenlage überhaupt zulässt: 1880 erschien der Briefwechsel Alexanders mit Wilhelm. Bereits im Vorwort bedauerte die herausgebende Familie, dass die Gegenbriefe Wilhelms nicht erhalten seien und dazu nur ein geringer Teil der Briefe Alexanders – bekanntlich vernichtete Alexander Briefe, sofern sie für ihn nicht wissenschaftlich zu verwerten waren oder irgendwo eingeklebt werden konnten.
Uploads
Papers by Christoph Markschies