Educating Early Christians through the Rhetoric of Hell: 'Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth' as Paideia in Matthew and the Early Church

Educating Early Christians through the Rhetoric of Hell: 'Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth' as Paideia in Matthew and the Early Church

by Meghan Henning
Educating Early Christians through the Rhetoric of Hell: 'Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth' as Paideia in Matthew and the Early Church

Educating Early Christians through the Rhetoric of Hell: 'Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth' as Paideia in Matthew and the Early Church

by Meghan Henning

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Overview

In this book, Meghan Henning explores the rhetorical function of the early Christian concept of hell. Building upon classical rhetorical techniques and the descriptions of Hades in Greek and Roman literature, she contends that the ancient Christian concept of hell was developed as a part of a distinctively Christian paideia. She traces the history of this interpretive process, illustrating the ways in which early Christians drew upon the Greek and Roman system of ethical and cultural education, to create and maintain their own culture. By doing this the author demonstrates that Matthew's gospel is the nexus in which early Christian ideas about eternal punishment begin to crystallize, and becomes the focal point for later apocalyptic and patristic authors who interpret and reshape Matthew's "weeping and gnashing of teeth" in a variety of pedagogical contexts.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9783161529634
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Publication date: 11/01/2014
Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.Reihe , #382
Pages: 307
Product dimensions: 6.06(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Chapter 1 The History of Hellish Rhetoric

I Why Hell?: The Historical Relevance of the Rhetoric of Eternal Punishment 1

II Hell and the History of Religions 3

III Beyond Genesis: Ideology, Fluidity, and the History of Interpretation 8

IV A Word about the Terminology for Eternal Punishment 10

V Plan of the Book 11

Chapter 2 Death, Judgment, and the Abode of the Dead as Malleable Rhetorical Tools in the Hebrew Bible

I Introduction 14

II Concepts of the Abode of the Dead in the Hebrew Bible 17

a All Dead Travel to a Common place 19

b The Place of the Dead as a Descripter 23

i Dark, Dusty and Generally Undesirable Place 23

ii A Poetic Marker for Depth, or a Remote Place 24

iii The Opposite of the Heavens 24

III The Abode of the Dead as a Rhetorical Tool in the Hebrew Bible 25

a Vivid or Dramatic Imagery: The Abode of the Dead as Spectacle or Metaphor 25

b Sorting the Dead: The Abode of the Dead Signifying Judgment or Punishment 28

c The Abode of the Dead as a Tool for Moral Formation in the Hebrew Bible 33

i The Life and Death Contrast in the Hebrew Bible 33

ii The Abode of the Dead as Ethical Motivation 36

IV Conclusion 41

Chapter 3 Learning from the Dead: Hades as an Expression of Paideia in Greek and Latin Literature

I Introduction 43

II Greek and Roman Rhetoric and Education: The Role of Ethical Instruction within Greek and Roman Paideia 44

a Paideia as Rhetorical Training 44

b Paideia and Early Christianity 48

c Paideia as Cultural and Ethical Education 51

d Ekphrasis: The Pedagogical use of Rhetoric in Transmitting Cultural Values 54

III Greek and Roman Examples of Hell as Paideia 65

a Prevalence of Homer and Virgil in Ancient School Texts 65

b Visualizing Punishment: The Use of Ekphrasis in Depictions of Hades 67

i The Katabasis 67

ii Evidence of Ekphrasis: The Language of Perception 69

iii Evidence of Ekphrasis: The Presence of Enargeia or "Vividness" 72

iv Explicit Communication of the Didactic Function of the Ekphrasis 75

c The Spectacle of Punishment as Paideia 77

IV Conclusion 82

Chapter 4 Periegesis?: The Journey through the Places of the Dead in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature

I Introduction 83

II The Genre of Geographic "Tours" in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature 85

III The Rhetorical Function of "Tours": Parallel to Periegesis of Greek and Latin Literature? 92

a Spatial Differentiation: Directional Cues and Geographic Descriptions 94

b Order and Meaning: Implicit Paideia in the Jewish Apocalypses 99

IV Conclusion 107

Chapter 5 A Choice Between Two Ways: The Rhetoric of Eternal Punishment in the New Testament

I Introduction 108

II Ekphrasis of Enargeia?: Analyzing the Rhetoric of Description in the NT 109

III The Pedagogical Function of Eternal Punishment in the NT 112

a Mark 9:42-50 112

b Q 10, 15 and 12, 4-5 117

c Luke 122

d James 126

e 2 Peter 128

f Revelation 131

IV Conclusion 137

Chapter 6 The Pedagogical Role of Eschatological Judgment, Eternal Punishment, and the Afterlife in Matthew

I Introduction 138

II Education in Matthew: An Exercise in Community Formation 138

a Matthew's Audience 139

b Matthew's Interest in Paideia and the Formation of Ecclesia 139

III The Role of Apocalyptic Eschatology within Matthew's "Curriculum" 149

IV The Pedagogical Function of Eternal Punishment in Matthew 153

a Matthew's Use of Terminology 153

b Evidence of Ekphrasis: The Presence of Enargeia or "Vividness" 156

c Explicit Communication of the Didactic Function of the Ekphrasis 163

d The Description of Punishment as Paideia: Rhetoric of Ethical and Cultural Education 166

V Conclusion 173

Chapter 7 The Pedagogical Function of Hell in the Early Christian Apocalypses and the Early Church

I Introduction 174

II Dating and Reception of Tours of Hell 175

III Interpreting and Expanding the New Testament Picture of "Hell" in Early Christian Apocalypses 182

a Interpreting Matthew in the Apocalypse of Peter 183

b Reading Matthew and Paul together in the Apocalypse of Paul 189

c Pleading for Mercy and Reinventing the Beatitudes in the Latin Vision of Ezra and the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra 196

d "Biblical Theology" in the Greek Apocalypse of Mary 199

IV The Pedagogical Function of Hell in the Early Christian Apocalypses 202

a Evidence of Ekphrasis: Periegesis 202

b Evidence of Ekphrasis: Language of Perception 205

c Evidence of Ekphrasis: Enargeia or "Vividness" 207

d The Spectacle of Punishment as Paideia: Explicit Communication of the Didactic Function of Ekphrasis 211

V The Pedagogical Function of Hell in the Early Church Fathers 217

a Chrysostom: Zeal in Appropriating Hell as the Heart of Christian Paideia 218

b Augustine: Distinguishing Christian Paideia from the Tools of the Empire 220

VI Conclusion 222

Chapter 8 Conclusion: The Landscape of Hell and the Cultivation of Early Christianity

I How did "Hell" Emerge as an Educational Tool for Early Christians? 224

II Hell, What is it Good For?: Damnation and the Cultivation of Culture 228

III Dante's Spell: Reflections on Our Hellish Inheritance 230

Appendix A Concepts of the Abode of the Dead in the Hebrew Bible 233

Appendix B The Abode of the Dead as a Rhetorical Tool in the Hebrew Bible 240

Appendix C Ekphrasis in Greek and Latin Texts that Deal with Hades extensively 247

Appendix D Enargeia of "Hell" in the New Testament (apart from Matthew) 248

Appendix E Enargeia of Eternal Punishment in Matthew 249

Appendix F Eschatological Fire in Matthew 252

Appendix G "Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth" in Matthew 252

Bibliography 255

Index of Ancient Sources 277

Index of Modern Authors 291

Subject Index 292

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