Darstellungen der Besonderheit des Christlichen in frühen Apostelerzählungen
Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse
The project’s main goal was to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of early “Christian” self-definition processes by analyzing how “Christians” are portrayed as being different from other people in early Christian texts. The focus was on extra-canonical stories about the apostles, an under-researched set of texts. The research conducted as part of the project analyzed these texts from several new angles, contributing to deeper appreciation of their contents and the literary activity that went into their production. It also highlighted a number of methodological issues that are fundamental for wide swathes of research in the field of New Testament and Early Christianity. An analysis of the depiction of political figures within the narratives, from emperors to local governors, found that the texts are not “anti-imperial” as has often been claimed. “Christian” characters are not depicted as resisting “empire” or as being condemned directly for their “Christian” commitment, in contrast to other early martyrdom literature. This finding highlights the ways that the same sorts of events can be framed in different ways by different storytellers. This presents a challenge for determining what distinctions between “Christians” and others were actually salient in real-life contexts. Another part of the research project examined the portrayal of literary antagonists in the Vercelli Acts of Peter, and concluded that the story tells us much less about actual Christian practices than one might suppose, or even about the ethical ideals of storytellers. It has often been argued that storytellers wanted to promote celibacy as a lifestyle, but fresh analysis called this conclusion into question, highlighting the relationship between the celibacy motif and the structure of the plot. It also drew attention to the sparse attention to “theology” proper in the narrative. Another aspect of the project examined the portrayal of Jesus in stories about the apostles, which suggests that “orthodoxy” – e.g., in the form of particular beliefs about Jesus – played a different role in the self-understanding of different “Christians,” being more important to some than others. Overall, the studies of apostle narratives highlighted significant methodological issues for assessing how “Christian” characters and their distinctiveness are portrayed in such texts. To what extent do the texts reflect the primary theological or ethical interests of storytellers, and to what extent are the range of traits and practices mentioned in the stories a function of the plot? To what extent were storytellers interested in portraying “Christians” as “distinctive”? Do they intentionally downplay differences, and if so, do the stories provide a good window into actual “Christian” self-understanding in the early centuries? Furthermore, is the category “Christian” a helpful analytical lens? How might reading texts with the category “Christian” in mind obscure ways that “being Christian” might have looked different for different people – e.g., men and women, slave and free? How might the analytical category “Christian” encourage readings that artificially conflate various characteristics – such as baptism, confession of Jesus as “lord,” and appropriate behavior – that did not always go together as a package in real life or in the minds of ancient authors? The research project suggests that further reflection is needed on these issues.
Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)
- “Apostles and Politics in the Roman Empire.” Sacra Scripta 13 (2015): 204–28
Julia Snyder
- “Christ of the Acts of Andrew and Matthias.” In Christ of the Sacred Stories, edited by Predrag Dragutinović, et al., 247–62. WUNT 2, 453. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017
Julia Snyder
- Simon, Agrippa, and Other Antagonists in the Vercelli Acts of Peter.” In “Opponents”: Conflict with Rivals in Early Jewish and Christian Literature, edited by Ulrich Mell and Michael Tilly. WUNT. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck (forthcoming)
Julia Snyder
- “Acts of John, Acts of Peter, Acts of Thekla, 3 Corinthians, Martyrdom of Paul.” In The Reception of Jesus in the First Three Centuries, edited by Chris Keith et al. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2019
Julia Snyder
