Bordering Others: Traditions of Eastern Late Antiquity #aarsbl15 Sunday Afternoon Session

Last updated on: November 22, 2015 at 2:32 pm by James F. McGrath

Bordering Others: Traditions of Eastern Late Antiquity #aarsbl15 Sunday Afternoon Session 2015-11-22T14:32:35-05:00 James F. McGrath

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The first paper in the TELA session on the theme “Bordering Others: Examining Religious Community in Eastern Late Antiquity” was by Jennifer Hart and focused in using orthopraxy to define “true” Mandaeism. She began with a quote from the work The Thousand and Twelve Questions, which is focused on ritual error and what to do when it occurs. There are forty references to ritual gaffes in the first fifty pages. Errors are referred to as “blows” and dealing with them is referred to as “healings.” Rituals are understood to be actions commanded by the lightworld. A true Mandaean is thus not one who does ritual, but one who does ritual correctly. The errors mentioned range from a slip of the tongue when pronouncing words to a priest or potulant drowning during a baptism. Categories include (1) performance errors; (2) bodily errors (could be called “errors of emission” but also includes the retroactive invalidation of previous rituals if a priest is mutilated); (3) errors of impurity; (4) errors of natural disaster; (5) sartorial failings/errors of clothing. Hart asks why Mandaean literature includes a text so fixated on this subject. She notes the text's condemnation of others who teach or carry out rites incorrectly. This expresses concern for telling the difference between who is and is not a Mandaean.

Scott McDonough talked about the conversion of Armenia to Christianity. Few sites related to Armenian “paganism” have been studied as they need to be, if at all. And so most discussion of “pagan” shrines has to focus on texts. An inscription at Garni shows connection to the royal cult. Agat'angelos refers to the elimination of pagan shrines in terms of ritual cleansing. There was nonetheless significant continuity between earlier shrines and new Christian ones, as well as the functionaries who served them. The unity of blod, land, and spiritual power reflected continuity between pre-Christian and Christian.

Sara Ronis spoke about “Seeing the Other in Sasanian Babylonia,” looking at how Jews and Zoroastrians interacted in that context, particularly over the practice of next of kin marriage. Leviticus 18 prohibits such marriages. Mishnah Makkot 3:1 addresses the topic. Zoroastrian texts, by contrast, say that next of kin marriage was practiced by the gods and one of the most positive practices that can be engaged in (see Dadestan I Denig 77:4-7; Denkard 5.18.3). B. Sanhedrin 58b shows knowledge of the Zoroastrian tradition and practice, viewing it as prohibited to Jews but not non-Jews. This doesn't come up in Palestinian rabbinic literature – compare Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:8 and b. Avodah Zarah 17a. Zoroastrians in turn show awareness that what they esteem so highly is unusual in human societies, and more specifically that Jews rejected the practice. Why do Medieval Zoroastrian texts focus on Jews but not Muslims, who had the same prohibition? It allowed for recollection of an earlier age when they were the dominant power over against others.

Christina Grobmeier spoke about Aramaic curse bowls and the Suba cave inscriptions. The bowls are cryptic. Nearly everything about them is contested: their use, significance, and the ethnicity of those who produced them. The bowls are not found in Palestine. The so-called “Cave of John the Baptist” is a focus of similar debate. The two appear to share common features. The cave was originally created in the 8th century BCE as part of a reservoir system. It ceased to be so used around the second century BCE. Later, it was occupied, and came to contain fragments of Roman-era pottery. The clean-shaven figure suggests to Gibson that the depiction is Byzantine. Bowl 9 is distinctive in the characteristics of the spell. The figures in the cave and on the bowl share placement of ears, cap on an oversized head, and other features. Is the connection in the eye of the beholder or do they tell us about ancient Jewish magic.

The final paper by Todd Godwin focused on the use of Tajik (Daqing) in Chinese sources and what it tells us about the Islamicization of Central Asia. He began with a pitch to the scholars present, representing fields that deal in multiple languages, to learn Chinese. There are debates about the meaning of the term Daqing, which comes from “da” meaning “big” and “qin” which was an ancient dynasty's name (from which the name “China” comes, mediated through Sogdian). Godwin's realization about the meaning of the term came about in the context of discussion on the Central Asia Yahoo! discussion group. The Turfan Manichaean Sogdian text M339 includes “A Song in the Tajik Style.” The term refers to Persians in Central Asia, by this time mostly Muslims. The Xi'an Stele (Church of the East) mentions a donor Jazbozedh (yaz-dan buxt) meaning “one saved by God.” It features Sasanian Persian-derived lions, which also become a theme in Tibetan art. While it is sometimes said that Daqin is an ethnonym, but in the New Tang Record (compiled in 1060) it denotes a place. The Old Tang Record refers to Tajik Magians (daqin muhu). See also the 7th century Stone Pillar of Persian Prince Aluohan. The Old Tang Record also mentions lords of “Little Daqin” and “Big Daqin,” mentioning a name found on the Church of the East stele. Godwin's conclusion is that the term did not simply mean “Persian-speaking Muslims.”

Previous Post

November 22, 2015

The Final Blogger Session #AARSBL15

Next Post

November 22, 2015 The #AARSBL15 Bloggers Dinner

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Peter 1 Samuel 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians 2 Kings 2 Peter 2 Samuel 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy academia Acts of the Apostles afterlife Akhaten Alcatraz American Academy of Religion Amos Anglican Arabic Aramaic archaeology art artificial intelligence astronomy atheism atonement Babylon 5 Baptists Battlestar Galactica Bible Biblical Studies Carnival biblioblogging Black Mirror Blade Runner Book of Job book review Buddhism Call for Papers China Christianity Christmas Christology Chronicles Coptic creation Daniel Deuteronomy Doctor Who Dune Easter Ecclesiastes economics education Eldad Keynan Enoch Seminar Ephesians eschatology Esther Evangelicals evolution Exodus Expanse Ezekiel Ezra fantasy Fringe fundamentalism Galatians games Ge'ez genealogy Genesis Gnosticism Gospel of Jesus' Wife Gospel of John Gospel of Judas Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Peter Gospel of Thomas Greek Harry Potter Hebrew Hebrews Hinduism historical Jesus history Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Holidays horror Hosea humor incarnation India inerrancy information literacy inspirational Intelligent Design Ireland Isaiah Islam Israel Italy James Jeremiah John the Baptist Jonah Joshua Judaism Jude Judges Judith Lamentations languages Latin Leviticus libraries literature Lord of the Rings LOST Mandaeans Mandaic memes Methodism Micah monotheism morality Mormons movies music mythicism NASSCAL Nehemiah new perspective New Testament news Numbers Orthodox paganism panentheism pantheism Patheos Paul and his letters Pentecostals Philippians Philippians 2:6-11 philosophy physics Planet of the Apes podcast politics Progressive Christianity Protestantism Proverbs Psalms pseudoscience racism religion Revelation Roman Catholicism Romania Romans Ruth scams science science fiction Secret Gospel of Mark Society of Biblical Literature Song of Songs Star Trek Star Wars Stargate Swahili Syriac Taoism technology Terminator The Handmaid's Tale The Hobbit The Matrix theodicy theology theory Timeless Titus tomb Torchwood travel TRON Uncategorized United Kingdom Westworld X-Files young-earth creationism Zechariah

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 February 2007 January 2001

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz