Tobias Nicklas – författare

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha addresses issues and themes that arise in the study of early Christian apocryphal literature. It discusses key texts including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Peter, letters attributed to Paul, Peter, and Jesus, and acts and apocalypses written about or attributed to different apostles. Part One consists of authoritative surveys of the main branches of apocryphal literature (gospels, acts, epistles, apocalypses, and related literature) and Part Two considers key issues that they raise. These include their contribution to our understanding of developing theological understandings of Jesus, the apostles and other important figures such as Mary. It also addresses the value of these texts as potential sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus, and for debates about Jewish-Christian relations, the practice of Christian worship, and developing understandings of asceticism, gender and sexuality, etc. The volume also considers questions such as which ancient readers read early Christian apocrypha, their place in Christian spirituality, and their place in contemporary popular culture and contemporary theological discourse.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha addresses issues and themes that arise in the study of early Christian apocryphal literature. It discusses key texts including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Peter, letters attributed to Paul, Peter, and Jesus, and acts and apocalypses written about or attributed to different apostles. Part One consists of authoritative surveys of the main branches of apocryphal literature (gospels, acts, epistles, apocalypses, and related literature) and Part Two considers key issues that they raise. These include their contribution to our understanding of developing theological understandings of Jesus, the apostles and other important figures such as Mary. It also addresses the value of these texts as potential sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus, and for debates about Jewish-Christian relations, the practice of Christian worship, and developing understandings of asceticism, gender and sexuality, etc. The volume also considers questions such as which ancient readers read early Christian apocrypha, their place in Christian spirituality, and their place in contemporary popular culture and contemporary theological discourse.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha addresses issues and themes that arise in the study of early Christian apocryphal literature. It discusses key texts including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Peter, letters attributed to Paul, Peter, and Jesus, and acts and apocalypses written about or attributed to different apostles. Part One consists of authoritative surveys of the main branches of apocryphal literature (gospels, acts, epistles, apocalypses, and related literature) and Part Two considers key issues that they raise. These include their contribution to our understanding of developing theological understandings of Jesus, the apostles and other important figures such as Mary. It also addresses the value of these texts as potential sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus, and for debates about Jewish-Christian relations, the practice of Christian worship, and developing understandings of asceticism, gender and sexuality, etc. The volume also considers questions such as which ancient readers read early Christian apocrypha, their place in Christian spirituality, and their place in contemporary popular culture and contemporary theological discourse.

As the value and importance of the non-canonical Jesus tradition continues to be recognized, there is an ever-increasing need for scholarly introductions to this tradition. This co-edited edition comprises the Greek critical editions, with full translations, of several key gospel fragments including P.Egerton 2, P. Oxy. 840, and P.Oxy. 1224. These fragments, preserved despite the widespread destruction of non-canonical manuscripts, are invaluable primary witnesses of ancient Christianity and the transmission of early Christian texts. Introductions to the fragments discuss dates, origins, interpretations, and the relationship of the texts to the canonical gospels. Detailed commentaries expand points of interest to facilitate further scholarly research on these texts in the future.

The book presents diplomatic transcriptions (in Greek) and translations (in German and English) of all the known textual fragments which can be attributed to what is known as the Gospel of Peter and the Apocalypse of Peter or which scholars are discussing as possible elements of these texts. In addition, the documentation of the texts in ancient times is considered, and there is a brief discussion of the philological problems involved. With concordances.

The remarkably complex textual traditions of the Acts of the Apostles reflect the theological developments and socio-cultural framework of early Christianity. The present volume contains studies of textual witnesses, textual traditions and translations of the Acts. They do not only focus on the traditions which occur in the manuscripts, or on the theological tendencies of the major ancient versions and their reception in the Early Church, but also consider the relevance of mostly neglected witnesses such as amuletts and tablets, and the relationship between the ancient translators and Jewish exegetical traditions.

Das Evangelium nach Petrus gehört zu den faszinierendsten apokryphen Texten des 2. Jahrhunderts. Die Arbeiten des vorliegenden Bandes beschäftigen sich mit der Frage nach der Rekonstruktion seines Textes und damit verbundenen philologischen Fragen, nach den möglichen Kontexten seiner Entstehung und nach Intertexten, die für seine Interpretation bedeutsam werden können. Dabei gelingen zum Teil überraschende, zum Teil kontroverse Einsichten in die Theologie dieses Textes.

As environmental destruction begins to seriously affect humans, it has become increasingly relevant to reflect on the essential elements of the Jewish and Christian theologies of creation. The essays in this volume explore key aspects of creation theology, which poses the question of the origin of the world and of man. Creation theology is rooted in the concept of man who owes his existence to God and who is placed in a cosmos which God created as “good”. At the same time, the essays show that even back in antiquity, the creation discussion held high potential for ideological criticism.

In einer Situation, in der die Bedrohung der Welt immer deutlicher wird, ja sich die Auswirkungen der Umweltzerstörung am Menschen selbst zu rächen beginnen, erlangt die Besinnung auf Grunddaten jüdischer wie christlicher Schöpfungstheologien neue Aktualität. Die insgesamt 19 Beiträge des hier vorliegenden Bandes erarbeiten eine große Bandbreite frühjüdischer und antik-christlicher Texte, die sich mit Welt und Mensch als Schöpfung Gottes auseinandersetzen. Dabei zeigt sich die enge Verknüpfung der Rede von der Schöpfung mit der Frage nach dem „Woher“ von Welt und Mensch und ihre Verbindung mit dem Bild eines Menschen, der sich Gott verdankt und in eine von Gott als „gut“ konzipierten Kosmos gesetzt ist. Vom Anfang her wiederum bestimmt sich auch die Vorstellung des Endes: der Ursprung ist vom Sinn und dem Ziel des Daseins nicht zu trennen. Vor allem aber zeigt sich, dass die Rede von Welt und Mensch als Schöpfung nie von rein theoretischer Relevanz ist, sondern bereits in der Antike ein hohes ideologiekritisches Potenzial entfalten konnte.

The impact of earlier works to the literature of early Judaism is an intensively researched topic in contemporary scholarship. This volume is based on an international conference held at the Sapientia College of Theology in Budapest, May 18­­–21, 2010. The contributors explore scriptural authority in early Jewish literature and the writings of nascent Christianity. They study the impact of earlier literature in the formulation of theological concepts and books of the Second Temple Period.

The impact of earlier works to the literature of early Judaism is an intensively researched topic in contemporary scholarship. This volume is based on an international conference held at the Sapientia College of Theology in Budapest, May 18­­–21, 2010. The contributors explore scriptural authority in early Jewish literature and the writings of nascent Christianity. They study the impact of earlier literature in the formulation of theological concepts and books of the Second Temple Period.

The impact of earlier works to the literature of early Judaism is an intensively researched topic in contemporary scholarship. This volume is based on an international conference held at the Sapientia College of Theology in Budapest, May 18­­–21, 2010. The contributors explore scriptural authority in early Jewish literature and the writings of nascent Christianity. They study the impact of earlier literature in the formulation of theological concepts and books of the Second Temple Period.

The second century CE has often been described as a kind of dark period with regard to our knowledge of how the earliest Christian writings (the gospels and Paul’s letters) were transmitted and gradually came to be accepted as authoritative and then, later on, as “canonical”. At the same time a number of other Christian texts, of various genres, saw the light. Some of these seem to be familiar with the gospels, or perhaps rather with gospel traditions identical or similar to those that found their way into the NT gospels. The volume focuses on representative texts and authors of the time in order to see how they have struggled to find a way to work with the NT gospels and/or the traditions behind these, while at the same time giving a place also to other extra-canonical traditions.It studies in a comparative way the reception of identifiably “canonical” and of extra-canonical traditions in the second century. It aims at discovering patterns or strategies of reception within the at first sight often rather chaotic way some of these ancient authors have cited or used these traditions. And it will look for explanations of why it took such a while before authors got used to cite gospel texts (more or less) accurately.

The second century CE has often been described as a kind of dark period with regard to our knowledge of how the earliest Christian writings (the gospels and Paul’s letters) were transmitted and gradually came to be accepted as authoritative and then, later on, as “canonical”. At the same time a number of other Christian texts, of various genres, saw the light. Some of these seem to be familiar with the gospels, or perhaps rather with gospel traditions identical or similar to those that found their way into the NT gospels. The volume focuses on representative texts and authors of the time in order to see how they have struggled to find a way to work with the NT gospels and/or the traditions behind these, while at the same time giving a place also to other extra-canonical traditions.It studies in a comparative way the reception of identifiably “canonical” and of extra-canonical traditions in the second century. It aims at discovering patterns or strategies of reception within the at first sight often rather chaotic way some of these ancient authors have cited or used these traditions. And it will look for explanations of why it took such a while before authors got used to cite gospel texts (more or less) accurately.

The second century CE has often been described as a kind of dark period with regard to our knowledge of how the earliest Christian writings (the gospels and Paul’s letters) were transmitted and gradually came to be accepted as authoritative and then, later on, as “canonical”. At the same time a number of other Christian texts, of various genres, saw the light. Some of these seem to be familiar with the gospels, or perhaps rather with gospel traditions identical or similar to those that found their way into the NT gospels. The volume focuses on representative texts and authors of the time in order to see how they have struggled to find a way to work with the NT gospels and/or the traditions behind these, while at the same time giving a place also to other extra-canonical traditions.It studies in a comparative way the reception of identifiably “canonical” and of extra-canonical traditions in the second century. It aims at discovering patterns or strategies of reception within the at first sight often rather chaotic way some of these ancient authors have cited or used these traditions. And it will look for explanations of why it took such a while before authors got used to cite gospel texts (more or less) accurately.

The contributions in this volume are focused on the historical origins, religious provenance, and social function of ancient Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature, including so-called ‘Gnostic’ writings. Although it is disputed whether there was a genre of ‘apocalyptic literature,’ it is obvious that numerous texts from ancient Judaism, early Christianity, and other religious milieus share a specific view of history and the world to come. Many of these writings are presented in form of a heavenly (divine) revelation, mediated through an otherworldly figure (like an angel) to an elected human being who discloses this revelation to his recipients in written form. In different strands of early Judaism, ancient Christianity as well as in Gnosticism, Manichaeism, and Islam, apocalyptic writings played an important role from early on and were produced also in later centuries. One of the most characteristic features of these texts is their specific interpretation of history, based on the knowledge about the upper, divine realm and the world to come. Against this background the volume deals with a wide range of apocalyptic texts from different periods and various religious backgrounds.

The contributions in this volume are focused on the historical origins, religious provenance, and social function of ancient Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature, including so-called ‘Gnostic’ writings. Although it is disputed whether there was a genre of ‘apocalyptic literature,’ it is obvious that numerous texts from ancient Judaism, early Christianity, and other religious milieus share a specific view of history and the world to come. Many of these writings are presented in form of a heavenly (divine) revelation, mediated through an otherworldly figure (like an angel) to an elected human being who discloses this revelation to his recipients in written form. In different strands of early Judaism, ancient Christianity as well as in Gnosticism, Manichaeism, and Islam, apocalyptic writings played an important role from early on and were produced also in later centuries. One of the most characteristic features of these texts is their specific interpretation of history, based on the knowledge about the upper, divine realm and the world to come.

Against this background the volume deals with a wide range of apocalyptic texts from different periods and various religious backgrounds.

The contributions in this volume are focused on the historical origins, religious provenance, and social function of ancient Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature, including so-called ‘Gnostic’ writings. Although it is disputed whether there was a genre of ‘apocalyptic literature,’ it is obvious that numerous texts from ancient Judaism, early Christianity, and other religious milieus share a specific view of history and the world to come. Many of these writings are presented in form of a heavenly (divine) revelation, mediated through an otherworldly figure (like an angel) to an elected human being who discloses this revelation to his recipients in written form. In different strands of early Judaism, ancient Christianity as well as in Gnosticism, Manichaeism, and Islam, apocalyptic writings played an important role from early on and were produced also in later centuries. One of the most characteristic features of these texts is their specific interpretation of history, based on the knowledge about the upper, divine realm and the world to come.

Against this background the volume deals with a wide range of apocalyptic texts from different periods and various religious backgrounds.

The second century CE has often been described as a kind of dark period with regard to our knowledge of how the earliest Christian writings (the gospels and Paul’s letters) were transmitted and gradually came to be accepted as authoritative and then, later on, as “canonical”. At the same time a number of other Christian texts, of various genres, saw the light. Some of these seem to be familiar with the gospels, or perhaps rather with gospel traditions identical or similar to those that found their way into the NT gospels. The volume focuses on representative texts and authors of the time in order to see how they have struggled to find a way to work with the NT gospels and/or the traditions behind these, while at the same time giving a place also to other extra-canonical traditions.It studies in a comparative way the reception of identifiably “canonical” and of extra-canonical traditions in the second century. It aims at discovering patterns or strategies of reception within the at first sight often rather chaotic way some of these ancient authors have cited or used these traditions. And it will look for explanations of why it took such a while before authors got used to cite gospel texts (more or less) accurately.

The remarkably complex textual traditions of the Acts of the Apostles reflect the theological developments and socio-cultural framework of early Christianity. The present volume contains studies of textual witnesses, textual traditions and translations of the Acts. They do not only focus on the traditions which occur in the manuscripts, or on the theological tendencies of the major ancient versions and their reception in the Early Church, but also consider the relevance of mostly neglected witnesses such as amuletts and tablets, and the relationship between the ancient translators and Jewish exegetical traditions.

Der vorliegende Band geht auf eine Tagung zum Thema "Prophetie im Alten und Neuen Testament" des Bibelzentrums der Babes-Bolyai Universität Cluj (Klausenburg) zurück. In insgesamt vierzehn Beiträgen werden prophetische Gestalten und prophetische Literatur vom Israel der vorexilischen Zeit bis hin zum antiken Christentum dargestellt.

Damit die junge Bewegung der Anhängerinnen und Anhänger Jesu von Nazaret, die später als "Christentum" bekannt wurde, überleben konnte, war es für sie von höchster Notwendigkeit, Techniken sozialer wie auch theologisch begründeter Abgrenzung gegenüber anderen Gruppen aufzubauen und zu verteidigen. Diese Techniken änderten sich im Verlauf des Prozesses, in dem sich das Christentum von einer Gruppe meist neu Bekehrter zu einer Bewegung entwickelte, die bereits auf überlieferte Traditionen zurückblicken konnte. Im vorliegenden Band nimmt eine international zusammengesetzte Expertengruppe die Frage in den Blick, wie sich dabei das Verhältnis der jungen Bewegung gegenüber Außenstehenden entwickelte. Im Focus steht dabei auf das dynamische Zueinander von Fragen der Mission und der Ethik in Texten des frühen Christentums bis hinein ins 2. Jahrhundert unserer Zeitrechnung.

In dieser Aufsatzsammlung, die größtenteils das Ergebnis eines Symposiums an der Universität Regensburg im Juni 2011 ist, untersuchen Wissenschaftler, die im weitesten Sinne zum antiken Mittelmeerraum arbeiten, die Darstellung von Wundern in der antiken Literatur. Die folgenden Schlüsselfragen werden angesprochen: Welche Haltung haben antike Autoren zu den Wundern aus, über die sie berichten? Welchen Stellenwert geben sie den Berichten über Wunder? Wie qualifizieren sie den Wahrheitsgehalt eines Berichtes, wie zweifeln sie ihn an oder wie leugnen sie ihn? Vor diesem Hintergrund stellt sich außerdem die Frage, wie sich die verschiedenen literarischen Genre und religiösen Kontexte, in denen die Wundergeschichten erzählt werden, aufeinander beziehen? Der Forschungsbeitrag dieses Bandes besteht vor allem in der Nebeneinanderstellung verschiedener Perspektiven: Sowohl jüdische als auch christliche und heidnische Autoren werden beleuchtet; Texte, die von wundersamen Geschehnissen erzählen, werden ebenso erörtert wie Texte, in denen die Autoren über solche Berichte nachdenken - im positiven wie im negativen Sinn.

Wann genau kann von einem "Parting of the Ways" zwischen Juden und Christen gesprochen werden? Ging die entscheidende Initiative bereits auf Jesus zurück oder vollzog Paulus mit seiner Mission von Heiden den entscheidenden Schritt? Oder müssen wir bis zur Zerstörung des Tempels in Jerusalem im Jahr 70 n.Chr. warten? In seinem neuen Buch, das auf die Deichmann Lectures des Jahres 2013 zurückgeht, zeigt Tobias Nicklas, dass bereits die oben formulierte Frage falsch gestellt ist. Stattdessen ist zwischen den Situationen verschiedener Gruppen (und selbst Einzelpersonen) in verschiedenen historischen Kontexten zu differenzieren. Um dies zu zeigen, diskutiert Nicklas exemplarisch Bilder von "Juden" in frühchristlicher Literatur, Konzepte von Israels Gott und seinem Bund mit Israel, das Problem christologisch beeinflusster Schrifthermeneutiken sowie Fragen einer Halakha auch für Christen.

Der Band vergleicht die Prozesse der Rezeption, Umgestaltung und Interpretation, die sich zwischen kanonischen und apokryphen Texten im frühen Judentum und im frühen Christentum beobachten lassen. Die nähere Untersuchung der Entwicklungen in beiden Literaturcorpora eröffnet neue Einsichten zum Verständnis der Veränderungen und Entwicklungen zwischen Texten, denen bereits eine gewisse Autorität zugeschrieben wurde und anderen, neuen Texten, die neben ihnen und in Bezug auf sie als 'parabiblische' oder 'apokryphe' Texte entstanden. Die Art und Weise der Rezeption kann wiederum auch die Perspektive auf kanonische Texte beeinflussen. Der Kreis der behandelten Texte und Traditionen reicht von der LXX, den Targumim und Pesharim über Bücher wie Jubiläen, das Genesis-Apokryphon, das Thomasevangelium und apokryphe Apostelakten, Traditionen über Esther, Esra, Manasse, Petrus und Paulus, bis hin zu Höllendarstellungen in jüdischen und christlichen Apokalypsen und zu frühchristlichen Wundertraditionen.

Der vorliegende Band enthält die Ergebnisse eines internationalen Kolloquiums, welches sich mit äußerst fragmentarischen Texten und anderen möglichen Quellen befasste sowie mit den "schemenhaften" Figuren und Bewegungen, die in diesen Texten erwähnt werden. Diese beiden Aspekte werden kombiniert und eingehend untersucht. Wie wurde in der Forschungsgeschichte mit ihnen umgegangen? Was geben sie darüber preis, wie die Gemeinde oder Gruppierung sich selbst durch solche Dokumente ausdrückt (oder wie sie sich dahinter versteckt)? Und welche Rolle kommt diesen Dokumenten und Figuren oder Gruppen im Gesamtbild der Entwicklungen in Theologie und religiösem Leben im frühen Christentum zu? Die Aufsätze leisten einen Beitrag zu einer kritischen Geschichte der Forschung zu dieser Art Dokumente und Bewegungen.Mit Beiträgen von:Gianfranco Agosti, Carl Johan Berglund, Johanna Brankaer, Jean-Daniel Dubois, Andrew Gregory, Wolfgang Grünstäudl, Elisabeth Hernitscheck, Tobias Nicklas, Michael Sommer, Christopher Tuckett, Joseph Verheyden, Korinna Zamfir

Die Schriften des Neuen Testaments bieten keine systematische Christologie im üblichen Sinne. Stattdessen bieten sie in gewissem Sinne mehr: Sie entwickeln Christuserzählungen und zeichnen Bilder Jesu Christi. In impliziter Weise ist dies selbst für Texte wie die Briefe des Paulus oder die Offenbarung des Johannes der Fall. Die Beiträge des vorliegenden Bandes untersuchen die Christuserzählungen verschiedener neutestamentlicher und nichtkanonisierter frühchristlicher Texte, einige von ihnen stellen darüber hinaus die Frage, ob sich (aus klar christlicher Perspektive) auch Christuserzählungen in Schriften des Alten Testaments (wie Jesaja oder dem Psalter) konstruieren lassen. Dabei soll ein Dialog zwischen Beiträgen orthodoxer und westlicher Exegetinnen und Exegeten entstehen. Der Band ehrt das Werk zweier bedeutender Exegeten, Bischof Dr. Irinej Bulović und Prof. Dr. Ulrich Luz.