Ute E. Eisen – författare

Women Officeholders in Early Christianity is a scholarly investigation of the evidence for women holding offices of authority in the first several centuries of Christianity. Ute Eisen focuses on inscriptions and documentary papyri (private letters, official documents, contracts, and other such pieces) that have scarcely been considered before.Eisen presents the first extensive documentation of selected Greek and Latin inscriptions, plus a few documentary papyri, that witness to the existence of Christian women officeholders. The intent is to show the multiplicity of titles borne by women and to illustrate the narrowness of previous research on this topic. A single chapter is devoted to each of the titles of office or functional designations found in the sources. The epigraphical, papyrological, and literary witnesses are accordingly grouped by function. Topics are Apostles," "Prophets," "Teachers of Theology," "Presbyters," "Enrolled Widows," "Deacons," "Bishops," and "Stewards."Central to Women Officeholders in Early Christianity are the epigraphical witnesses. To this point they have been only marginally incorporated into research on women officeholders in the Church. In order to ensure correct interpretation, the majority of the inscriptions discussed have extensive documentation. They are organized geographically and chronologically. Besides the documentation they are commented on in the context of the existing literary sources. The book concludes with a chapter entitled "Source-Oriented Perspectives for a History of Christian Women Officeholders." The book also includes a bibliography of reference works, primary sources, and secondary sources.Ute E. Eisen is a Wissenschaftliche Assistentin at the Institute of New Testament Studies and Ancient Judaism at the University of Kiel, Germany. She has a doctorate in theology from the University of Hamburg. Her special areas of study include narrative analysis of Luke-Acts, methodology in New Testament studies, history of early Christianity, and gender studies."

Emotions have increasingly attracted the attention of the sciences and academia. The topic is all the more timely since we have witnessed a global trend towards highly emotionalized discourses across societies and religions. Discourses are less guided by rational arguments and “facts”. Instead, narratives, sometimes manipulative, influence the thoughts and activi-ties of our societies. In this context, the authoritative texts of the monotheistic religions are experiencing a renaissance. Tanach, Bible and Qur’an do not only “emotionalize”, they also offer ancient concepts of emotions which affect the present.This book brings the interdependencies of antiquity and (post)modernity into an interdisci-plinary discussion. How should we understand feelings at all? This book explores the ap-proaches to emotions as portrayed and understood in various sources and disciplines. The contributors share their perspectives on methodological questions concerning research on the emotions. Scholars in religious studies and theology from different traditions—Jewish, Christian, Islamic—enter into dialogue with other disciplines, such as psychology, literary studies, sociology, cultural studies, philosophy, and historiography.

Peter Lampes work has covered a wide range of fields, the common denominator being his interest in contextualizing belief systems. Mirroring his multifaced work, the authors pursue his interest from different interdisciplinary angles, addressing the interdependence between religious expressions and their situations or contexts. The application of theoretical models to texts examples flanks the inspiring theoretical - epistemological and methodological - reflections. Studies in socio-economic and political history adjoin archaeological, epigraphic, papyrological and iconographic investigations. (Social-)psychological interpretations of texts complement rhetorical analyses. The hermeneutical reception of biblical materials in, for example, the Koran and Christian Chinese or Orthodox contexts, as well as in religious education and homiletics, rounds off the volumes.

Peter Lampes work has covered a wide range of fields, the common denominator being his interest in contextualizing belief systems. Mirroring his multifaced work, the authors pursue his interest from different interdisciplinary angles, addressing the interdependence between religious expressions and their situations or contexts. The application of theoretical models to texts examples flanks the inspiring theoretical - epistemological and methodological - reflections. Studies in socio-economic and political history adjoin archaeological, epigraphic, papyrological and iconographic investigations. (Social-)psychological interpretations of texts complement rhetorical analyses. The hermeneutical reception of biblical materials in, for example, the Koran and Christian Chinese or Orthodox contexts, as well as in religious education and homiletics, rounds off the volumes.

Unter dem Motto "Doing Gender - Doing Religion" greift der Sammelband die in den Sozialwissenschaften seit etwa 30 Jahren lebhaft geführte Debatte über "Intersektionalität" von Unterdrückungsstrukturen auf: Die Rolle und Situation von Frauen ist nicht ohne Berücksichtigung anderer Faktoren wie etwa ihres Status und ihrer ethnischen Herkunft zu erfassen. Genderkonstruktionen und andere Parameter bedingen einander. Für die Kulturen der Antike ist dabei - so die Grundannahme der Beiträge dieses Sammelbandes - auch die religiöse Zugehörigkeit zu berücksichtigen. Im Zentrum der hier publizierten Intersektionalitätsanalysen steht daher die Frage, wie Geschlechterrollenkonzepte und religiöse Wertvorstellungen sich gegenseitig bedingen und beeinflussen. Grundsätzlichen Überlegungen zur Intersektionalitätsanalyse stehen Fallstudien zur Seite, welche die Verwobenheit von Genderkonstruktionen in frühjüdischen, neutestamentlichen und zeitgenössischen paganen Texten sowie solchen der Alten Kirche und des frühen Islam untersuchen. Die Beiträge behandeln unter anderem die Sicht auf interkulturelle Ehen und Geschlechtermoral im frühen Judentum, Christentum und Islam, auf Sklavinnen in religiöser Rechtsbildung im frühen Judentum und Christentum oder Maskulinitätskonzepte im Paganismus und im Neuen Testament. Der Sammelband belegt, dass die Frage nach den Wechselwirkungen von Genderkonzepten und religiösen Konstruktionen höchst produktiv ist, sich aber nicht isoliert von weiteren Kategorien, insbesondere den jeweiligen Statusmarkierungen analysieren lässt. Die Beobachtungen zur Vielfalt und Variabilität religiöser Konzepte und Geschlechterrollenvorstellungen legen nicht zuletzt deren Konstruktivität offen.