Ancient Jewish and Christian Texts as Crisis Management Literature: Thematic Studies from the Centre for Early Christian Studies [Hardcover]

This volume seeks to demonstrate, for the first time, that many Jewish and Christian texts in the ancient world were written as a direct response to an earlier situation of crisis that affected the author, or the intended reader. Presented here are texts from both traditions that were written over many centuries in order to establish that such crisis management literature was widespread in the religious and theological literature of ancient times. These chosen works reveal that all manner of crises could contribute to the production or the nature of these texts; including persecution, political factors, religious or theological differences, social circumstances; as well as internal or external threats. By understanding this crucial element in the composition of these texts we are better able to understand the complexity of social, political and religious forces that gave rise to many ancient theological texts, and to appreciate the strategies which the authors used to manage these crises.

This volume demonstrates how many religious texts are tailored to the specific requirements of an Ancient audience, and may focus on specific events or crises.

David C. Sim is Associate Professor in Theology at Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia.


Professor Pauline Allen is the Director of the Centre for Early Christian Studies at Australian Catholic University.

Introduction Pauline Allen / Part I: Jewish Texts / Chapter 1: Living under Foreign Rule: Josephus on the Art of Compromised Defiance James S. McLaren /Chapter 2: Coping with the Present by Reinventing the Future: Apocalyptic Texts as Crisis Management Literature David C. Sim / Part II: New Testament Texts / Chapter 3: Fighting on all Fronts: Crisis Management in the Gospel of Matthew David C. Sim / Chapter 4: Luke-Acts and the World Stage: Crisis Strategies in the Lukan Double Work Elizabeth Dowling / Cl£è