Reading Renunciation
eBook - PDF

Reading Renunciation

Asceticism and Scripture in Early Christianity

  1. 360 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Reading Renunciation

Asceticism and Scripture in Early Christianity

About this book

A study of how asceticism was promoted through Biblical interpretation, Reading Renunciation uses contemporary literary theory to unravel the writing strategies of the early Christian authors. Not a general discussion of early Christian teachings on celibacy and marriage, the book is a close examination, in the author's words, of how "the Fathers' axiology of abstinence informed their interpretation of Scriptural texts and incited the production of ascetic meaning."


Elizabeth Clark begins with a survey of scholarship concerning early Christian asceticism that is designed to orient the nonspecialist. Section Two is organized around potentially troubling issues posed by Old Testament texts that demanded skillful handling by ascetically inclined Christian exegetes. The third section, "Reading Paul," focuses on the hermeneutical problems raised by I Corinthians 7, and the Deutero-Pauline and Pastoral Epistles.


Elizabeth Clark's remarkable work will be of interest to scholars of late antiquity, religion, literary theory, and history.

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Yes, you can access Reading Renunciation by Elizabeth A. Clark in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & History of Religion. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Book Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents