Religious propaganda and missionary competition in the New Testament world : essays honoring Dieter Georgi

"Religious propaganda" is a pivotal concept for the Hellenistic and Roman epochs in the history of religions. The term refers to the various competing religious and philosophical movements and currents during those periods. In this text scholars interpret Pagan, Jewish and Christian groups with a view to elucidating the confrontation of Jewish and Christian groups with their respective social, economic, religious and political contexts. The authors seek to demonstrate the significance of missionary and propagandistic themes, as well as strategies for the self-understanding of Jews and Christians at the turn of the eras. The 25 articles draw upon a broad range of scholarly work in the history of religions pertaining to this period. They discuss methodology and the state of research.