• Mythmaking and Social Formation in the Study of Early Christianity

    Author(s):
    Ian Brown (see profile)
    Date:
    2016
    Group(s):
    Ancient Jew Review, Biblical Studies, Religious Studies
    Subject(s):
    Church history--Primitive and early church, Bible. New Testament
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Burton Mack, Mythmaking, Social Formation, Early Christianity, New Testament
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6WB3S
    Abstract:
    Burton Mack has made a number of important contributions to the study of early Christianity. One of, if not the most significant of these contributions is his use of the analytical categories of mythmaking and social formation in his construction of a social theory of religion. The analysis of mythmaking and social formation in early Christianity brings a critical historical and sociological focus to the study of Christian origins by focusing on the literary aspects of ancient texts, and the social aspects of ancient people and groups, and the dialectical relationship between the two categories. This article reviews the uses and criticisms of the categories of mythmaking and social formation in the study of early Christianity: beginning with Mack's work on a social theory of religion and his seminal study of the Gospel of Mark (A Myth of Innocence), and moving on to studies that have both taken up and critiqued Mack's use of the terms.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    10.1111/rec3.12192
    Publisher:
    Wiley-Blackwell
    Pub. Date:
    2016-1-26
    Journal:
    Religion Compass
    Volume:
    10
    Issue:
    1
    Page Range:
    15 - 24
    ISSN:
    1749-8171
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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