Wright on Religion in the Ancient World image

Wright on Religion in the Ancient World

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This is such an insightful warning against anachronism on the whole question of ancient "religion" - for which, as has often been pointed out, there was no Greek word - from Tom Wright in Paul and the Faithfulness of God:

“There was thus a sphere of activity, right across the ancient world, which implied and symbolized a tangled network of beliefs, traditions, expectations and (not least) a sense of civic identity and security. We need a word, however loose its meaning and however heuristic its use, to denote this sphere of activity and the thought-patterns which it implied and embodied. ‘Cult’ is too narrowly specific, and again (see below) likely to mislead in today’s world; it would, I think, fail to catch the virtually universal sense, throughout Mediterranean antiquity, of divine presences, purposes, warnings and encouragements. A world full of gods generated a human life full of ... well, let us go on calling it ‘religion’ for the moment. Did the lightning strike to the left or the right of the path? Did you remember to offer a sacrifice to Poseidon before you got on board the ship? Hope you enjoy the meal; this splendid beef was from a sacrifice in the temple down the street, so it comes with a special blessing. How were the planets aligned on the night you were born? Don’t forget the festival tomorrow; everyone will be there, and the neighbours will notice if you don’t show up. Have you heard that Augustus has now become Pontifex Maximus? I know I was due to arrive yesterday, but some god must have had it in for me, or perhaps someone put a curse on me; the roads were all blocked. Don’t you like the new temple in the city square? Isn’t it good that they’ve reorganized the streets so you can see it from every angle! My nephew tells me he’s been initiated into this new cult from the East; he says he’s died and been reborn, though I can’t see much difference. Oh, and don’t forget; we owe a cock to Asclepius. This is not philosophy, though the philosophers regularly talk about it. Nor is it politics as such, though the fact that leading officers of state regularly doubled as the priests of local shrines demonstrates that the two were fully and firmly intertwined. We could call it ‘superstition’, but the sneer that the Latin superstitio already possessed in Paul’s day has been so accentuated in modern usage that any kind of emic account would become impossible. Call it ‘religion’; and judge not, lest we be judged.”

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