Conversion in the World of the New Testament

This course will introduce students to the study of conversion in ancient Mediterranean traditions, with a particular focus on understanding conversion in early Christianity. Students will read and discuss a range of primary sources from within Judaism, including both biblical texts and those from the Second Temple era (e.g., Joseph and Aseneth), from Graeco-Roman religion and philosophy (e.g., Apuleius’ Metamorphoses, biographies of philosophers), and from the New Testament (case studies from the Gospels, Acts, and Paul). This comparative approach will allow students to set conversion in early Christianity more fully in its ancient context. It will also enable them to relate the primary sources explored to methodological issues in the study of conversion as it has developed in the social sciences in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (e.g., does conversion exist in all traditions or only some? Is it essentially the same in different contexts or does conversion itself change? Is conversion primarily an individual or social phenomenon? Are converts primarily active or passive?). In addition to this inter-disciplinary dimension, the exploration of a range of New Testament case studies will raise theological questions about the nature of conversion within Christianity (e.g., are there normative elements in Christian conversion?).