Hellenistic Mystery Religions

Reitzenstein, Hellenistic Mystery Religions. 2nd Edition. 1

With a sense of sincere gratitude, yet also a slight apprehension, I accept the invitation to speak before a circle of theologians as a philologist A philologist is a scholar who studies historical languages and literary texts to understand the history, culture, and "spirit" of a people. on a subject related to the history of religions. For, while every philologist—when he must include the major problems of early Christianity original: Urchristentum within his scope of study—surely feels grateful that all his work originates from the ground won for us by Protestant liberal theology A 19th and early 20th-century movement that applied historical-critical methods to the Bible, seeking to understand the historical context of Jesus and the early church., and that his work would be unthinkable without its preliminary efforts and assistance, he must, unfortunately, still defend himself at the very outset against a certain notion. This idea is still nurtured in both speech and writing by prominent theologians, even those within this same liberal tradition: the notion that the philologist acts as an unauthorized person—as an intruder, so to speak—into a foreign territory when he touches upon questions that are also treated, and indeed must be treated, by the theologian. If it is the philologist’s task to bring the intellectual development of the whole of antiquity to life—not least, therefore, its final period—then he cannot avoid an investigation into the initial development of Christianity. Even if he arbitrarily wished to limit himself to paganism original: Heidentum. In this context, it refers to the various non-Christian and non-Jewish religions of the Roman Empire., he could not understand much within it without considering early Christian literature, its language and conceptual development, the emotional life, and the worship practices of the com- The text breaks off here mid-word; likely Gemeinden, meaning "communities" or "congregations."