Authors: Ann Graham Brock
ISBN-13: 9780674009660, ISBN-10: 0674009665
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harvard Divinity School
Date Published: March 2003
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Ann Graham Brock has taught at several universities and seminaries and published extensively on the topic of the New Testament and early Christian origins. She has also appeared in documentaries on the History Channel and the BBC.
Why did some early Christians consider Mary Magdalene to be an apostle while others did not? Some Christian texts, underlining her role as one of the very first witnesses to the resurrection, portray Mary Magdalene as the "apostle to the apostles," while other sources exclude or replace her in their resurrection accounts.
This book examines how the conferral, or withholding, of apostolic status operated as a tool of persuasion in the politics of early Christian literature. Drawing on both canonical and noncanonical literature in her comprehensive study, the author reveals some intriguing correlations between the prominence of Peter in a text and a corresponding diminishment of women's leadership and apostolicity.
This historical study of early Christian tensions has serious implications for current denominational discourse because authority, apostolic status, and the ordination of women continue to be highly disputed topics within many Christian circles today.
Acknowledgments | ||
Abbreviations | ||
Ch. 1 | The Issue of Apostolic Authority | 1 |
Ch. 2 | Apostolic Authority in the Gospel of Luke | 19 |
Ch. 3 | Apostolic Authority in the Gospel of John | 41 |
Ch. 4 | Portrayals of Apostolic Witness: The Gospels of Mark and Matthew versus the Gospel of Peter | 61 |
Ch. 5 | Competition between Peter and Mary Magdalene in Other Texts | 73 |
Ch. 6 | Advocacy of Authority and Women's Leadership: The Acts of Paul versus the Acts of Peter | 105 |
Ch. 7 | The Replacement of Mary Magdalene: A Strategy for Eliminating the Competition | 123 |
Ch. 8 | Apostolic Contradictions and the Crisis of Authority | 143 |
Ch. 9 | Conclusion: Recovering Lost Apostolic Traditions | 161 |
Bibliography | 177 | |
Index of Modern Authors | 211 | |
Index of Ancient Sources | 217 | |
Index of Subjects | 225 |