Three more accepted papers

A short note that I've had three papers accepted to upcoming conferences. Two of them I can talk about already; one of them I can't (yet)!

Both that I can talk about are for the SBL annual meeting, which will take place just before American Thanksgiving in Nov.

The first is this: "‘City’ as Telos—Monks, Mosaics, and Pilgrims in the Intermedial Construction of Revelation’s New Jerusalem." This is central to my DFG project, and will make public my new research in connection with the next book I'm writing. This will be presented in the "Apocalypse Now: Apocalyptic Reception and Impact throughout History Seminar." Abstract and description here: 

From the 4th-6th century, the notion of Revelation’s heavenly Jerusalem undergoes an immense transformation in the way in which the materiality of the heavenly Jerusalem was both denied and developed. I show this by comparing parallel instances of theological literature (Origen, Princ. 2.11 and Cels. 8.74), ecclesiastical art (Santa Pudentiana), pilgrimage praxis (The Holy Sepulchre), and monastic life (Iona Abbey; Gregory Nyssen’s On Pilgrimage; Philoxenes of Mabbug’s On Simplicity). By comprehending these various elements stereoscopically, I demonstrate the ways Revelation’s heavenly Jerusalem was understood, deployed, and experienced by cultural producers, audiences, pilgrims, and monks during the period. Building on others’ work, I sketch the diverse but nevertheless coherent transformation of the New Jerusalem image in Late Antiquity, showing that regardless of whether ancient Christians sought the heavenly Jerusalem within, outside of, or above themselves, the New Jerusalem’s principle function was irreducibly teleological, drawing its beholders to achieve their God-created telos--oneness with God. 

The longer proposal description of this paper here:

The image of the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21–22) has long been a prominent and animating image for Christians and their communities. In this presentation, I demonstrate how the notion of the heavenly Jerusalem undergoes an immense transformation—indeed multiple transformations—from the fourth to the sixth century. The heart of the transformation is the way in which the materiality of the heavenly Jerusalem is either developed, denied, or dovetailed.

I show this by comparing an instance each of theological literature, ecclesiastical art, pilgrimage praxis, and monastic discipline. For the literature, I use Origen’s agenda-setting Princ. 2.11 and Cels. 8.74; for the art, the apse mosaic of Santa Pudentiana, Rome; for pilgrimage, Constantine’s church of the Holy Sepulchre; and for monastic practice, the early layout of Iona Abbey (Scotland) and the notions of Gregory Nyssen’s On Pilgrimage and Philoxenes of Mabbug’s On Simplicity. By comprehending these various elements stereoscopically, we gain a fascinating glimpse into the ways Revelation’s heavenly Jerusalem was understood, deployed, and experienced by cultural producers, cultural consumers, pilgrims, and monastic practitioners alike during the period. Drawing on the insights of Bianca Kühnel, Catalin Popa, Bruria Bitton-Ashkelony, and others, I sketch the diverse but nevertheless coherent transformation of the New Jerusalem image in Late Antiquity.

In the end, it will emerge that regardless of whether ancient Christians sought the heavenly Jerusalem within themselves (mystical practice and literature), outside of themselves (in churches, ecclesiastical art, or monastic architecture), or above themselves (in the eschatological reward), the fundamental function the New Jerusalem image had was irreducibly teleological, drawing its beholders forward to the fulfillment of fundamental human purpose.

The second paper will be at the same conference and is called "Of Gods and Men: Deep Teleological Coherence in Early Christian Texts." It will be part of the following section: "Religion and Philosophy in Antiquity Seminar," and aligns on a deeper level to the bigger idea underlying teleological hermeneutic underlying the DFG project monograph investigating late patristic reception of Revelation' New Jerusalem. Here's the abstract: 

"This paper examines late antique Christian literature in light of growing theological interest in human teleology. I argue that, contrary to trends questioning early Christian intellectual coherence (e.g., Ehrman, Pagels), late antique Christian theologies share a near‑universal vision of deification as the human telos, a tradition partly rooted in Platonist philosophy. After outlining the broader context in first- and second‑century Christian thought, I present two case studies—Origen’s Cels. 8.74–75 and Augustine’s DCD 22.29–30—showing how both authors, despite differing contexts, articulate a broadly representative account of humanity’s ultimate telos in Christian thought, via the image of Revelation’s heavenly city. By the conclusion, Origen and Augustine will be shown to exemplify and amplify the broad consensus among early Christian traditions (regardless of “orthodoxy”) that integrated Platonic priorities as a way of enriching and transmitting a shared core Christian understanding of deification as the human telos."

The third paper will also be on the topic of the historical Christian doctrine of deification--also central to the DFG project--and will be presented at a big theology conference scheduled for later this year. Stay tuned!