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There is Neither Old Nor Young? Early Christianity and Ancient Ideologies of Age

Barclay, John M.G.

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Abstract

Instructions given to the ‘older’ and ‘younger’ in some early Christian texts prompt inquiry into the rationale for this polarity and its ideological freight. Demographics suggest that the adult population rarely contained more than two generations, and comparative study indicates that where age was marked these categories usually sufficed. Their ambiguity and flexibility made them suited to ideological deployment, legitimating the power of the ‘older’. 1 Peter, 1 Clement, the Pastorals, and Polycarp demonstrate this phenomenon in early Christianity, with 1 Tim 4.12 and Ignatius Mag. 3.1 as exceptions that prove the rule. But why are age qualifications absent from the authentic Paulines?

Citation

Barclay, J. M. (2007). There is Neither Old Nor Young? Early Christianity and Ancient Ideologies of Age. New Testament Studies, 53(2), 225-241. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0028688507000136

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Apr 1, 2007
Deposit Date May 22, 2008
Publicly Available Date May 22, 2008
Journal New Testament Studies
Print ISSN 0028-6885
Electronic ISSN 1469-8145
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 53
Issue 2
Pages 225-241
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/s0028688507000136

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© 2007 Cambridge University Press







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