Prooftexting from Other People’s Scriptures?: "Prophets and Patriarchs" in Acts of Philip 5–7

What role has the "Old Testament" played in the self-understanding of Christians over the centuries, and what can we learn from the fact that Israel’s scriptures are often cited in early Christian texts? Using the Acts of Philip as a case study, this article argues that we should not assum...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Snyder, Julia A. 1980- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press 2023
In: Harvard theological review
Year: 2023, Volume: 116, Issue: 1, Pages: 66-90
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Acts of Philip / Citation / Old Testament / Holy books / Usage
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity
Further subjects:B citation practices
B Interreligious Relations
B Acts of Philip
B Supersessionism
B reception of scripture
B Dialogue of Timothy I and the Caliph
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Summary:What role has the "Old Testament" played in the self-understanding of Christians over the centuries, and what can we learn from the fact that Israel’s scriptures are often cited in early Christian texts? Using the Acts of Philip as a case study, this article argues that we should not assume all early Christian writers thought of these as "my own scriptures." When we encounter citations from Israel’s scriptures in Christian texts, a variety of interpretive options should be considered, including the possibility that some writers saw Israel’s scriptures as "other people’s scriptures, not ours," or would have consigned them a limited role in the Christian life, treating them as relevant for apologetics and evangelism—or for talking about apologetics and evangelism—but not for ongoing Christian discipleship. The article offers a new interpretation of Acts Phil. 5-7 and also examines Qur’anic citations in the Dialogue of Timothy I and the Caliph.
ISSN:1475-4517
Contains:Enthalten in: Harvard theological review
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0017816023000044