- Title
- Marxism and the spatial analysis of early christianity: the contribution of G.E.M. de Ste. Croix
- Creator
- Boer, Roland
- Relation
- Religion Vol. 41, Issue 3, p. 411-430
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2011.577825
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2011
- Description
- This is an in-depth engagement with the neglected Marxist classicist, G.E.M. de Ste. Croix. Although Ste. Croix's focus was Ancient Greece and, to some extent, Ancient Rome, he wrote extensively on the New Testament and early Christianity. In this respect, the author focuses on four key features of Ste. Croix's work: his spatial analysis – the distinction between chora and polis – of the Gospel narratives in relation to Jesus, and the treatments of property, slavery and women, especially in the way the early church quickly gave up the radical nature of its founder's positions. Although the article critiques elements of Ste. Croix's analysis, particularly in terms of historical narratives that assume a ‘fall’ narrative and his desire for linear and singular interpretations, it is more interested in the gems of his analysis, not least of which is the spatial analysis and the way he unwittingly highlights the issue of contradiction.
- Subject
- marxism; G.E.M. de Ste. Croix; early Christianity; spatial analysis; women; slaves; property
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1054954
- Identifier
- uon:15813
- Identifier
- ISSN:1096-1151
- Language
- eng
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