The session scrutinizes biblical receptions in the everyday lives of people in Late Antiquity, when biblical texts were diversely used and ‘the Bible’ did not exist as a unity. We wish to explore what the ancients understood as biblical -- how they may have related to the notion and participated in its construction. Historical realities that surround texts are thus expanded from the viewpoint of the primary producers to the various audiences and representations of texts, including transmitters and interpreters who partake in their construction. We propose that an approach that characterizes scriptures as lived is fruitful for these aims. Invoking discussion on lived religion, the focus shifts from the dominant center to the margins, away from the scribal/dogmatic/canonical/literate. The attempt is to consider the situatedness of each textual relation in particular socio-historical, cultural and geographical locations, appreciating the corporeality of the past and reconstructing a diversity of perspectives on scriptures in Late Antiquity.
We invite papers that examine the potentiality of the study of scriptures and their receptions in Late Antiquity as ‘lived’. How could the approach be further developed? What texts were considered within the notion of 'biblical' and how did the ancients relate to them? What else could be considered biblical and why?
The session is an open session with some invited speakers, including Prof. Marianne Bjelland Kartzow from the University of Oslo. The session is held in English. The session organizer is Outi Lehtipuu and the Lived Scriptures project. Contact: Outi Lehtipuu, Senior Lecturer, University of Helsinki, 050-3183409, outi.lehtipuu@helsinki.fi.
For more information, see https://blogs.helsinki.fi/teologian-ja-uskonnontutkimuksen-paivat-2020/call-for-papers/