Theology of arithmetic : number symbolism in platonism and early christianity.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kalvesmaki, Joel.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Arithmetic--Early works to 1800.

Arithmetic.

Neoplatonism.

Platonists.

Symbolism of numbers--Early works to 1800.

Symbolism of numbers.

Physical Description:

pages ; cm

Place of Publication:

[Place of publication not identified] : Harvard Univ Press, 2013.

Summary:

In the second century, Valentinians and other gnosticizing Christians used numerical structures and symbols to describe God, interpret the Bible, and frame the universe. In this study of the controversy that resulted, Joel Kalvesmaki shows how earlier neo-Pythagorean and Platonist number symbolism provided the impetus for this theology of arithmetic, and explains how gnosticizing groups attempted to engage both the Platonist and Christian traditions. He explores the rich variety of number symbolism in use then, among both gnosticizing groups and their orthodox critics, showing how those critics developed an alternative approach to number symbolism that would set the pattern for centuries to come. Arguing that the early dispute influenced the very tradition that inspired it, Kalvesmaki explains how in the late third and early fourth centuries numbers became increasingly important to Platonists, who engaged in arithmological constructions and disputes that mirrored the earlier Christian ones. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

2 Generating the World of Numbers: Pythagorean and Platonist Number Symbolism in the First Century 7

3 The Rise of the Early Christian Theology of Arithmetic: The Valentinians 27

4 The Apogee of Valentinian Number Symbolism: Marcus "Magus" 61

5 Alternate Paths in the Early Christian Theology of Arithmetic: Monoïmus and the Paraphrase of the "Apophasis Megale" 85

6 The Orthodox Limits of the Theology of Arithmetic: Irenaeus of Lyons 103

7 The Orthodox Possibilities of the Theology of Arithmetic: Clement of Alexandria 125

8 How the Early Christian Theology of Arithmetic Shaped Neo-Platonism and Late Antique Christianity 153.

ISBN:

0674073304

9780674073302

OCLC:

812067729