Knowledge and profanation : transgressing the boundaries of religion in premodern scholarship / edited by Martin Mulsow, Asaph Ben-Tov.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Mulsow, Martin, editor.

Series:

Intersections 63.

Intersections : interdisciplinary studies in early modern culture, 1568-1181 ; VOLUME 63

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religions--Relations.

Religions.

Aesthetics--Religious aspects.

Aesthetics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (375 pages)

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2019.

Summary:

Knowledge and Profanation offers numerous instances of profoundly religious polemicists profanizing other religions ad majorem gloriam Dei , as well as sincere adherents of their own religion, whose reflective scholarly undertakings were perceived as profanizing transgressions – occasionally with good reason. In the history of knowledge of religion and profanation unintended consequences often play a decisive role. Can too much knowledge of religion be harmful? Could the profanation of a foreign religion turn out to be a double-edged sword? How much profanating knowledge of other religions could be tolerated in a premodern world? In eleven contributions, internationally renowned scholars analyze cases of learned profanation, committed by scholars ranging from the Italian Renaissance to the early nineteenth century, as well as several antique predecessors. Contributors are: Asaph Ben-Tov, Ulrich Groetsch, Andreas Mahler, Karl Morrison, Martin Mulsow, Anthony Ossa-Richardson, Wolfgang Spickermann, Riccarda Suitner, John Woodbridge, Azzan Yadin, and Holger Zellentin

Contents:

Front Matter

Copyright page

Notes on the Editors

Notes on the Contributors

Introduction / Martin Mulsow and Asaph Ben-Tov

The Sacred and the Profane in Art, Literature and Parody

Lucian of Samosata on Magic and Superstition / Wolfgang Spickermann

Rabbi Lazarus and the Rich Man: A Talmudic Parody of the Late Roman Hell (Yerushalmi Hagigah 2.2, 77d and Sanhedrin 6.9, 23c) / Holger Zellentin

Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti’s Call for Reform of Christian Art / Karl F. Morrison

The Sacred Becomes Profane – The Profane Becomes Sacred: Observations on the Desubstantialisation of Religious Discourse in the Early Modern Age / Andreas Mahler

Early Modern European Knowledge about Pagan Religion

The Seventeenth Century Confronts the Gods: Bishop Huet, Moses, and the Dangers of Comparison / Martin Mulsow

The Eleusinian Mysteries in the Age of Reason / Asaph Ben-Tov

Crossing the Boundaries in Biblical Scholarship: Ancient Preconditions and Early Modern Conflict

Athens and Jerusalem? Early Jewish Biblical Scholarship and the Pagan World / Azzan Yadin-Israel

Richard Simon and the Charenton Bible Project: The Quest for ‘Perfect Neutrality’ in Interpreting Scripture / John Woodbridge

The Devil in the Details: The Case of Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694–1768) / Ulrich Groetsch

Scientific Knowledge and Religion

Cry Me a Relic: The Holy Tear of Vendôme and Early Modern Lipsanomachy / Anthony Ossa-Richardson

The Powerlessness of the Devil: Scientific Knowledge and Demonology in Clemente Baroni Cavalcabò (1726–1796) / Riccarda Suitner

Back Matter

Index Nominum.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

90-04-39893-7

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004398931 DOI