Singing in Paul’s Cult of the Possessed by Jesus’ Spirit
Keywords:
Paul,
Jesus,
cult,
magic,
religion,
singing
Abstract
In the article the authors are dealing with Paul’s cult of the possessed by the spirit of the late magician Jesus, as well as with the place and the meaning of singing in its two main rituals: ritual meal and ritual conjuring of Jesus’ spirit. The conclusion of the analysis is that both rituals had the same two-part structure. Ritual meal consisted of love feast (agape), where the members of the cult were supposed to sing appropriate songs together, and Eucharist, where each member „sung in his heart“ only. On the other side, ritual conjuring of Jesus’ spirit was divided in worship and séance of communication with Jesus. In the first part the whole community recited psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, while in the second part the chosen medium delivered Jesus’ messages through the „wordless groans“.
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References
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Hengel, Martin. 1991. The Pre-Christian Paul. London and Philadelphia: SCM Press and Trinity Press International.
Hengel, Martin and Schwemer, Anna Maria. 1997. Paul between Damascus and Antioch. The Unknown Years. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.
Humphreys, Colin J. 2011. The Mystery of the Last Supper. Reconstructing the Final Days of Jesus. Cambridge etc.: Cambridge University Press.
Lee, Michelle V. 2006. Paul, the Stoics, and the Body of Christ. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lüdemann, Gerd. 2012. The Resurrection of Jesus: Fifteen Years Later. In Resurrection of the Dead. Biblical Traditions in Dialogue, edited by Oyen, Geert van and Shepherd, Tom. Leuven, Paris and Walpole: Peeters.
Malcolm, Matthew R. 2013. Paul and the Rhetoric of Reversal in 1 Corinthians. The Impact of Paulʼs Gospel on his Macro-Rhetoric. Cambridge etc.: Cambridge University Press.
McGowan, Andrew. 1999. Ascetic Eucharists. Food and Drink in Early Christian Ritual Meals. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
McMichael, Ralph N. 2010. Eucharist. A Guide for the Perplexed. London and New York: T&T Clark International.
Mount, Christopher. 2005. 1 Corinthians 11:3–16: Spirit Possession and Authority in a Non-Pauline Interpolation. Journal of Biblical Literature 124 (2): 313–340.
Pagels, Elaine H. 2003. Beyond Belief. The Secret Gospel of Thomas. New York & Toronto: Random House.
Schweitzer, Albert. 2001. The Quest of the Historical Jesus. Mineapolis: Fortress Press.
Segal, Alan F. 1990. Paul the Convert. The Apostolate and Apostasy of Saul the Pharisee. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.
Smith, Dennis Edwin. 2003. From Symposium to Eucharist. The Banquet in the Early Christian World. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
Smith, Morton. 1978. Jesus the magician. New York: Barnes & Noble Books.
Smith, Morton. 1980. Pauline Worship as Seen by Pagans. The Harvard Theological Review 73 (1/2): 241–249.
Smith, Ian K. 2006. Heavenly Perspective. A Study of the Apostle Paulʼs Response to a Jewish Mystical Movement at Colossae. London and New York: T&T Clark International.
Weber, Max. 2004. Zur Musiksoziologie (Nachlaß 1921), Gesammtausgabe. Band 14. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck).
Wellesz, Egon. 1954. Early Christian Music. New Oxford History of Music. Volume 2: Early Medieval Music up to 1300. Edited by Hughes, Dom Anselm. London, New York and Toronto: Geoffrey Cumberlege & Oxford University Press.
Werner, Eric. 1959. The Sacred Bridge. The Interdependence of Liturgy and Music in Synagogue and Church during the First Millennium. London and New York: Dennis Dobson & Columbia University Press.
Yarbro Collins, Adela. 1998. Finding Meaning in the Death of Jesus. The Journal of Religion 78 (2): 175–196.
Published
2020-01-05
How to Cite
Jeremić-Molnar, Dragana, and Aleksandar Molnar. 2020. “Singing in Paul’s Cult of the Possessed by Jesus’ Spirit”. Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology 14 (4), 1131–1148. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21301/eap.v14i4.3.
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Scientific Articles
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