"The Mysteries of Paideia: 'Mystery' and Education in Plato’s Symposium, 4QInstruction, and 1 Corinthians," in Pedagogy in Early Judaism and Early Christianity (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature Press, 2017), 243-282. (original) (raw)
In Pedagogy in Early Judaism and Early Christianity (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature Press, 2017), 243-282. https://books.google.com/books?id=C0IoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA243&dq=mysteries+of+paideia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiMhJTzkerbAhUvnq0KHQlDD14Q6AEILzAB#v=onepage&q=mysteries%20of%20paideia&f=false Three texts from antiquity demonstrate the various ways that ancient authors could employ particular conceptions of “mystery” as a tool for establishing their own esoteric forms of paideia: Plato’s Symposium, 4QInstruction, and 1 Corinthians. These texts utilize the language of mystery in order to set apart their pedagogical systems from other dominant forms of education. To be sure, these texts have varying definitions of “mystery” and disparate ends to which their mystery points. Plato’s Symposium used the concept of “mystery” to describe an ascent into the heights of philosophical contemplation, in which the goal was an ultimate vision of the Platonic world of Forms. For 4QInstruction, “the mystery that is to be” referred to the cosmic plan of God, which had both immediate and eschatological implications for the addressee. Paul used “mystery” to explain how the crucifixion of Christ should shape the lives and attitudes of the Corinthian assembly. While the meanings of “mystery” differ for each text, the usage of “mystery” language has three similar functions in these texts: to establish authority and legitimacy for the instructor, to point the pupil toward a path for understanding esoteric teaching, and to direct the pupil to an extraordinary, transformative vision. In the juxtaposition of these disparate texts we will garner a clearer understanding of the role that conceptions of “mystery” played in ancient, alternative forms of paideia.
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