The present volume investigates the circumstances of religious transformation in early Christianity and in other ancient religions - the various converts, the means by which followers attracted adherents, and the factors that influenced and limited their success.

Arthur Darby Nock (1902-1963) made lasting contributions to classical scholarship and the history of religion, including the study of ancient religion, magic, and the relationship of paganism to ancient Judaism and early Christianity. Almost ninety years after its publication, his work, Conversion: The Old and New in Religion from Alexander the Great to Augustine of Hippo , serves as an introduction to what is today an entire area of research encompassing history, literature (i.e., "conversion" as a literary genre), philosophy, psychology, and theology. The present volume features essays exploring the circumstances of religious transformation not only in early Christianity but also in other ancient religions and in philosophical schools - the various converts, the means by which followers attracted adherents, and the factors influencing and limiting their success.

Autorentext
Born 1971; 2011 PhD in New Testament and Early Christian Literature from the University of Chicago; since 2016 Research Assistant to the A. A. Bradford Chair, Texas Christian University (USA). Born 1970; 1999 PhD University of Chicago; 2003 postdoctoral fellow Catholic Biblical Association of America; 2007 postdoctoral fellow Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; currently Professor of New Testament Studies at Uppsala University (Sweden). Born 1964; 1986 BA University of California, Berkeley; 1992 MTS Harvard University; 2003 PhD University of Chicago; 2006 postdoctoral fellow Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; currently Professor of Scripture, Department of Theology, Lewis University (USA) and Professor Extraordinary, Department Ancient Studies at Stellenbosch University (South Africa).

Inhalt
Clare K. Rothschild: Introduction: Conversion Since Nock

Part One: Responses to Nock's Conversion
Jan N. Bremmer: Notes on Arthur Darby Nock's Ideas of Ancient Religion and the Mysteries in His Conversion - John J. Collins: Nock's Typology of Religion - Carl R. Holladay: A. D. Nock's Conversion : Some Glosses - John S. Kloppenborg: Rethinking Nock's Conversion - Paula Fredriksen: "Conversion" as "Sea Change": Re-thinking A. D. Nock's Conversion - L. L. Welborn: Nock on the Exclusiveness of Conversion to Christianity: A Re-evaluation with Reference to Evidence from Roman Corinth - Michael B. Cover: The Conversion and Return of Simon Peter (Luke 22:31-32) - Harold W. Attridge: Celebration of Arthur Darby Nock - Christopher Mount: Conversion and the Success of Christianity in the Roman Empire - James A. Kelhoffer: Do and in Second Clement Signify "Repentance" or a Change in Mindset Tantamount to Conversion? - Carl Johan Berglund: Miracles, Determination, and Loyalty: The Concept of Conversion in the Acts of John - Meira Z. Kensky: "Thus a Teacher Must Be": Pedagogical Formation in John Chrysostom's Homilies on 1 and 2 Timothy - Andrew S. Jacobs: "Coloured by the Nature of Christianity": Nock's Invention of Religion and Ex-Jews in Late Antiquity

Part Two: Beyond Conversion
John T. Fitzgerald: Arthur Darby Nock and the Study of Sallustius - Dylan M. Burns: The Hermetic Asclepius's Middle Platonist Teaching on Fate - David Lincicum: In Search of Nock's Gifford Lectures: A Dossier of Sources - Everett Ferguson: Afterword: Reminiscences of Arthur Darby Nock