Richard S Ascough
Biographic Data
| ID | 1101647 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Richard S Ascough |
| GIVEN NAMES | Richard S |
| FAMILY NAME | Ascough |
| SIGNATURE | ASCOUGH R S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Queen's University |
| ORCID | 0009-0003-6931-9036 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 54 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 54 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Associating with the Ephesian Associations
John Allegro and the Psychedelic Mysteries Hypothesis
John Allegro's The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross posits that early Christianity derived from fertility cults involving psychedelic mushroom use. Though widely discredited by scholars when it was first published, the theory persists in popular culture and entheogenic discourse. This article evaluates the scholarly reception, methodological flaws, and enduring cultural impact of Allegro's thesis, particularly its role in the broader psychedelic mys…
Whither By-laws: Association Regulations, Then and Now
Ancient associations had very few extant regulations, but those that have survived indicate a variety of functions, such as outlining the structure of the association; delineating the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of members; and establishing norms of behaviour and consequences for non-compliance. Moreover, by-laws codified procedures for decision-making, dispute resolution, and the amendment of governing regulations. The by-laws of th…
Learning from Rejection
Thessalonians: An Introduction and Study Guide Encountering the Christ Group at Thessalonike
1 Thessalonians provides a fascinating glimpse into the origins and social life of the Christ group in the ancient Roman city of Thessalonike, while 2 Thessalonians reveals how the community developed at a somewhat later time. This guide narrates the story of the founding of the group by considering the social and cultural contexts, the literary form, the rhetorical strategies, the theologies, and the reception of the two canonical letters
Redescribing the Thessalonians’ ‘Mission’ in Light of Graeco-Roman Associations
1 Thessalonians 1.2-10 is generally understood to be making reference to the Thessalonians participating in missionary activity in which they proclaim the salvific message of Christ. Read this way, the text presumes that the Thessalonians have evangelized areas even before the Paul party arrived. That a newly constituted group of artisans would undertake such an aggressive program seems unlikely. The rhetoric of the passage is better understood i…
Social and Political Characteristics of Greco-Roman Association Meals
“For the Roman aristocracy, banquets are of the essence.” 1 Not just the elite, however, held banquets. Among the lower orders many banquets were attended, often through membership in one or more of the associations ubiquitous at that time. Greek and Roman associations brought together men or, occasionally, women for some shared purpose, generally with a membership of 10–50, although a few associations were much larger (sometimes in the hundreds)…
Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor – By Mark Wilson
Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus – By Jodi Magness
Reel Revelations: Apocalypse and Film – Edited by John Walliss and Lee Quinby
The Earliest History of the Christian Gathering: Origin, Development and Content of the Christian Gathering in the First to Third Centuries – Valeriy A. Alikin
Hermeneia On CD‐Rom 2.0: New Testament Including Continental Commentaries
Paul Unbound: Other Perspectives on the Apostle – Edited by Mark D. Given
Reading Romans in Pompeii: Paul's Letter at Ground Level – By Peter Oakes
Jerusalem and Athens: Cultural Transformation in Late Antiquity – By E. A. Judge
Ephesians – By Frank Thielman
Christ‐Believers in Ephesus: A Textual Analysis of Early Christian Identity Formation in a Local Perspective – By Mikael Tellbe
The Eschatology of First Thessalonians – By David Luckensmeyer
Encountering Paul: Understanding the Man and His Message – By Tatha Wiley
Thessaloniker – By Christina M. Kreinecker
Corinth in Contexts: Comparative Studies on Religion and Society – Edited by Steven J. Friesen, Daniel N. Schowalter, and James C. Walters
Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History – By Dale C. Allison, Jr
Discerning the “Word of the Lord”: The “Word of the Lord” in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 – By Michael W. Pahl
Pauline Parallels: A Comprehensive Guide – By Walter T. Wilson
Religion Im Römischen Thessaloniki: Sakraltopographie, Kult Und Gesellschaft 168 V. Chr.—324 N. Chr – By Christopher Steimle
Forms of Commensality in Greco-Roman Associations
Applying Claude Grignon’s typology of commensality to the full range of meal practices of Greco-Roman associations provides insight into how various meals served as locations of social interaction and group self-definition while inscribing community boundaries. Literary, epigraphic, and papyrological evidence from these associations suggests that their meal practices were not limited to one particular type of commensality, as argued previously by…
The Canadian Society of Biblical Studies' Religious Rivalries Seminar: Retrospection, reflection, and retroversion
The Completion of a Religious Duty: The Background of 2 Cor 8.1–15
There has been a tendency among some exegetes to treat 2 Cor 8.1–15 as ‘merely’ an administrative and financial issue. Often this conclusion is based on Paul's use of ἐπιτελέω which, they argue, draws on the language of business and government. However, the distinction between ‘administrative’ and ‘religious’ is improper; one of the primary ways of demonstrating piety in antiquity was by the giving of money to a god. There is much inscriptional e…
Civic Pride at Philippi the Text-Critical Problem of Acts 16.12
The text of Acts 16.12 in the UBS 4 /NA 27 designates Philippi as πρώτηςμερίδος τῆς Μαĸεδονίας πόλις, despite almost negligible manuscript evidence. The most widely attested reading of πρώτη τῆς μερίδος Μαĸεδονίας πόλις, is rejected by most scholars because it is not factually correct. However, an understanding of civic pride in Greco-Roman antiquity provides a context in which to better understand this latter reading, suggesting that it should b…
At the Origins of Christian Worship: The Context and Character of Earliest Christian Devotion
Bruce Chilton, Rabbi Jesus. An Intimate Biography
Paul's Macedonian Associations: The Social Context of Philippians and 1 Thessalonians
Richard S. Ascough uses Greco-Roman associations as a comparative model for understanding early Christian community organization, with specific attention to Paul's Macedonian Christian communities. He provides a comprehensive description of the range of voluntary associations, defined as groups of men and/or women organized on the basis of freely chosen membership for a common purpose. The community language and practices reflected in 1 Thessalon…
The Canadian Society of Biblical Studies' Religious Rivalries Seminar: Retrospection, reflection, and retroversion
Theological Hermeneutics and 1 Thessalonians – Angus Paddison
Cities of Paul: Images and Interpretations from the Harvard New Testament Archaeology Project – Edited by Helmut Koester
Early Christianity and Classical Culture: Comparative Studies in Honor of Abraham J. Malherbe – Edited by John T. Fitzgerald, Thomas H. Olbricht, and L. Michael White
Paul's Language of Grace in its Graeco‐Roman Context – By James R. Harrison
Early Christian Mission. Volume Two: Paul and the Early Church – Eckhard J. Schnabel
Reconstructing Honor in Roman Philippi: Carmen Christi as Cursus Pudorum – Joseph H. Hellerman
Reconceptualising Conversion: Patronage, Loyalty, and Conversion in the Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean – By Zeba A. Crook
Versammlung, Gemeinde, Synagoge: Das hellenistisch‐jüdische Umfeld der früchristlichen Gemeinden – Carsten Claußen
Paul and His World: Interpreting the New Testament in Its Context – By Helmut Koester
The Mission of the Church in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians in the Context of Ancient Judaism – By J. Patrick Ware
Forschungsbericht Römische Religion (2003–2005)
Pilgrimage in Graeco-Roman and Early Christian Antiquity: Seeing the Gods. Edited by Jaś Elsner and Ian Rutherford
Journal Article Pilgrimage in Graeco-Roman and Early Christian Antiquity: Seeing the Gods. Edited by Jaś Elsner and Ian Rutherford Get access Pilgrimage in Graeco-Roman and Early Christian Antiquity: Seeing the Gods. Edited by Jaś Elsner and Ian Rutherford. Oxford University Press, 2005. 513 pages. $125.00. Richard S. Ascough Richard S. Ascough Queen's University [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google…
Bringing Chaos to Order: Historical Memory and the Manipulation of History
In modern approaches to biblical and classical studies enlightenment scientific models have dominated historical investigation. As such, the notion of memories and traditions, even when they are assumed to be invented, are presented as reflecting a linear projection of history, with singular causes of change. Modern science, however, has moved beyond the Newtonian view of mechanics that undergirds such a view and is working with models of chaos a…
Stephen: Paul and the Hellenist Israelites – By John J. Pilch
St. Paul's Ephesus: Texts and Archaeology – By Jerome Murphy‐O'Connor
Social Distinctives of the Christians in the First Century: Pivotal Essays By E. A. Judge – Edited by David M. Scholer
Timothy: Paul's Closest Associate – By Bruce J. Malina
Forms of Commensality in Greco-Roman Associations
Applying Claude Grignon’s typology of commensality to the full range of meal practices of Greco-Roman associations provides insight into how various meals served as locations of social interaction and group self-definition while inscribing community boundaries. Literary, epigraphic, and papyrological evidence from these associations suggests that their meal practices were not limited to one particular type of commensality, as argued previously by…
Nouvelles
History (41 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (34 works) · Citation (34 works) · Computer Science (30 works) · Library science (28 works) · Classics (27 works) · Philosophy (25 works) · Art (16 works) · Theology (16 works) · Archaeology and Historical Studies (13 works)