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Published in Faith • Civilization • Theology (eISSN 3083-0710), Volume 2, Issue 1 — January–June 2027. First published online: 30 October 2026. Copyright © 2026 Irene Gobbi. All rights reserved; free reader access. AbstractThe exegetical links between Cyril of Alexandria and Philo have…
Christian communities can affirm the dignity of people with disabilities while organising their participation around the expectation of eventual recovery. This article examines the theological problem created when cure becomes an unstated condition of full ecclesial belonging. Through a constructive reading of John…
Leviticus 18:18 is usually understood to prohibit sororal polygyny, the practice of having two biological sisters as wives at the same time. Several scholars, however, understand the Hebrew expression אִשָּׁה אֶל־אֲחֹתָהּ (“a woman to her sister”) distributively and therefore interpret the verse as…
This article examines the historical transformation of Asmodeus across Iranian, Jewish, Christian, and early modern European religious literature. Beginning with the possible relationship between the Zoroastrian figure Aēšma and the demon Asmodeus in the Book of Tobit, it traces the development of the…
Merkavah mysticism occupies a complex position between biblical visions of divine sovereignty, apocalyptic journeys into heaven, rabbinic restrictions on speculative teaching, and the elaborate heavenly palaces described in late antique Jewish literature. This article examines the historical and theological development of Merkavah traditions…
The Gospel of Thomas is frequently described in popular culture as a suppressed secret gospel that preserves an alternative Christianity based on hidden knowledge. This article argues that such descriptions flatten a far more complicated text and scholarly debate. Thomas is a collection…
Exorcism was one of the practices through which early Christians publicly distinguished their religious claims from surrounding ritual cultures. This article surveys Christian exorcistic discourse before Constantine, concentrating on Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen. It argues that exorcism functioned simultaneously as pastoral…
Melchizedek appears only briefly in Genesis, yet later Jewish and Christian texts turned this enigmatic priest-king into a major theological figure. This article traces the movement from Genesis 14 and Psalm 110 to the Qumran text 11QMelchizedek and the Epistle to the Hebrews.…
This article examines the Enochic Watchers tradition as one of the most influential ancient explanations of the origin of demons and the spread of corruption before the flood. Beginning with Genesis 6:1-4 and the Book of the Watchers in 1 Enoch 1-36, it…
This article re-examines Abrasax (later commonly Abraxas) by separating four historical layers frequently collapsed in modern accounts: Basilidean traditions reported by early Christian heresiologists; late antique magical gems and amulets; appearances of Abrasax in Nag Hammadi literature; and Carl Gustav Jung's twentieth-century reappropriation…
The Ars Almadel occupies an unusual position within the textual world later gathered under the title Lemegeton or Lesser Key of Solomon. Unlike the more notorious Goetia, the Almadel tradition is oriented principally toward angelic contact through a portable ritual altar, sacred names,…
Valentinian Christianity remains one of the most sophisticated and contested forms of second-century Christian thought. Its cosmological language - Pleroma, aeons, Sophia, Demiurge, spiritual seed, and bridal chamber - has often been compressed into a simple story of a fallen Wisdom and an…