Animals in the New Testament: Perspectives from Animal Studies and Ancient Contexts

This volume draws upon the diverse methods of Animal Studies and the ancient discourses around animals to shed light on the New Testament. This volume explores the ubiquity of animals and the remarkable density of animal language in the New Testament and its contemporary world. By situating the New Testament amid ancient discourses and incorporating understanding from the emerging field of Animal Studies, the contributors explore the insights that emerge when non-human animals and notions of animality take centre stage.By analysing the Classical contexts of the New Testament, the gospels, the writings of Peter, Paul and John and extra-canonical Christian contexts, the volume identifies and explores the myriad ways in which humans find themselves and others to be like animals, addressing basic notions of human and animal nature and highlighting traits such as sentience, subjectivity, and intentionality. Ranging from the intense discussions regarding animal souls and their place in contemporary narratives to their various roles in the teachings of Jesus, their depictions in the writing of the apostles and their symbolic and ethical significance in early Christianity, this highly original and methodologically diverse collection introduces an unfamiliar paradigm that offers new perspectives and insights into the New Testament and its contemporary world.