Middleton, Paul

dc.contributor.author	Middleton, Paul	*
dc.date.accessioned	2017-01-06T10:31:32Z
dc.date.available	2017-01-06T10:31:32Z
dc.date.issued	2016-12-31
dc.identifier.citation	Middleton, P. (2016). "Suffer Little Children": Child sacrifice, martyrdom, and identity formation in Judaism and Christianity. Journal of Religion and Violence, 4(3), 337-356.	en
dc.identifier.issn	0738-098X
dc.identifier.doi	10.5840/jrv201612531
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10034/620310
dc.description	This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in Journal of Religion and Violence. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/jrv201612531
dc.description.abstract	This essay examines the contrasting ways in which the sacrifice of children is portrayed in Jewish and Christian martyrologies. In these narratives of extreme persecution and suffering, death was often seen to be the way in which religious integrity and identity was preserved. It is argued that Jewish martyr narratives—for example, the First Crusade, Masada, and the Maccabees—reflect a developed notion of collective martyrdom, such that the deaths of children, even at the hands of their parents, are a necessary component in Jewish identity formation. By contrast, early Christianity martyr texts reflect an ambivalence towards children, to the extent that they are viewed as a potential hindrance to the successful martyrdom of their Christian mothers. Children have to be abandoned for women to retain their Christian identity.
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/	en
dc.subject	Martyrdom	en
dc.subject	Children	en
dc.subject	Crusades	en
dc.subject	Masada	en
dc.subject	Maccabees	en
dc.subject	Identity Formation	en
dc.title	"Suffer Little Children": Child Sacrifice, Martyrdom, and Identity Formation in Judaism and Christianity	en
dc.type	Article	en
dc.identifier.eissn	2159-6808
dc.contributor.department	University of Chester	en
dc.identifier.journal	Journal of Religion and Violence	en
or.grant.openaccess	Yes	en
rioxxterms.funder	unfunded	en
rioxxterms.identifier.project	unfunded	en
rioxxterms.version	AM	en
rioxxterms.versionofrecord	https://doi.org/10.5840/jrv201612531
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate	2216-12-31
html.description.abstract	This essay examines the contrasting ways in which the sacrifice of children is portrayed in Jewish and Christian martyrologies. In these narratives of extreme persecution and suffering, death was often seen to be the way in which religious integrity and identity was preserved. It is argued that Jewish martyr narratives—for example, the First Crusade, Masada, and the Maccabees—reflect a developed notion of collective martyrdom, such that the deaths of children, even at the hands of their parents, are a necessary component in Jewish identity formation. By contrast, early Christianity martyr texts reflect an ambivalence towards children, to the extent that they are viewed as a potential hindrance to the successful martyrdom of their Christian mothers. Children have to be abandoned for women to retain their Christian identity.
rioxxterms.publicationdate	2016-12-31
dc.dateAccepted	2016-07-11
dc.date.deposited	2017-01-06