Why Early Christians Were Drawn to the Dead

The late antique Mediterranean was an enchanted world where the dead were not silent or distant, but active participants in everyday life. This week, historian Michael L. Satlow joins the podcast to explain why cemeteries, saints’ bones, and the spirits of the dead were seen as powerful points of contact with the divine, and why early Christians were especially drawn to them. We'll explore how practices that feel strange or forbidden today were completely normal.

👉Dr. Satlow helps us explore:

– What it meant to live in an “enchanted world”

– Where the dead fit within the supernatural hierarchy

– Why Christians were drawn to the dead (and what Jesus has to do with it)

– Why necromancy crossed a line when other contact with the dead did not

📚 Reading Recommendations:

📖 An Enchanted World: The Shared Religious Landscape of Late Antiquity

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🎙️ Credits

Guest: Dr. Michael Satlow

Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones

Additional contributions by Mary Kathryn Lichty

The Bible & Archaeology podcast is made with support from Amanda Stone

Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.