Background
Frankfurter, David Thomas Munro was born on February 24, 1961 in New York City. Son of Alfred Moritz Frankfurter and Eleanor (Munro) Kahn.
( In the 1980s, America was gripped by widespread panics ...)
In the 1980s, America was gripped by widespread panics about Satanic cults. Conspiracy theories abounded about groups who were allegedly abusing children in day-care centers, impregnating girls for infant sacrifice, brainwashing adults, and even controlling the highest levels of government. As historian of religions David Frankfurter listened to these sinister theories, it occurred to him how strikingly similar they were to those that swept parts of the early Christian world, early modern Europe, and postcolonial Africa. He began to investigate the social and psychological patterns that give rise to these myths. Thus was born Evil Incarnate, a riveting analysis of the mythology of evilconspiracy. The first work to provide an in-depth analysis of the topic, the book uses anthropology, the history of religion, sociology, and psychoanalytic theory, to answer the questions "What causes people collectively to envision evil and seek to exterminate it?" and "Why does the representation of evil recur in such typical patterns?" Frankfurter guides the reader through such diverse subjects as witch-hunting, the origins of demonology, cannibalism, and the rumors of Jewish ritual murder, demonstrating how societies have long expanded upon their fears of such atrocities to address a collective anxiety. Thus, he maintains, panics over modern-day infant sacrifice are really not so different from rumors about early Christians engaging in infant feasts during the second and third centuries in Rome. In Evil Incarnate, Frankfurter deepens historical awareness that stories of Satanic atrocities are both inventions of the mind and perennial phenomena, not authentic criminal events. True evil, as he so artfully demonstrates, is not something organized and corrupting, but rather a social construction that inspires people to brutal acts in the name of moral order.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691136297/?tag=2022091-20
(This significant contribution to our knowledge of Egyptia...)
This significant contribution to our knowledge of Egyptian Christianity in the late third century includes discussion of —the Apocalypse of Elijah as religious literature;—the Egyptian provenance of the document;—its social and historical context;—a complete translation.“Frankfurter’s analysis of The Apocalypse of Elijah is a detailed and creative piece of work. His mastery of literary theory and the social-scientific method is evident throughout, and the union of the two methods in this work is impressive.” —James E. Goehring, Mary Washington College“This book is a remarkable piece of work. Frankfurter makes a convincing case for the use of native Egyptian prophetic traditions in the Apocalypse of Elijah.” —Birger A. Pearson, University of California, Santa Barbara>
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0800631064/?tag=2022091-20
( This exploration of cultural resilience examines the co...)
This exploration of cultural resilience examines the complex fate of classical Egyptian religion during the centuries from the period when Christianity first made its appearance in Egypt to when it became the region's dominant religion (roughly 100 to 600 C.E. Taking into account the full range of witnesses to continuing native piety--from papyri and saints' lives to archaeology and terracotta figurines--and drawing on anthropological studies of folk religion, David Frankfurter argues that the religion of Pharonic Egypt did not die out as early as has been supposed but was instead relegated from political centers to village and home, where it continued a vigorous existence for centuries. In analyzing the fate of the Egyptian oracle and of the priesthoods, the function of magical texts, and the dynamics of domestic cults, Frankfurter describes how an ancient culture maintained itself while also being transformed through influences such as Hellenism, Roman government, and Christian dominance. Recognizing the special characteristics of Egypt, which differentiated it from the other Mediterranean cultures that were undergoing simultaneous social and political changes, he departs from the traditional "decline of paganism/triumph of Christianity" model most often used to describe the Roman period. By revealing late Egyptian religion in its Egyptian historical context, he moves us away from scenarios of Christian triumph and shows us how long and how energetically pagan worship survived.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691070547/?tag=2022091-20
Frankfurter, David Thomas Munro was born on February 24, 1961 in New York City. Son of Alfred Moritz Frankfurter and Eleanor (Munro) Kahn.
Bachelor, Wesleyan University, 1983. Message Telecommunications Service, Harvard University, 1986. Master of Arts, Princeton University, 1988.
Doctor of Philosophy, Princeton University, 1990.
Assistant professor religious studies College Charleston, South Carolina, 1990-1995. Assistant professor history and religious studies University New Hampshire, Durham, 1995-1998, associate professor, 1998—2002, professor, since 2002.
(This significant contribution to our knowledge of Egyptia...)
( This exploration of cultural resilience examines the co...)
(This collection of essays by ancient historians, Egyptolo...)
( In the 1980s, America was gripped by widespread panics ...)
Board of directors Planned Parenthood of Mid-Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1989-1990. Member American Academy Religion, Society Biblical Literature, International Association for Coptic Studies, Egyptian Exploration Society, North America Patristics Society.
Married Anath Chana Golomb, August 28, 1988. Children: Raphael, Sariel.