scholarly journals Was John the Baptist Raised from the Dead?

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-354
Author(s):  
Nathanael Vette ◽  
Will Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Ancient World ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
John The Baptist ◽  
The Dead

In the vox populi of Mark 6:14-16 (cf. 8:28), we find the puzzling claim that some believed Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead. The presentation of John in the Gospel is similar to Jesus: Mark depicts John as a prophetic figure who is arrested, executed, buried by his disciples, and—according to some—raised from the dead. This paper reviews scholarship on the question of whether the tradition concerning John's resurrection—as well as the tradition concerning his death to which it is prefixed (6:17-29)—originated outside of the early Christian community. We examine the possibility that sects or individuals in the ancient world believed John had indeed been raised from the dead—as well as figures supposedly connected to John (Dositheus, Simon Magus). We conclude on the basis of internal evidence from the Gospel that the report in 6:14-16 likely originated in a Christian context. At the same time, it may also provide a glimpse into first-century CE attitudes concerning the resurrection from the dead.

scholarly journals The origin, function and disappearance of the “Twelve”: Continuity from Jesus to the post-Easter community?

2005 ◽  
Vol 61 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dietrich-Alex Koch
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
People Of God ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Historical Role ◽  
Origin Function ◽  
Short Time

The group of the Twelve is mentioned 28 times in the Synoptic Gospels. However, the Evangelists were not familiar with the historical role of the Twelve. Even the pre-Easter origin of Matthew 19:28/Luke 22:30 is debatable. On the other hand 1 Corinth 15:3b-5 provides a solid basis for the assumption of a pre-Easter origin of the Twelve. They functioned as a group representing the twelve tribes of Israel as the eschatological people of God. Reaffirmed in this role by the risen Lord they had for a short time a leading role in the early Christian community in Jerusalem. But their importance soon declined because after a short time the twelve former disciples from Galilee could no longer be representative of a rapidly expanding community. In the last decades of the first century the Twelve got a new importance on the literary level of the Gospels.

A Symposiastic Background to James?

2011 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter-Ben Smit
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Common Life ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The Common ◽  
Epistle Of James ◽  
The Way

The Epistle of James is not commonly seen in relation to early Christian common meals. At the same time, the work is preoccupied with the common life of an early Christian community, which in turn was, generally speaking, closely related to the way in which it celebrated its meals. In other words, ethics, ecclesiology, and etiquette were closely related. Based on this consideration, this essay attempts to relate aspects of the epistle to symposiastic conventions as they were known in the first-century Mediterranean world.

Discovering the Characteristics of Collegia—Collegia Sodalicia and Collegia Tenuiorum in 1 Corinthians 8, 10 and 15

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oh-Young Kwon
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The Dead

AbstractIn 1 Corinthians 8, 10 and 15 Paul appears to argue against some of the Corinthian Christians who would have regarded their Christian community as analogous to a sort of voluntary collegia in the first century Greco-Roman world. Some characteristics of the collegia are exhibited in these chapters. Especially 8:1-13 and 10:1-22 contains the characteristics of collegia sodalicia, while 15:29 comprises those of collegia tenuiorum. This finding provides an alternative to the current scholarly interpretation of the Pauline description of the Corinthians’ eating food sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8:1-13 and 10:1-22) and of their engagement in baptism for (or on behalf of) the dead (1 Cor 15:29).

Philosophers, Scribes, Rhetors … and Paul? The Educational Background of the New Testament

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Riley Estep
Keyword(s):  
Christian Education ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
History Of

Of increasing interest to New Testament scholars is the educational background of Paul and the early Christians. As evangelical educators, such studies also engage our understanding of the Biblical and historical basis of Christian education. This article endeavors to ascertain the early Christian community's, and particularly Paul's, assessment of education in first-century A.D. Greco-Roman culture as one dimension of the interactions between the early Christian community and its culture. It will (1) provide a brief review of passages in the New Testament that reflect or interact with the educational community of the first-century A.D., (2) Conjecture Paul's assessment of education in Greco-Roman culture, with which early Christians interacted, (3) Itemize implications of Paul's opinion on Greco-Roman education for our understanding on the formation and history of Christian education, and finally (4) Address the need for further study of the subject.

The Historical Jesus and the Speech of Gamaliel (Acts 5.35–9)

1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 500-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Trumbower
Keyword(s):  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
First Century ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Social Conventions ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The Many

As a supplement to the careful analysis of early Christian texts, anyone studying the historical Jesus of Nazareth is inevitably drawn to make comparisons between him and other figures from the ancient world in general, and first-century Palestine in particular. Just what type of figure was he? For example, in his book, Jesus the Jew, Geza Vermes emphasizes Jesus' compatibility with the category of Jewish charismatic figures like Honi the Circle-drawer (perhaps a Galilean) and Hanina Ben-Dosa (definitely a Galilean). Morton Smith compares the actions and words of Jesus to the magical papyri and finds remarkable similarities to ancient magicians, thus the title of his book, Jesus the Magician. Smith, like Celsus 1800 years earlier, delights in showing how Jesus was just one of the many fakers and charlatans practising the magical arts in the first-century Mediterranean world. More recently, Burton Mack has argued that Jesus was a cynic sage like those found in Diogenes Laertius' Lives of Eminent Philosophers. In Mack's reconstruction, Jesus' thought was not eschatological, nor did Jesus intend to found a movement or movements devoted to himself; rather, he preached the flaunting of social conventions and criticized his culture in general terms, like other cynic philosophers.

Considerations about the Theological Meaning of Migration in the Book of Acts

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-117
Author(s):  
Meiken Antje Buchholz
Keyword(s):  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
The Self ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Global Migration ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
Book Of Acts ◽  
Christian Denomination

Abstract Through the migration movements at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the significance of global migration has become a mainstream topic in discourses of almost every Christian denomination. How migration and related phenomena are approached by Christian churches and mission movements, is influenced by their theological interpretations of these issues. Beyond sociological and mission-strategical considerations, it is, therefore, necessary to reflect on a theological perspective on migration and diaspora-life. The article argues that a function of Stephen's speech in Acts 7 is to provide the followers of Christ with a new hermeneutics for their experiences of displacement and life in culturally diverse societies. It elaborates the theological consequences for the self-understanding of the early Christian community as a transcultural community and its emerging ecclesiology in the Book of Acts. Some concluding practical considerations sketch out how the theological meaning of migration which is laid out in Acts relates to missiological issues in multicultural contexts.ZusammenfassungAufgrund der Migrationsbewegungen zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts wird die Bedeutung der globalen Migration heute in so gut wie allen christlichen Denominationen diskutiert. Wie christliche Kirchen und Missionsbewegungen mit Migration und damit verwandten Phänomenen umgehen, hängt auch von ihrer theologischen Perspektive auf diese Themen ab. Darum ist es notwendig, über soziologische und missionsstrategische Überlegungen hinaus auch theologische Deutungen von Migration und Diaspora-Existenz zu reflektieren. Dieser Artikel vertritt die These, dass eine Funktion der Stephanusrede in Apostelgeschichte 7 darin besteht, den Nachfolgern Jesu Christi eine neue hermeneutische Perspektive für Erfahrungen von Vertreibung und einem Leben in kulturell pluralen Kontexten zu vermitteln. Es werden die theologischen Konsequenzen für das Selbstverständnis der ersten christlichen Gemeinden als transkulturelle Gemeinschaften sowie für ihre heranwachsende Ekklesiologie in der Apostelgeschichte herausgearbeitet. Einige abschließende Bemerkungen skizzieren, wie die in der Apostelgeschichte angelegte theologische Bedeutung von Migration auf aktuelle missiologische Fragestellungen in multikulturellen Kontexten bezogen werden kann.RésuméAvec les mouvements migratoires du début du XXIe siècle, le sens à donner à ce phénomène de migration globale est devenu un thème dominant dans les débats d’à peu près toutes les dénominations. La manière dont les Églises et les missions chrétiennes abordent la migration et tout ce qui l’accompagne dépend de leur interprétation théologique de ces réalités. Au-delà des considérations touchant à la sociologie et à la stratégie missionnaire, il est donc nécessaire de réfléchir à une perspective théologique de la migration et de l’exil. L’article soutient qu’une fonction du discours d’Étienne en Actes 7 est de fournir aux disciples de Christ une nouvelle façon de lire leur expérience de déplacement et de vie dans des sociétés aux cultures diverses. Il développe les conséquences théologiques: la façon dont la communauté chrétienne primitive s’est vue en tant que communauté transculturelle et dont s’est dégagée son ecclésiologie dans le livre des Actes. Pour conclure, il propose quelques conclusions pratiques esquissant le lien existant entre l’interprétation théologique de la migration telle que décrite en Actes et les questions de la mission dans des contextes multiculturels.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND THE ACCOUNTING AND ECONOMIC PRACTICES OF A SOCIETY: EVIDENCE FROM THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Herda ◽  
Stephen A. Reed ◽  
William F. Bowlin
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
First Century ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Economic Practices ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
The Relationship

This study explores the Dead Sea Scrolls to demonstrate how Essene socio-religious values shaped their accounting and economic practices during the late Second Temple period (ca. first century BCE to 70 CE). Our primary focus is on the accounting and commercial responsibilities of a leader within their community – the Examiner. We contend that certain sectarian accounting practices may be understood as ritual/religious ceremony and address the performative roles of the Essenes' accounting and business procedures in light of their purity laws and eschatological beliefs. Far from being antithetical to religious beliefs, we find that accounting actually enabled the better practice and monitoring of religious behavior. We add to the literature on the interaction of religion with the structures and practices of accounting and regulation within a society.

Sexual Defilement in Early Christian Texts

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moshe Blidstein
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Sexual Ethics ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The Family ◽  
Main Target ◽  
Christian Society

Chapter 7 demonstrates that sexual sin became the main target for purity discourse in early Christian texts, and attempts to explain why. Christian imagery of sexual defilement drew from a number of traditions—Greco-Roman sexual ethics, imagery of sexual sin from the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple texts, and both Jewish and pagan purity laws, all seen through the lens of Paul’s imagery of sexuality and sexual sin. Two broad currents characterized Christian sexual ethics in the second century: one upheld marriage and the family as the basis for a holy Christian society and church, while the second rejected all sexuality, including in marriage. Writers of both currents made heavy use of defilement imagery. For the first, sexual sin was a dangerous defilement, contaminating the Christian community and severing it from God. For the second, more radical current, sexuality itself was the defilement; virginity or continence alone were pure.

Writings in the Dead Sea Scrolls

2018 ◽  
pp. 324-341
Author(s):  
Lawrence H. Schiffman
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Textual Evidence ◽  
Masoretic Text ◽  
Hebrew Word ◽  
The Dead

This chapter argues that the Writings was an evolving collection of scripture used in a wide variety of ways by the Dead Sea Scrolls community at Qumran (second century bce to first century ce). Though the Hebrew word Ketuvim (Writings) does not occur in the Scroll material, all but one (Esther) of the books contained therein are found. The plentiful and varied textual evidence at Qumran, and occasionally other Judean desert sites, is presented with special attention to the number of biblical and other manuscripts and place found; textual comparisons with the biblical Masoretic text and others (e.g., Septuagint); citations; and other interpretive uses in sectarian documents. The importance of the books in the Writings for the life of the late postexilic community of Qumran and the nature of the Dead Sea Scrolls biblical collection are, together, a constant focus of the study.

Reflections on John the Baptist in History and Theology by Joel Marcus

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-26
Author(s):  
Cecilia Wassén
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Favorable Attitude ◽  
Recent Book ◽  
John The Baptist ◽  
Sitz Im Leben ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract In this article, I engage with Joel Marcus’s recent book on John the Baptist, focusing on the relationship between John and the Dead Sea Scrolls. While I appreciate many parts of his detailed study, I question the claim that John was a former member of the Essenes. Although there are intriguing similarities, the question is how far reaching conclusions we may draw concerning such a relationship. I problematize some aspects of the comparison between the sources. Like many scholars, Marcus refers in particular to 1QS and the site of Khirbet Qumran for reconstructing the Essenes and hence John’s background. In response, I highlight the uncertainty about the Sitz im leben of 1QS in relation to Khirbet Qumran and ask why this particular manuscript should be privileged over others. Not least when it comes to purity halakhah there are many other documents than 1QS from Qumran that are highly relevant to the issue. Finally, I critically evaluate Marcus’s view that John the Baptist had a favorable attitude towards Gentiles, which according Marcus differed from the views of the Essenes.

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