Bibliography
| Title: """In those days came John..."" the ministry of John the Baptist within ist social, cultural and historical context" Type: Generic Year: 1990 Abstract: "This thesis examines John's role of baptizer and prophet in light of the social, cultural and historical context of Second Temple Judaism. Part 1 explores the traditions concerning John in early Christian and non-Christian sources. Each source shaped its portrayal of John to suit its own interests. Nevertheless, when these are taken into account, Josephus' Antiquities, Q and the synoptic Gospels are the primary sources for this investigation. Part 2 investigates John's role as baptizer in light of ablutions performed during the OT and Second Temple periods. This reveals that John's baptism functioned to 1) express conversionary repentance; 2) mediate divine forgiveness; 3) purify from uncleanness; 4) foreshadow the expected figure's ministry; 5) initiate into the ""true Israel"", and 6) protest against the temple establishment. Part 3 examines John's prophetic role. His announcement of a figure of judgement and restoration, when compared with a variety of such expected figures, is best understood at two levels: 1) theologically John announced that Yaweh was coming to judge and restore, and 2) historically John understood that judgement and restoration would be executed by an unidentified agent of Yahweh. The judgement removed the unrepentant, while the restoration purified the repentant, forming them into a holy people and creating for them a holy environment. Part 3 also compares John with various types of Palestinian prophets. John is best perceived as a leadership popular prophet, whose ministry may be compared with similar prophets. John produced a movement interested in deliverance. His tactics were pacifist, dispersed and passivist, while other movements were pacifist, corporate and activist. John's movement, like others, appears to have engaged in a symbolic event employing Exodus/Conquest motifs. As a popular prophet, John stood in opposition to the authorities of his day, including Herod Antipas, the temple establishment and the Romans." Keywords: New Testament / Early Christianity |