Naturalizing Christians: A Response to Joel Marcus, John the Baptist in History and Theology
This essay examines the conceptual framework that informs Marcus’s distinction between history and theology, and considers what stands to be gained by this manner of classification. The essay observes that Marcus’s classification hinges upon a theory of religion that views gospels as artifacts expre...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2021
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the historical Jesus
Year: 2021, Volume: 19, Issue: 1, Pages: 39-46 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Jesus Christus
/ John the Baptist
/ Classification
/ Religion
/ Theory
/ History
/ Theology
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| IxTheo Classification: | FA Theology HC New Testament |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This essay examines the conceptual framework that informs Marcus’s distinction between history and theology, and considers what stands to be gained by this manner of classification. The essay observes that Marcus’s classification hinges upon a theory of religion that views gospels as artifacts expressive of sincere belief and, further, suggests this approach serves to mystify the origins of the Christian theological metanarrative by replicating the explanation asserted within the gospels themselves. By reversing the conceptual framework and the explanatory priority, one could deploy a theory of religion that sees gospels as artifacts of persuasion and thereby argue that they aim to naturalize the initially unnatural truth claim that Jesus was the christ by connecting him to a known social type: John. From this approach, it would not be belief in Jesus as the christ that explains the modified constructions of John the Baptist; rather, modifications of John the Baptist would be precisely what construct belief in Jesus as the christ. |
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| ISSN: | 1745-5197 |
| Reference: | Kritik von "John the Baptist in history and theology (Columbia, South Carolina : The University of South Carolina Press, 2018)"
Kritik von "John the Baptist in history and theology (Columbia : University of South Carolina Press, 2018)" Kritik von "John the Baptist in history and theology (Columbia, South Carolina : The University of South Carolina Press, 2018)" Kritik in "Response to the Respondents (2021)" |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the historical Jesus
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/17455197-19010008 |