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[German Version] I. Authorship – II. Date – III. Place of Writing – IV. Literary Character – V. Christology Most New Testament scholars conclude that Mark is the oldest Gospel and that the authors of Matthew and Luke used it as a source (see Synoptic question). I. Authorship The earliest reference to Mark is the statement of Papias, written in the time of Hadrian, but surviving only in a quotation by Eusebius ( Hist. eccl. III 39). Papias says that Mark was the interpret…

[German Version] I. Definition of the Term as a Problem for the History of Religions – II. Old Testament – III. Jewish Apocalypticism – IV. New Testament – V. Church History – VI. Dogmatics – VII. Islam – VIII. Art History I. Definition of the Term as a Problem for the History of Religions As a phenomenon in the history of relig…

[German Version] According to Philostratus, Apollonius was born at Tyana in Cappadocia about the beginning of the Christian era and lived until the reign of Nerva (96–98 ce). He had a miraculous conception and birth. After finishing his studies, he became an ascetic philosopher in the tradition of Pythagoras. He foretold the future and performed other miraculous deeds. He traveled to Mesopotamia, Persia, India, …

[German Version] The term “aretalogy” is used by some New Testament scholars to designate a literary genre. The word is based on the Greek ἀρετή/ aretḗ, meaning “goodness,” “excellence” of any kind and “marvelous deed.” The word “aretalogy” first occurred in the article “Aretalogoi” by Crusius, published in 1896. It was taken up by R. Reitzenstein, who claimed that Lucian of Samosata wrote True Stories and The Lover of Lies ( Philopseudes) as parodies of a literary genre that could be called “aretalogy.” He …