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[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Early Church – III. History of Art I. New Testament Named after her home town of Magdala on the west bank of the Sea of Gennesareth, she was presumably a prosperous (Luke 8:2f.) businesswoman (for the fishing industry in Magdala=Tarichaeae, see Josephus) who traveled extensively (hence the reference to her place of origin; cf. 15:21, 43). Mary was clearly unmarried (cf. Mark 15:40; Luke 8:3; John 19:25), and her age is unknown. She may have belonged to the same generati…

[German Version] I. New Testament The legend in Mark 9:2–13 proclaims Jesus as Son of God in the presence of his innermost circle of disciples. This is clearly an important compositional element for Mark: the beginning (1:1, 11), middle (9:7), and end (15:39) of the Gospel bear witness to Jesus as God’s Son. The combination with 8:27–33 breaks through Jesus’ incognito and defines his mission – passion (Passion/Passion traditions) and resurrection (II). For a moment, the disciples receive an insight i…

[German Version] I. History of Religions – II. Dance, Gesture, Movement and Religion – III. Dance, Gesture, Movement and the Christian Tradition I. History of Religions In contrast to pure movement, dance consists of intentional, differentiated, recurring and rhythmic elements. Initially, natural rhythms such as the beating of the heart, rainfall or animal sounds were imitated and translated into movement. In early forms of culture, da…

[German Version] I. Ancient Near Eastern Art – II. Greco-Roman Art – III. Christian Art I. Ancient Near Eastern Art The earliest datable representations of animals in ancient Near Eastern art stem from the Mesolithic Period, and the oldest representations of the human form from the Neolithic Period (reworked male skulls or imitations of the same, cf. Kenyon; stylized or three-dimensional figurines of sitting, corpulent women). Anthropomorphic ¶ (Anthropomorphism) deities are usually distinguished from humans through attributes (for the exception of the “naked…

[German Version] I. History – II. Christian Liturgy – III. Practical Theology – IV. Art History – V. Music I. History 1. Origins. “Christmas,” the nativity feast or birthday celebration of Christ on Dec 25, comes from Middle English Christmesse, Christ's Mass; cf. Dutch Kerstmis. The German Weihnachten, “holy nights,” refers to the twelve days between Dec 24 and Jan 6. The Lat. natalis, dies nativitatis, or nativitas domini nostri Jesu Christi is reflected in Span. navidad, Ital. natale. Gk ἡ γενέθλιος ἡμέρα τὰ γενέθλια, ἡ κατὰ σάρκα γέννησις τοῦ κυρίου/ hēgenéthlios h…

[German Version] I. Names and Terms – II. Religious Studies – III. Ancient Near East and Old Testament – IV. New Testament – V. Church History – VI. Philosophy of Religion – VII. Fundamental Theology – VIII. Dogmatics – IX. Judaism – X. Islam – XI. History of Art and Literature I. Names and Terms 1. Devil The secular Greek noun διάβολος/ diabolos comes from one of the meanings of the verb διαβάλλω/ diaballō, “separate, sever,” which led to meanings such as “accuse, slander, deceive.” From the Greek noun came Latin diabolus, from which the English …

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. New Testament – III. Church History – IV. Dogmatics – V. Practical Theology – VI. History of Liturgy – VII. Law – VIII. Missions – IX. Art I. History of Religion From the standpoint of the history of religion, baptism is not a general type of rite (Rite and ritual) but a lustration ritual that is carried out not only in Christianity but also in historically related religions such as …