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Luke’s account of the first Christian Pentecost (Acts 2:1–13) is one of his most famous and influential narratives. When the feast of Pentecost dawned, the disciples were all together (presumably all 120; see Acts 1:15?). Suddenly a sound like a violent wind comes from heaven and fills the whole house where they were sitting (2:2). And “divided tongues, just like fire,” appear to them, one sitting on each of them. They are all “filled with the Holy Spirit” and begin to speak with “other …

Ἀπόστολος is a term not much used in Greek literature, meaning “messenger, ambassador, or envoy,” a natural derivation from the verb ἀποστέλλειν, “to send off” ( Liddell/Scott, s.v). It occurs only once in the Septuagint (3 Kings 14:6) in the sense of “one sent” with a message. Its 80-fold usage in the New Testament would therefore be somewhat surprising to the initial listeners to and readers of the New Testament documents. In the New Testament, the term is predominantly used in the Pauline letters (34) and in Act…

“Apostolic Fathers” is the name given to the Christian writings that have been preserved from the early decades of the 2nd century CE, regarded and revered as associates or disciples of the apostles (Apostle/Disciple) to whom the New Testament writings themselves were attributed. The most famous study of the texts involved has been by J.B. Lightfoot, Apostolic Fathers, part I: S. Clement of Rome, 1890, 2 vols., and part II: S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp,1885, 3 vols. The collection was first made in 1672 by J.B. Cotelier (details in Lightfoot, 1890, vol. I, 3).Some of the texts were sometim…

Adam does not feature often in the biblical texts, but the references and allusions to him indicate a figure who provided an explanation of human character and destiny. Paul’s Adam theology and its influence thereafter indicate how important the figure of Adam was in early Christian theology.Adam in Genesis and Other Jewish ScripturesThe most famous passage in the Old Testament is the creation account in Gen 1–3, in which several features become fundamental to early Christian Adam (and Eve) references (Adam and Eve) . Adam is widely used throughout the Hebrew Scriptures in the…

Agraphon means “unwritten.” So the reference is to the “unwritten” sayings of Jesus (Christ, Jesus, 01: Survey). This should immediately put us in an impossible position. Since all our knowledge of Jesus and the beginnings of Christianity depend on what was written down or transcribed, more or less by definition we have no access to, and therefore no knowledge, of unwritten tradition. Consequently, the common definition of Jesus’ agrapha has been sayings attributed to Jesus, which were not recorded in the New Testament Gospels but have been referred to elsewhe…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies and History of Philosophy The dogmatic definition of the Holy Spirit as a person within the one divine substance (Trinity/Doctrine of the Trinity) presupposes not only a particular philosophical context but also a religio-historical horizon. A formative influence on the conceptualization of the Holy Spirit was exercised by the various anthropomorphic interpretations of elemental anthropological or normative qualities in the context of polytheistic interpretations of …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Wherever notions of “supernatural” anthropomorphic powers arise, so does the notion of spirit possession. A spirit can enter into a person’s body and sometimes supplant the spirit or soul (considered the same in many cultures) of the host’s body; often the spirit settles in the host’s head or on his or her shoulders. It is then described as being “in the saddle” and “riding” its human means of transportation. If a relationship develops between the spirit and the …

[German Version] I. Greco-Roman Antiquity – II. Bible – III. Dogmatics I. Greco-Roman Antiquity In the Greek realm, enthusiasm refers to a person's special relationship to a god, as was made apparent to others. The term offers something like an implicit theory for those alterations of behavior and claim that would otherwise be described as ékstasis or manía (see also Ecstasy). Linguistically, the relationship is encompassed within the bounds of “to enter into a person” ( éntheon eínai), to inspire a person ( empnoeín), or to take possession of a person ( katochḗ, katokōchḗ, Lat. posses…