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[German Version] I. Religious Studies Temptation is a theologoumenon of many religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It arises in the presence of free will when evil makes its appearance as fascinating, enticing cajolery, often insinuating. There are various forms of temptation: by a deity, by human individuals, by demons, in a nontheistic con-¶ text, and even human temptation of a deity. Temptation is often interpreted as the work of a demonic power that takes on symbolic significance – for example Māra in Buddhism; cf. e.g. Saṃyut…

[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Art I. New Testament The father of Jesus appears in the New Testament only in the birth and infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke; his name is confirmed by the two texts in John that speak of Jesus as the son of Joseph (1:45; 6:42). Despite the relatively late date of the evidence, there is no reason to doubt the historicity of Joseph, since the traditions regarding him are independent and could have received their information from the family of Jesus, which played …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies From the outset, religions are involved in processes of exchange with their (religious) environment. This structural relationship to the surrounding world finds expression in internal representations of what is “strange/alien/foreign” or “other” and is part of the self-reference of religious systems. Because other religions are often experienced as competing entities, in most traditions they represent a great challenge to the adherents’ own identity. Therefore re…

[German Version] I. Introductory Remarks The New Testament contains two letters ascribed to the apostle Peter. Despite the unambiguous claim of Petrine authorship, it is likely that neither was written by the apostle himself. In the case of 1 Peter, several elements point to a probable date after the apostle’s death (probably during the Neronian persecution [Persecu-¶ tions of Christians: I]): its elevated language, the influence of the Diaspora synagogue on its theology, and the situation of the Christian communities it implies (1:1: spread of Christ…