Christian
Traditions Notes 2/23/2016
Some things to remember…
-Check out Lynn’s video on the blog!
-We have done a lot in the past few weeks yet we still
missed some important events in Christianity– those will be covered in upcoming
classes
-Check participation score on Moodle
·
Not happy? There’s probably much more you
can do! Post on blog, attend participation events, pop culture, etc. Make sure
you relate to Christian Traditions!
-Tomorrow there is a different event at 5:30 – “Christians
& Muslims Worship the Same God” This event is NOT on syllabus.
·
Comes with pizza!
·
Lynn will be one of the speakers – pretty
casual
-Check score on Dates, Places, Time Test. Class
average was around an 86%. If you are not happy please talk to Lynn.
-Site visit/report before spring break is preferable!
Lynn will provide feedback soon after you turn it in. However, it is up to you
when you want to attend. Specific date is on the syllabus!
·
Going in small groups is perfectly
acceptable! Lynn actually prefers that.
·
Better reports are usually written shortly
after due to memory
·
Get it out of the way!
Early
Christian Baptism in Context
-Early Christian Period
-Jensen starts talking about the Gospels in 1st
Century
-Her work goes into 6th Century
Baptism
in Context
-Historical Context
·
-Jewish Purification Rites
·
-Roman Bathing Practices/Rituals
-Early Christian Context
·
-Early Christian Imagery
·
-Early Christian Rites
·
-Early Christian Theology
Jewish
Purification Rites: Second Temple Period
Ablutions for Ritual Impurity
·
-Three Types: Hands, Hands and feet, full
body
·
-Not due to transgression, but a state of
the human condition (menstruation, touching a corpse, sexual intercourse)
·
-Ritual purity/impurity
boundaries=boundaries between life and death
§ No
ritual actions should be taken
§ Something
that people go through
§ Do
what you need to do!
§ Different
expectations for different people
·
Dominant understanding
Increase in Purity Concerns
·
Hellenization/Roman Presence
·
Identity and Boundaries
§ Find
in uptake in rituals that are boundary markers during a blur of identity
§ Increase
in practice of purity rituals
§ Ritual
acts are what distinguish Jews from Gentiles
·
Numerous mikqva’ot (plural for mikvah)
-Lynn shows ruins of a residential neighborhood near
Nazareth
·
Able to submerge yourself in a mikvah to
say prayer, practice rituals, etc.
Moral Impurity
·
Ablutions for “sins”
·
Associated with John the Baptist
§ Talks
about repentance of sins, calls for Baptism
·
Associated with early Christians
Communities of Purity
·
Essenes at Qumran
§ Dead
sea scrolls are located here
·
Certain communities become focused on
purity
·
Christianity is emerging
§ In
concert with the broader context
·
Many people interested in moral purity
The Baptism of Jesus in Mark
·
Earliest Gospel
§ Matthew
& Luke written later
§ Mark
is the narrative backbone for Matthew & Luke
§ We
believe Matthew & Luke borrowed from Mark
§ Places
where Matthew & Luke are so similar they are drawing on a source
§ Quelle
is German for source
§ These
3 Gospels together are called synoptic
§ Outlier
of Gospels is John
·
Does not follow Mark
·
Jesus’s life is 3 years long
·
Order of events is very different\
§ It
is possible to get a sense of how people are understanding different issues,
including the issue of Jesus’s baptism
·
Mark 1
§ John
baptizes people for moral impurity
§ People
from all over are coming
§ Early
Christianity baptism puts you in a particular group
·
Here, we are not sure what group people
are being put in to
§ Another
baptism is coming
·
A spirit baptism
·
Jensen points out even though early
Christians are using Jesus’s baptism as a model, they are still keeping water
baptism
·
Water & Spirit is kept as methods of
baptism
·
End of Jensen’s text lists many steps
Christians follow for baptism
·
People don’t bathe for 40 days
·
Anointing of oil
·
Exorcising demons
§ Women
are most vulnerable
·
Cathecumen-person that has decided to
become a part of the Christian tradition
§ Living
a life of simplicity and abstinence
·
People are not as interested in children
§ Ages
12+ are no longer considered children
§ Mark
1 shares similarities with Matthew 3; John 1 does not discuss Jesus’s baptism
·
Debate on why Jesus was baptized
§ John
questions Jesus why he (John) is not being baptized – isn’t Jesus supposed to
be free of sin?
·
Water is made holy
·
Revelatory act
·
Showing Jesus’s humanity
·
Modeling baptism
·
If Christ is baptized and purified of sin,
humans/human flesh can be saved and free from sin
Hopefully everything is clear and makes sense. I am not a perfect note taker - please refer to Melina's notes if I left stuff out. Thank you!
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