Javascript must be enabled to continue!
The Fate of Messiah Christology in Early Christianity
View through CrossRef
According to a standard narrative both in Jewish studies and in early Christian studies, ancient Christian writers redefined “messiah” or “Christ” immediately and entirely, so that early Christian Christology ceased to have anything at all to do with Jewish messianism. In this chapter it is argued that this standard narrative is wrong, that there are numerous strands of early Christian Christology, orthodox as well as heterodox, in which the “Christness” of Christ—the notion of his being anointed with some unguent, by some agent, for some purpose—persisted as a puzzle to be solved and an opportunity to be exploited. The fate of messiah Christology in early Christianity is, in fact, a complicated affair. It did not remain what it had been at the beginning, but neither did it vanish altogether. The ghost of the messianic movement surrounding Jesus of Nazareth haunted early Christian Christology for centuries to follow.
Title: The Fate of Messiah Christology in Early Christianity
Description:
According to a standard narrative both in Jewish studies and in early Christian studies, ancient Christian writers redefined “messiah” or “Christ” immediately and entirely, so that early Christian Christology ceased to have anything at all to do with Jewish messianism.
In this chapter it is argued that this standard narrative is wrong, that there are numerous strands of early Christian Christology, orthodox as well as heterodox, in which the “Christness” of Christ—the notion of his being anointed with some unguent, by some agent, for some purpose—persisted as a puzzle to be solved and an opportunity to be exploited.
The fate of messiah Christology in early Christianity is, in fact, a complicated affair.
It did not remain what it had been at the beginning, but neither did it vanish altogether.
The ghost of the messianic movement surrounding Jesus of Nazareth haunted early Christian Christology for centuries to follow.
Related Results
The Jewish Messiah–Christian Messiah Distinction
The Jewish Messiah–Christian Messiah Distinction
Gershom Scholem is perhaps its best-known modern proponent, but the essentializing distinction between the Jewish messiah (earthly, political, delivers from oppression) and the Chr...
The Quest for the First Messiah
The Quest for the First Messiah
There is an important strand in modern scholarship on ancient Jewish messianism whose practitioners set for themselves the task of identifying the first messiah. Representatives of...
Christianity after Christendom
Christianity after Christendom
What comes after the end of Christendom? Christianity has ceased to function as the dominant force in society and yet the Christian faith continues. How are we to understand Christ...
Reverend Albert Cleage Jr. and the Black Prophetic Tradition
Reverend Albert Cleage Jr. and the Black Prophetic Tradition
Reverend Albert Cleage Jr. and the Black Prophetic Tradition: A Reintroduction of The Black Messiah considers how Albert Cleage Jr., in his groundbreaking book of sermons, The Blac...
The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity
The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity
The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity is an authoritative reference guide that enables students, their teachers, and Christian clergy to reflect critically upon all aspects of C...
George Frideric Handel – Messiah
George Frideric Handel – Messiah
Messiah is discussed in reference to Handel’s operas, other choral works in general, and other oratorios in specific, with focus on the librettos. Additional historic information c...
George Rust, University of Cambridge Commencement Day Divinity Act Verses
George Rust, University of Cambridge Commencement Day Divinity Act Verses
This chapter presents an English translation of George Rust’s Latin academic text entitled The Messiah Promised in the Holy Scripture Came a Long Time Ago. Here Rust talks about ho...
Within Judaism? Interpretive Trajectories in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from the First to the Twenty-First Century
Within Judaism? Interpretive Trajectories in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from the First to the Twenty-First Century
This book charts the shifting boundaries of Judaism from antiquity to the modern period in order to bring clarity to what scholars mean when they claim that ancient texts or groups...

