Ismo Dunderberg – författare

Was the Gospel of John written in critical response to the Gospel of Thomas, an early collection of Jesus's sayings? Or was it directed to the Christians among whom Thomas originated? Ismo Dunderberg challenges these views, arguing that the two gospels were written at about the same time but without knowledge of each other. He also offers a thorough discussion of the identity and functions of the enigmatic Beloved Disciple in the Gospel of John, throwing new light on this figure by comparing it to other `beloved' disciples of Jesus in early Christian literature. This part of Dunderberg's analysis also helps to evaluate the portrayal of Judas in the recently published Gospel of Judas, although this text was not yet available, when this study was completed.

Highlighting the place of Stoic teaching in early Christian thought, an international roster of scholars challenges the prevailing view that Platonism was the most important philosophical influence on early Christianity. They suggest that early Christians were more often influenced by Stoicism than by Platonism, an insight that sheds new light on the relationship between philosophy and religion at the birth of Christianity.

Während einige frühchristliche Texte, die in diesem Band besprochen werden, als "gnostisch" eingeordnet werden, werden sie hier als Zeugen der Ansichten gebildeter Christen angesehen, die im regen Austausch mit philosophischen Traditionen standen. Ismo Dunderberg folgt dem Ansatz, dass die philosophischen Schulen der Antike ihre Anhänger eine Lebensweise lehren sollten und untersucht Fragen zu Moral und Lebensstil in außer-kanonischen Evangelien und in Gruppierungen, die nach und nach in der Kirche als ketzerisch denunziert wurden. Er behandelt die Entwicklung der Seele von materiellen Belangen hin zu einem von Vernunft geleiteten Leben, die Beherrschung der eigenen Emotionen, die Vermeidung von Luxus, den idealen "perfekten Menschen" als ein Werkzeug der moralischen Belehrung, Zuordnungen der Menschen in verschiedene, auf ihrer moralischen Entwicklungsstufe basierende, Gruppen und christliche Debatten bezüglich der Wertigkeit des Märtyrertums. Zudem liefert er eine kritische Bewertung einiger aktueller in der Forschung zum Neuen Testament.

This collection of essays in honour of Heikki Raisanen, New Testament professor at the University of Helsinki, consists of 22 essays written by his colleagues and students on Jesus, the gospels, Paul, early Christianity, and biblical interpretation.Raisanen's own research has been characterized by methodological awareness combined with a keen interest in ethical issues. Both these aspects come to expression in his insistence on "e;fair play"e; as a correct scholarly attitude involving an honest dialogue, a real encounter, and a recognition of diverging opinions. In this spirit, most of the essays in this book lay emphasis on issues related to early Christian diversity and conflicts, and to their challenge in modern society.The book is useful for scholars, academic teachers and students interested in various aspects of the New Testament, early Christianity, and hermeneutics.