John the Baptist

John the Baptist (Hebrew: ????? ??????, Yo-hanan ha-matbil, Ya?yá or ????? Y??ann?, Aramaic: ????? Yokhanan) (died c 30)Funk, et al., suggest c 27. Funk, Robert W.; Hoover, Roy W.; & the Jesus Seminar (1993). The Five Gospels. San Francisco: Harper "Stages in the Development of Early Christian Tradition" p. 128 was a mission preacherCross, F. L. (ed.) (2005) Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3) article John the Baptist, St and a major religious figureFunk, Robert W. & the Jesus Seminar (1998). The Acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus. San Francisco: Harper; "John the Baptist" cameo, p. 268 who led a movement of Baptism at the Jordan River in expectation of a divine apocalypse that would restore occupied Israel.Crossan, John Dominic (1998). The Essential Jesus. Edison: Castle Books; p. 146 John followed the example of previous Hebrew prophets, living austerely, challenging sinful rulers, calling for repentance, and promising God's justice.

John is regarded as a prophet in Christianity, Islam,Yahya ibn Zakariyya the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism.

Some scholars maintain that he was influenced by the Essenes, who were semi-ascetic, expected an apocalypse, and had rituals similar to baptism,Harris, Stephen L. (1985) Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield; p. 382 although there is no direct evidence to substantiate this. John's baptism was a purification rite for repentant sinners, performed in "living water" (in this case a running river) in accord with Jewish custom. John anticipated a messianic figure who would be greater than himself.Funk, Robert W. & the Jesus Seminar (1998). The Acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.San Francisco: Harper; "Mark," p. 51-161 Jesus was among those whom John baptized. It has been suggested that Jesus may have been a follower of John.Funk, et al. (1993), refer to John as Jesus' precursor and mentor. Funk, Robert W.;Hoover, Roy W. Hoover; & the Jesus Seminar. The Five Gospels. San Francisco: Harper. "Stages in the Development of Early Christian Tradition", p. 128 Herod Antipas saw John as a threat and had him executed. The ministry of Jesus followed John's, and some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John.Harris, Stephen L. (1985) Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield John, like Jesus, preached at a time of political, social, and religious conflict.

Accounts of John in the New Testament are not incompatible with the account in Josephus, whose authority is respected."John the Baptist, St." In: Cross, F. L. (ed.) (2005) The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press Here, Jesus is the one whose coming John foretold. Herod has John imprisoned for denouncing his marriage, and he is later executed. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, since in the Gospels, John announces Jesus' coming. He is also identified with the prophet Elijah,Stephen L. Harris, Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. and is described as a relative of Jesus.

Because Scripture described John as endowed with prenatal grace, the feast day of his birth (June 24) became celebrated more solemnly than that marking his martyrdom (August 29). In art, John's head often appears on a platter because that is what Herod's stepdaughter, Salome, is said to have asked for.The story appears in and , without the name Salome A theme of Christian art is the Beheading of St. John the Baptist.Wetterau, Bruce. World history. New York: Henry Holt and company. 1994. He is also depicted as an ascetic wearing camel hair and with a staff and scroll inscribed "Ecce Agnus Dei", or bearing a book or dish with a lamb on it. In Orthodox icons, he often has angel's wings, since Mark 1:2 describes him as ??????? (angelos) (messenger)."John the Baptist, St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005

Jesus of Nazareth (c 4 BC/BCE?c 30 AD/CE), also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity, and within most Christian denominations

he is venerated as the Son of God and as God incarnate. Christians also view him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament; however, Judaism rejects this claim. Islam considers Jesus a prophet, while several other religions revere him in some way.

The principal sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the four canonical gospels, especially the Synoptic Gospels,"The Gospel of John is quite different from the other three gospels, and it is primarily in the latter that we must seek information about Jesus." Sanders, E. P. The historical figure of Jesus. Penguin, 1993. p. 57.Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. Introduction, pp. 1?40 though some scholars argue that other texts (such as the Gospel of Thomas) are as relevant as...

The Essenes (Greek ???????, ???????, or ???????) were a Jewish religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE that claimed seccession from the Zadokite priestsF.F. Bruce, Second Thoughts On The Dead Sea Scrolls. Paternoster Press, 1956. Being much fewer in number than the Pharisees and the Sadducees (the other two major sects at the time) the Essenes lived in various cities but congregated in communal life dedicated to asceticism, voluntary poverty, and abstinence from worldly pleasures, including marriage and daily baptisms. Many separate but related religious groups of that era shared similar mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs. These groups are collectively referred to by various scholars as the "Essenes." Josephus records that Essenes existed in large numbers, and thousands lived throughout Israel. The Essenes believed they were the last generation of the last generations and anticipated Teacher of Righteousness, Aaronic High Priest, and High Guard Messiah, similar to the Prophet, Priest and King expectations of the Pharisees.

The Essenes have gained fame in modern times as a result of the discovery of an extensive group of religious documents known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, commonly believed to be their library. These documents include preserved multiple copies of the Hebrew Bible untouched from as early as 300 BCE until their discovery in 1946. Some scholars, however, dispute the notion that the Essenes wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. Hillel Newman, Ph.D Bar Ilan University : Proximity to Power and Jewish Sectarian Groups of the Ancient Period Brill ISBN 9004146997 One scholar, Rachel Elior, even argues that the group never existed.

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (), commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple (), were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders.Malcolm Barber, The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple. Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-521-42041-5. The organization existed for approximately two centuries in the Middle Ages.

Officially endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church around 1129, the Order became a favoured charity throughout Christendom, and grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. Non-combatant members of the Order managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, innovating financial techniques that were an early form of banking,Martin, p. 47.Nicholson, p. 4 and building many fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land.

The Templars' existence was tied closely to the Crusades; when the Holy Land was lost, support for the Order faded. Rumours about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony created mistrust, and King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the Order, took advantage of the situation. In 1307, many of the Order's members in France were arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake.Malcolm Barber, The Trial of the Templars. Cambridge University Press, 1978. ISBN 0-521-45727-0. Under pressure from King Philip, Pope Clement V disbanded the Order in 1312. The abrupt disappearance of a major part of the European infrastructure gave rise to speculation and legends, which have kept the "Templar" name alive into the modern day.