This article discusses the thesis that Jesus was a Jewish Cynic. This thesis was reworked by B. Lang in 2010, who suggested that two nonconformist traditions were combined in Jesus' teaching: The Jewish prophetic tradition of John the Baptist and the Cynic tradition from the pagan vicinity of Palestine. There is some evidence that Jesus and his addressees were familiar with the Cynics. But how was it possible to introduce those pagan traditions to the Jewish Galilean people? This article develops the hypothesis that Judas of Galilee probably behaved like a Cynic - and that Jesus therefore simply rejected some characteristics of Cynic behavior. When Jesus sent out his disciples as missionaries his instructions emphasized that they should not use the visible identity markers of Cynic philosophers. Although Jesus and Judas of Galilee share the radical theocratic proclamation of the one and only God, Jesus' double commandment to love God and one's neighbor demonstrates the difference between them.

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Serie / Reihe: Evangelische Theologie

Personen: Thei¯en, Gerd Gerd Thei¯en

Schlagwörter: Jesus Christus Philosophie Antike Kynismus

Interessenkreis: Religionswissenschaft