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- Title
The book of Revelation - an early Christian 'Search for Meaning' in critical conversation with its Jewish heritage and Hellenistic-Roman society.
- Authors
Labahn, Michael
- Abstract
The book of Revelation's attitude towards its political, religious and social environment is a radical one: Revelation 18:4 asks the readers to leave the city of Babylon, less so they do not become victims of God's punishment, but so that they do not share the sins of this city. Such a narrative program is a counter-cultural access that leads its adherents into isolation at the edge of ancient society. On the other hand, the narrative incorporates pictures and ideas from different ancient milieus. By this, the narrative shows a profound understanding of political, religious and cultural streams. It shows a creative reception and a reworking of motifs or themes into a new literary entity, in terms of producing something new instead of ignorance or simple negation of reality. The rhetoric of good and evil and the subversive power of the autobiographic narrative make the usage of ancient culture a dangerous rhetorical weapon compared to the more dialogical approach to ancient culture used in other Christian groups. John's narrative is witness of an approach that integrates and selects insights from different religious streams, from 1st century Judaism and 1st century Christianity into a selective and limited model of Christian attitude towards society and culture. The narrative is not simply conservative but integrative in developing new revelation on old ground, whose counter-cultural access is based on the transformation of different cultural means. Therefore, the article describes the apocalyptic and antagonistic strategy of the book of Revelation as a complex technique of exchange and transformation of religious or cultural ideas and motifs.
- Subjects
REVELATION; HELLENISTIC sculpture; ANCIENT aesthetics; AUTOBIOGRAPHY; JUDAISM
- Publication
In die Skriflig, 2014, Vol 48, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1018-6441
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.4102/ids.v48i1.1833