John the Baptist: Prophet and Disciple (2006 Burke), book

John the Baptist: Prophet and Disciple (2006) is a book by Alexander J. Burke.

Abstract

"For the first time in nearly 50 years, a casual yet informative method to learn about John the Baptist... Why did each of the four evangelists make John the gateway to the Gospel, the first preacher of Good News? What were the reasons for the early church s intense interest in a desert hermit whose public ministry lasted two years or less? Why in early Christian tradition was John the Baptist accorded an exalted religious stature, almost equal to that of Mary? The irony is that most modern scholarship on John has missed the true sources of his religious significance...in his links to Christ and to the very earliest beginnings of the Christian religion ... Alexander Burke pieces together the mystery of this well-known disciple of Jesus one chapter at a time, covering John s preaching, arrest and execution, his role in Eastern and Western Christian Tradition, and the many paradoxes surrounding him."--Publisher description.

Editions

Published in Cincinnati, Ohio : St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2006.

Contents

Introduction : the enigma of John the Baptist -- The birth of John and the birth of Jesus : the parallel accounts -- John in the desert : the apostolate of the wilderness -- John the preacher : the voice of the prophet -- John the baptizer : witness to the trinity -- The arrest and execution of the last prophet -- Jesus views on his precursor -- John's new role in the Fourth Gospel : witness to Christ -- John the Baptist in Eastern Christian tradition -- John the Baptist in Western Christian tradition -- John the Baptist : forerunner yet follower of Christ -- Conclusion : John as a model for contemporary Christians.

External links

• [ Google Books]