Discourse of doubt: the testing of apocalyptic figures in Jewish and Christian traditions of late Antiquity

• Main Author: Spurling, Helen (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2015-11.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

 This paper will examine Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature of the seventh-eighth centuries to discuss a shared 'discourse of doubt' that cuts across different religious traditions. This discourse is manifested in the doubts of different sections of society regarding the end of time and their place in the future world, and the associated requirement that major apocalyptic figures undergo tests to prove their identity, most commonly through performing the miracle of resurrection. This discourse indicates the need to endorse the religious claims of a given group, which in turn reflects the wider political turmoil of the seventh century and a search for identity and clarification of status in uncertain times. The analysis presented here not only contributes to discussion on the relationship between Jewish and Christian apocalyptic writings of this period, but highlights what potential contacts and conflict as evidenced in this literature can reveal about the state of Jewish-Christian relations at a formative period for the Abrahamic religions.