Who Was John the Baptist? | A Conversation with Dr. James F. McGrath

About this episode

Samuel Loncar interviews Dr. James F. McGrath about the historical and religious significance of John the Baptist.

Who really was John the Baptist? A prophet? An antiestablishment rebel and activist? Jesus' teacher? In this Becoming Human Conversation, philosopher and scholar of religion Samuel Loncar interviews the scholar James F. McGrath about his groundbreaking research on John the Baptist. James F. McGrath, author of "Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist" and "John of History, Baptist of Faith: The Quest for the Historical Baptizer," and the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, shows how John is a fascinating religious figure in his own right. Aside from his influence on Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, John is also revered by the Mandaeans, the last extant gnostic sect, who revere John the Baptist and see themselves as part of his prophetic tradition. ABOUT James F. McGrath Dr. James F. McGrath is the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University. His PhD is from the University of Durham in England. His interests include early Christianity, John the Baptist and the Mandaeans, science fiction, and the intersection of religion and science. He blogs at ReligionProf on the Patheos web site…

People in this episode

Host: Samuel Loncar

Guest: Dr. James F. McGrath

Topics covered

• John the Baptist
• religious figures
• early Christianity
• Mandaeans
• philosophy of religion

Keywords

• John the Baptist
• James F. McGrath
• early Christianity
• Mandaeans
• religion
• philosophy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Butler University

Books & works: Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist, John of History, Baptist of Faith: The Quest for the Historical Baptizer

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