Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-115) / The purpose of this study is to critically analyse selected scholarly views on the visionary experiences during Jesus’ baptism. Modern scholars have different opinions about the reports in the New Testament on Jesus’ baptismal visionary phenomena. Some scholars interpreted the events as Jesus’ actual seeing or vision and others accept it as literary creations by the authors, to make sense of the reports on seeing and hearing that are hard to understand. Reports like a Spirit descending in the form of a dove are extraordinary for most people and pose interpretive challenges. The two distinct trends identified in the study of visionary experiences are those who take the text on the visions literally and those who see them as literary creations. There is a new trend in biblical scholarship, which is comparative and invokes insights from cross-cultural research in order to understand the accounts of the visions as altered states of consciousness (ASC). These views are also presented, compared and evaluated selecting three major views from modern New Testament scholars. Among the scholars identified, who take the baptism visions literally, are Dunn, Meier, Marcus, Hurtado, Borg and Webb. The scholars selected, who consider the baptism visions as literary creations, are Sanders, Crossan, Miller and Strijdom. The scholars, who contributed to the new development in interpreting the texts on visionary experiences as ASC, are Pilch, Davies and DeMaris. Pilch uses the theoretical model of ASC and understands it differently from those used by Davies and DeMaris on which they base their interpretations. A scientific explanation of ASC is built from theories about how the brain and culture, together, create certain states of consciousness. All these views are analysed based on the scholarly interpretations from the three definitive trends in the visions research, comparing the caretaker versus critical at a meta-analysis level. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.A. (Biblical archaeology)

The most popular paradigm for Jesus is 'Jesus as the Divine Saviour'. This image is inadequate for understanding the historical Jesus, because it is also inaccurate as an image for the Christian life. Marcus J Borg claims that the Christian life is about a relationship with God that involves us in a journey of transformation. In advocating the 'Third Quest', Borg develops an alternative image of 'Jesus as Jewish mystic ', contrary to the idea of 'Jesus as Jewish/Christian Messiah '. The image of Borg involves five universal religious personality types. The paradigm shift from 'Jesus as the Divine Saviour' to that of 'Jesus as Jewish mystic' is investigated as well as the relevance and consequences of this, for everyday religion and the conventional church. A plea for a positive assessment of the issue of the historical Jesus is presented. This could have existential implications for South African society as a whole. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.Th. (New Testament)