Part 1
After taking a shuttle to Jerusalem, Norm stays in the middle of the Muslim quarter. He spends about a week walking around the Muslim quarter, just getting used to the place, including prayer times (39). Norm begins his search with John the Baptist after military action causes Bethlehem to be shut down. After talk to Jesse (his roommate’s uncle) and Prophet Jonathan, emailing Professor Guilder, speaking to another professor, and doing various readings, Norm begins to get a sense of how John the Baptist fits into the picture, historically speaking. While speaking to all of these people, Norm physically follows the path of John the Baptist. Thus Norm finishes his first quest.
Part 2
This chapter mainly focused on John the Baptist, and how he fit in the Bible story, as well as how he fit historically. The thing that stuck out to me the most was idea that John’s elderly parents died when he was younger, and that he was possibly raised by a group of Essenes. While it would make sense given the location of the Qumran, would it not make more sense for John to have been raised by his next of kin? His parents, being elderly, would have made arrangements for him to be raised by another member of the family, or even a family friend, instead of leaving him homeless. I believe the idea at the end of the chapter, that John was following the route of Elijah awaiting his return, makes more sense. Especially given the political and social upheaval that was going on at the time, it would make sense for people to believe the end was near.
After taking a shuttle to Jerusalem, Norm stays in the middle of the Muslim quarter. He spends about a week walking around the Muslim quarter, just getting used to the place, including prayer times (39). Norm begins his search with John the Baptist after military action causes Bethlehem to be shut down. After talk to Jesse (his roommate’s uncle) and Prophet Jonathan, emailing Professor Guilder, speaking to another professor, and doing various readings, Norm begins to get a sense of how John the Baptist fits into the picture, historically speaking. While speaking to all of these people, Norm physically follows the path of John the Baptist. Thus Norm finishes his first quest.
Part 2
This chapter mainly focused on John the Baptist, and how he fit in the Bible story, as well as how he fit historically. The thing that stuck out to me the most was idea that John’s elderly parents died when he was younger, and that he was possibly raised by a group of Essenes. While it would make sense given the location of the Qumran, would it not make more sense for John to have been raised by his next of kin? His parents, being elderly, would have made arrangements for him to be raised by another member of the family, or even a family friend, instead of leaving him homeless. I believe the idea at the end of the chapter, that John was following the route of Elijah awaiting his return, makes more sense. Especially given the political and social upheaval that was going on at the time, it would make sense for people to believe the end was near.
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