The Name John

[donquixote99]

Both OT and NT are collections written over a long period of time. In the OT one can trace the evolution of the Hebrew conception of their god from their local tribal god (who had to be physically carried with them when they migrated to Egypt) to Big Ruler of the Universe. Early on there are 'my god's bigger than your god' contests; only later do they get to 'my god is the only god your god doesn't even exist.'

Jesus was a Hebrew moral reform preacher, who took the existing Hebrew religion of the Pharisees (riches and social status are the marks of god's favor) and stood it on it's head. See Luke 18:9-14 for this inversion in plain form. NT chronicles the evolution of new Roman-Empire-wide religion out of the radically-revised Hebrewism of Jesus.