ABSTRACT
Ascetic practices are evident in John the Baptist, and in various aspects of Christ's life, such as His withdrawal into the desert to pray, the simple non-materialistic life shared with itinerant disciples and the passing on of charismatic abilities. From its earliest manifestation in the desert, asceticism drew inspiration from the Bible, and biblical teachings on the body greatly influenced Christian moral teachings and practices. Twentieth-century thinking about the biblical presentation of the relationship between anthropology and Christology was much shaped by Rudolph Bultmann. Some of the Jewish novels which pre-date the Rabbinic tradition illustrate the essential neutrality of the physical body as a factor in human sinfulness. Just as in Hebrew so in the Greek of the New Testament there are a range of terms used, in a flexible and unsystematic manner, to denote man in his entirety, and in the various parts which make up that humanity.
