Kommunikative Kontraste

Abstract

The article examines the terms σωτήρ (Phil 3:20–21) and φιλία (Joh 15:12–17) which are characteristic of a special kind of early Christian speaking and communicating. Early Christianity learns within the linguistic guidelines of its environment to understand and express its own faith. The analysed ambiguous concepts (representative for many other terms) represent communicative contrasts: words which function as a communicative base and at the same time as a vehicle to modify and transform the perception of the addressed readers. As communicative contrasts, these terms promote the language skills of early Christianity and consolidate the identity of early Christian communities within Greek-Roman society.