The Fourth Gospel
The Fourth Gospel

Author: John Shelby Spong

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2013-06-11

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 1443424013

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Bestselling and controversial bishop and teacher John Shelby Spong reveals the subversive, mystical wisdom of the writer of the Gospel of John and how his teachings point us forward in the twenty-first century In The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic, Spong turns his attention to the Gospel of John, the fourth Gospel in the Bible. Contrary to what is most often believed, he writes that this gospel was misinterpreted by the framers of the fourth-century creeds to be a literal account of the life of Jesus. In fact, it is a literary, interpretive retelling of the events in Jesus’ life through the medium of Jewish worship traditions and fictional characters, from Nicodemus and Lazarus to the “Beloved Disciple.” The Fourth Gospel not only recaptures the original message of this gospel, but also provides us with a radical new dimension to the claim that in the humanity of Jesus the reality of God has been met and engaged. This book offers a fresh way to read the Gospel of John and a unique primer about how to be a Christian in the post-Christian twenty-first century.

The Scriptural Tale in the Fourth Gospel
The Scriptural Tale in the Fourth Gospel

Author: Edward H. Gerber

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-09-27

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 9004326553

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A more nuanced view of the Fourth Gospel’s media nature suggests a new and promising paradigm for assessing expansive and embedded uses of scripture in this work. The majority of studies exploring the Fourth Evangelist’s use of scripture to date have approached the Fourth Gospel as the product of a highly gifted writer, who carefully interweaves various elements and figures from scripture into the canvas of his completed document. The present study attempts to calibrate a literary approach to the Fourth Gospel’s use of scripture with an appreciation for oral poetic influences, whereby an orally-situated composer’s use of traditional references and compositional strategy could be of one and the same piece. Most importantly, pre-formed story-patterns—thick with referential meaning—were used in the construction of new works. The present study makes the case that the Fourth Evangelist has patterned his story of Jesus after a retelling of the story of Adam & Israel in two interrelated ways: first in the prologue, and then in the body of the Gospel as a whole.

How John Works
How John Works

Author: Douglas Estes

Publisher: SBL Press

Published: 2016-10-07

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0884141470

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Essential classroom resource for New Testament courses In this book, a group of international scholars go in detail to explain how the author of the Gospel of John uses a variety of narrative strategies to best tell his story. More than a commentary, this book offers a glimpse at the way an ancient author created and used narrative features such as genre, character, style, persuasion, and even time and space to shape a dramatic story of the life of Jesus. Features: An introduction to the Fourth Gospel through its narrative features and dynamics Fifteen features of story design that comprise the Gospel of John Short, targeted essays about how John works that can be used as starting points for the study of other Gospels/texts

Theology and History in the Fourth Gospel
Theology and History in the Fourth Gospel

Author: Jörg Frey

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 9781481310345

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Fourth Gospel is deeply shaped by its remarkably high Christology. It depicts the earthly Jesus, the incarnate one, as fully divine. This unrelenting Christology has led interpreters, both ancient and modern, to question the historical value of John's Gospel. For many, the Gospel is just theology. It is to the vexed relationship between history and theology that Jörg Frey turns in Theology and History in the Fourth Gospel. John's theological obsession with Christology might suggest that history counts for little in the Gospel. But, as Frey argues, the Gospel's clear and central claim is that John narrates the story of Jesus of Nazareth, his ministry, and his death, as "factual," and that this narrated "history" is foundational for the Christian message. Frey traces the Gospel's use of the available historical tradition by chiefly drawing from Mark and the Johannine community. Even if the Gospel of John used this received witness in a remarkably free manner, replotting and renarrating traditional episodes and even creatively staging new episodes, Frey contends that the historical life and person of Jesus remain central to John's enterprise. In the end, Frey warns that Johannine interpretation will miss the intention of the Gospel and the interpretive perspective of the evangelist if it remains preoccupied merely with questions of historical accuracy. The interpretive goal is to "let John be John," and, as Frey shows, readers will always yield to the priority of theology over history in the Fourth Gospel. In John's telling of the Christ story, the significance of history lies precisely in its disclosure of theological meaning, just as the significance of the historical Jesus is only understood in the theological language of Christology.

The Mystical Way in the Fourth Gospel
The Mystical Way in the Fourth Gospel

Author: L. William Countryman

Publisher: Bloomsbury T&T Clark

Published: 1995-01-01

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 9781563381034

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Here is a sustained literary-critical reading of John's Gospel in terms of mystical theology. Arguing that John "is guiding, perhaps at times impelling, the reader along a path that leads from conversion through Christian initiation to mystical enlightenment and union," Professor Countryman suggests that this concern controls the Gospel's literary structure and unity. He demonstrates this argument through a fresh and readable translation of the Fourth Gospel, offering a new way of reading John that has direct relevance to Christian life today. The chapters in the book follow the progress of the would-be mystic from initial conversion through baptism and Eucharist to mystical enlightenment. In addition to this mystical program, and integrated with the narrative of the Gospel, is a theological interpretation of Jesus which explains why he is centrally important for the mystic. "An appealing and attractive interpretation that deserves close attention." Adris Newsletter L.William Countryman is Professor of New Testament at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and the author of many books, including Good News of Jesus, The Language of Ordination, and Biblical Authority or Biblical Tyranny all published by Trinity Press International.

Character Studies in the Fourth Gospel
Character Studies in the Fourth Gospel

Author: Hunt, et al

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 746

ISBN-13: 0802873928

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Using various narrative approaches and methodologies, an international team of forty-four Johannine scholars here offers probing essays related to individual characters and group characters in the Gospel of John. These essays present fresh perspectives on characters who play a major role in the Gospel (Peter, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, Thomas, and many others), but they also examine characters who have never before been the focus of narrative analysis (the men of the Samaritan woman, the boy with the loaves and fishes, Barabbas, and more). Taken together, the essays shed new light on how complex and nuanced many of these characters are, even as they stand in the shadow of Jesus. Readers of this volume will be challenged to consider the Gospel of John anew.

Love in the Gospel of John
Love in the Gospel of John

Author: Francis J. SDB Moloney

Publisher: Baker Academic

Published: 2013-11-19

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 144124574X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The command to love is central to the Gospel of John. Internationally respected scholar Francis Moloney offers a thorough exploration of this theme, focusing not only on Jesus's words but also on his actions. Instead of merely telling people that they must love one another, Jesus acts to make God's love known and calls all who follow him to do the same. This capstone work on John's Gospel uses a narrative approach to delve deeply into a theme at the heart of the Fourth Gospel and the life of the Christian church. Uniting rigorous exegesis with theological and pastoral insight, it makes a substantive contribution to contemporary Johannine scholarship.

The Gospel Story Bible
The Gospel Story Bible

Author: Martin Machowski

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9781936768127

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Based on the ESV Bible, this unique, illustrated Bible storybook uses 156 stories to present God's plan of salvation in Christ from its opening narrative in Genesis to its finale in Revelation."--Provided by publisher.

Jesus Before the Gospels
Jesus Before the Gospels

Author: Bart D. Ehrman

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2016-03-01

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 0062285238

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The bestselling author of Misquoting Jesus, one of the most renowned and controversial Bible scholars in the world today examines oral tradition and its role in shaping the stories about Jesus we encounter in the New Testament—and ultimately in our understanding of Christianity. Throughout much of human history, our most important stories were passed down orally—including the stories about Jesus before they became written down in the Gospels. In this fascinating and deeply researched work, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman investigates the role oral history has played in the New Testament—how the telling of these stories not only spread Jesus’ message but helped shape it. A master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, Ehrman draws on a range of disciplines, including psychology and anthropology, to examine the role of memory in the creation of the Gospels. Explaining how oral tradition evolves based on the latest scientific research, he demonstrates how the act of telling and retelling impacts the story, the storyteller, and the listener—crucial insights that challenge our typical historical understanding of the silent period between when Jesus lived and died and when his stories began to be written down. As he did in his previous books on religious scholarship, debates on New Testament authorship, and the existence of Jesus of Nazareth, Ehrman combines his deep knowledge and meticulous scholarship in a compelling and eye-opening narrative that will change the way we read and think about these sacred texts.

How God Became King
How God Became King

Author: Tom Wright

Publisher: SPCK

Published: 2012-04-12

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 0281068909

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

'It has been slowly dawning on me over many years that there is a fundamental problem deep at the heart of Christian faith and practice as I have known them . . . we have all forgotten what the four Gospels are about.' With that surprising assertion, Tom Wright launches this ground-breaking work in which he helps us to see the gospel story in radically a new light, and to acknowledge that, for many generations, the Church has been avoiding its full impact and holding back from proclaiming its full meaning. 'Classic Wright: clear, accessible, robust, engaging and challenging.' Paula Gooder in Third Way 'Scholarly, accessible, insightful and provocative.' Christianity 'Wright argues compellingly that the twin themes of kingdom and cross are inseparably linked. . . This is a much-needed reorientation. The book makes its case for 'rethinking' cogently and deserves widespread attention.' Theology