The Gospel of John in Cultural and Rhetorical Perspective

The Gospel of John in Cultural and Rhetorical Perspective
Author: Jerome H. Neyrey
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 511
Release: 2009-11-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802848664

Johns Gospel has been studied and evaluated and interpreted constantly by theologians throughout the ages. Can anything more possibly be said? Jerome Neyrey says it can, indeed, by interpreting it in two fresh ways by means of ancient rhetoric and by viewing it in its cultural context. / In order to find patterns and concepts that have a bearing on how to read John Neyrey examines the rhetoric of praise and blame described in the ancient encomium, the Greek commonplace on noble death, rules for rhetorical conclusions, and Jewish background materials. He then uses materials from cultural anthropology, such as the effects of limited good and envy, secrecy, and brokerage. Even innocent topics such as time and space have much to say about interpreting the figure of Jesus. / In viewing John through these two lenses, The Gospel of John in Cultural and Rhetorical Perspective brings the book into clear focus as a truly maverick gospel

The Gospel of John

The Gospel of John
Author: Jerome H. Neyrey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 72
Release: 2007
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0521828015

This highly accessible 2007 commentary brings readers into the cultural world of the gospel.

Ethics in the Gospel of John

Ethics in the Gospel of John
Author: Sookgoo Shin
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2018-10-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004387439

In Ethics in the Gospel of John Sookgoo Shin seeks to challenge the dominant scholarly view of John’s ethics as an ineffective and unhelpful companion for moral formation. In order to demonstrate the relevance of John’s ethics, Shin argues that the development of discipleship in John’s Gospel should be understood as moral progress, which was a well-known moral concept in the ancient Mediterranean world. Having drawn an ethical model from the writings of Plutarch, this study aims to identify the undergirding ethical dynamic that shapes John’s moral structure by bringing out the implicit ethical elements that are embedded throughout John’s narratives, and thus suggests a way to read the whole Gospel ethically and appreciatively of its literary characteristics.

Jesus Before the Gospels

Jesus Before the Gospels
Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2016-03-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0062285238

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.

Intercultural Christology in John's Gospel

Intercultural Christology in John's Gospel
Author: Biju Chacko
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2022-07-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506480705

Christology with a planetary vision, blurring the boundaries and breaking the rhetoric of polarities of domination and exclusion, is the need of the hour. It is only by taking seriously these two dimensions (intercultural and subaltern) that christological articulations can be made intelligible, understandable, and relevant. Intercultural Christology in John's Gospel unravels the intercultural intersections and subaltern dimensions of John's Christology. John's Christology, crossing the boundaries of traditional Messianic categories of Judaism, even while echoing those traditions in an intercultural milieu, and creating a hybrid space of "inter" by blurring the categories of "above" and "below," gives an impetus for developing such new expressions in any given subaltern context. Christological articulation in John has a multidimensional orientation: toward God, world, and life. Therefore, John's Christology could be termed a Christology with a planetary vision. John's Gospel articulates its Christology through an intercultural route from a subaltern negotiating space. The Johannine Messiah is a subaltern Messiah, and the Johannine community is a subaltern community. The evangelist is not the one who collaborated with the colonizers. Therefore, the text cannot be treated as a colonial document, as some of the postcolonial readers do. Rather the evangelist resists and disrupts, even while resonating with the surrounding linguistic and conceptual milieu. Therefore, a hermeneutical framework of intercultural resonance and subaltern subversive rhetoric is a key to unlock the Gospel. Such a hermeneutical approach is a viable option in any subaltern context.

The Origins of John’s Gospel

The Origins of John’s Gospel
Author: Stanley E. Porter
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2015-09-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004303162

The essays in The Origins of John’s Gospel, gathered by Stanley E. Porter and Hughson T. Ong, either survey or discuss in detail various areas and topics in Johannine scholarship, especially in the study of John’s Gospel. These include the authorship and dating, sources, and traditions of John’s Gospel, its structure and composition, the Johannine community, and Johannine anti-Judaism and the Son of Man sayings. Collectively, these essays offer important contributions to various areas and topics of research relating to the origins of John’s Gospel.

Pastor John, Volume II

Pastor John, Volume II
Author: Brian N. Tebbutt
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2022-01-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666719439

John's Gospel can be both inspiring and bewildering. This book enables insight into the Gospel in a fresh way. How is it that we respond to it as we do? Understanding is enhanced by studying the text and by being aware of the kind of responses we make. Reading and working with it will deepen fellowship and skill in pastoral care. John's text is mined for gems of insight into ourselves and as a rich resource of ample illustrative material for preachers and teachers. This book elucidates chapters five to nine of the Gospel, presenting insights that involve us in the story. The content derives from years of teaching John's Gospel in workshops and reflection groups in varying church contexts. Guidance is given in working in this way and in how we can share our insights with each other in the light of the text. This experience of John's Gospel is illuminated using recent ways of reading. What the story means is conveyed in detailed Bible study. It becomes real for us. How this happens is explored by understanding the process of reading and by observing our reactions to the text. John's Christ becomes central to who we are.

Pastor John

Pastor John
Author: Brian N. Tebbutt
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2020-08-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532693125

Puzzled by John? This exciting book illuminates the Gospel in a completely fresh way. Reading and working with it will deepen fellowship and skill in pastoral care. The text is mined for gems of insight into ourselves, and as a rich resource of ample illustrative material for preachers and teachers. Poetry, prose, and hymn references abound. Pastor John elucidates the first four chapters of John’s Gospel, presenting new insights into the text in a way that involves us in the story. When we read, we come nearer to Jesus, who is always with us anyway! A guide is provided for understanding ourselves, experienced by sharing with each other. Precise guidance is given for workshops, where all contribute something of themselves in the light of the text. This experience of John’s Gospel is illuminated using the latest way of reading the text. What the story means is conveyed in detailed Bible study. It becomes real for us, and this reality is explored by understanding the process of reading and observing our reactions to the text. John’s Christ becomes central to who we are.

A History of the Quests for the Historical Jesus, Volume 2

A History of the Quests for the Historical Jesus, Volume 2
Author: Colin Brown
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
Total Pages: 753
Release: 2022-11-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310125626

A comprehensive, two-volume reassessment of the quests for the historical Jesus that details their origins and underlying presuppositions as well as their ongoing influence on today's biblical and theological scholarship. Jesus' life and teaching is important to every question we ask about what we believe and why we believe it. And yet there has never been common agreement about his identity, intentions, or teachings—even among first-century historians and scholars. Throughout history, different religious and philosophical traditions have attempted to claim Jesus and paint him in the cultural narratives of their heritage, creating a labyrinth of conflicting ideas. From the evolution of orthodoxy and quests before Albert Schweitzer's famous "Old Quest," to today's ongoing questions about criteria, methods, and sources, A History of the Quests for the Historical Jesus not only chronicles the developments but lays the groundwork for the way forward. The late Colin Brown brings his scholarly prowess in both theology and biblical studies to bear on the subject, assessing not only the historical and exegetical nuts and bolts of the debate about Jesus of Nazareth but also its philosophical, sociological, and theological underpinnings. Instead of seeking a bedrock of "facts," Brown stresses the role of hermeneutics in formulating questions and seeking answers. Colin Brown was almost finished with the manuscript at the time of his passing in 2019. Brought to its final form by Craig A. Evans, this book promises to become the definitive history and assessment of the quests for the historical Jesus. Volume One (sold separately) covers the period from the beginnings of Christianity to the end of World War II. Volume Two covers the period from the post-War era through contemporary debates.

Hearing Revelation 1–3

Hearing Revelation 1–3
Author: Jerome H. Neyrey SJ
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2023-07-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666787515

Recipients of Revelation listened to it, and heard it like other oral performances. Greek recipients knew not only Greek, but conventional ways of rhetorical presentation typical of Greek culture. They knew how works began (with a proemium, but with focus on speaker's ethos). Ethos of speaker was the first proof of persuading, and so audiences knew what one sounded like. They heard Revelation 1 as a continuous presentation, not like scholars pausing to examine each tile in the mosaic. The Speaker of Revelation 1-3 is Jesus - not John, who delivers God's revelation to the seven churches. After presenting himself in an impressive bodily manner, called an ecphrasis, he addresses seven individual letters. He repeats appropriate aspects of his ethos in his address of each letter. The letter type is solely that of praise and blame. Because this type is opaque to modern readers, the monograph presents examples of letters of praise and of blame. Greek hearers, moreover, valued more than anything praise, honor and respect, and so these cultural values are presented in some detail. Finally, each of the seven letters is then examined in the light of praise and blame, which in this context means in terms of common understanding of the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, courage, and temperance. The two dominant virtues turn out to be justice and courage. Since most commentators on Revelation consider the cities from the eyes of elite writers of antiquity, the mean character of urban life needs be brought into focus. Only then can the virtues of the non-elites be identified and given proper praise or blame. Whatever else goes on in Revelation, the first three chapters are thoroughly Greek in composition, structure, and values.