What We Have Heard from the Beginning: The Past, Present and Future of Johannine Studies

by Tom Thatcher (Editor)

The past fifty years have seen powerful shifts in the methods and objectives of Biblical Studies. The study of the Johannine Literature, in particular, has seen a proliferation of new approaches, as well as innovative exegetical and theological conclusions. This volume surveys the emerging landscape from the perspective of scholars who have shaped the field. Written in a conversational and reflective tone, the articles offer an excellent overview of major issues in the study of the Fourth Gospel and 1-2-3 John.

Contents

Abbreviations (xi)

Preface: The Purpose and Plan of This Book, Tom Thatcher (xv)

1 Second Thoughts on the Fourth Gospel, John Ashton (1)
Response: Why Should Historical Criticism Continue to have a Place in Johannine Studies? Wendy E. S. North (19)

2 In Search of a New Synthesis, Johannes Beutler, S.J. (23)
Response: Johannine Exegesis in Transition — Johannes Beutler’s Search for a New Synthesis, Carsten Claussen (35)

3 The Scriptures and the Words and Works of Jesus, Peder Borgen (39)
Response: Living Word(s) and the Bread of Life, Michael Labahn (59)

4 Three Revolutions, a Funeral, and Glimmers of a Challenging Dawn, Thomas L. Brodie, O.P. (63)
Response: Inspecting an Aerial Photograph of John’s Engagement with Sources, Catrin H. Williams (83)

5 Reflections Upon a Johannine Pilgrimage, D. A. Carson (87)
Response: Progress and Regress in Recent Johannine Scholarship—Reflections Upon the Road Ahead, Andreas J. Köstenberger (105)

6 Pursuing the Elusive, R. Alan Culpepper (109)
Response: To What End, Methodology? Stan Harstine (123)

7 The Gospel and the Epistles of John Read against the Background of the History of the Johannine Communities, Marinus de Jonge (127)
Response: The Combination of a Literary and a Historical
Approach to the Gospel of John, Peter G. Kirchschlaeger (145)

8 The Gospel of John and the Signs Gospel, Robert T. Fortna (149)
Response: The Fourth Gospel in First–Century Media Culture, Tom Thatcher (159)

9 What’s the Meaning of This?—Relections Upon a Life and Career, Robert Kysar (163)
Response: Is History History? David Rensberger (179)

10 The Johannine Community among Jewish and Other Early Christian Communities, J. Louis Martyn (183)
Response: Reading History in the Fourth Gospel, Adele Reinhartz (191)

11 Into Narrative and Beyond, Francis J. Moloney, S.D.B. (195)
Response: The Beyond Beckons, Mary Coloe (211)

12 The Prologue and Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John, John F. O’Grady (215)
Response: The Prologue and Jesus’ Final Prayer, Dorothy Lee (229)

13 The Signs of the Messiah and the Quest for Eternal Life, John Painter (233)
Response: The Johannine Conception of Authentic Faith as a Response to the Divine Initiative, Paul N. Anderson (257)

14 Remaining in His Word: From Faith to Faith by Way of the Text, Sandra M. Schneiders, I.H.M. (261)
Response: Ideologies Past and Present, Colleen Conway (277)

15 Johannine Studies and the Geopolitical: Reflections upon Absence and Irruption, Fernando F. Segovia (281)
Response: Toward an Interdisciplinary Approach to Johannine Studies, Francisco Lozada Jr. (307)

16 The Problem of History in John, D. Moody Smith (311)
Response: Genre, Sources, and History, Craig S. Keener (321)

17 Tradition, Exegetical Formation, and the Leuven Hypothesis, Gilbert Van Belle (325)
Response: The Leuven Hypothesis in C/catholic Perspective, Peter J. Judge (339)

18 The Road Ahead—Three Aspects of Johannine Scholarship, Urban C. von Wahlde (343)
Response: Combining Key Methodologies in Johannine Studies, Felix Just, S.J. (355)

Works Cited (359)

Contributors (391)

Paperback

First published January 1, 2007