Comments on: The Historical Jesus and the Gospel of John http://pursiful.com/2010/07/the-historical-jesus-and-the-gospel-of-john/ Darrell Pursiful's blog Mon, 14 May 2012 13:24:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Bob MacDonald http://pursiful.com/2010/07/the-historical-jesus-and-the-gospel-of-john/comment-page-1/#comment-1978 Bob MacDonald Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:10:52 +0000 http://pursiful.com/?p=2849#comment-1978 If I weren't spending my time on the Psalms and other bits of the writings, I would choose to read John. I wouldn't choose an apocryphal gospel. What sort of counterfoil does one need to the fragmented triple voice of the synoptics? (With their occasional Johannine thunderbolt.) One finds that the one who is beloved creates by faith both history and eternity in one 24 hour day. This is the bread of life that was given for the life of the world. (I can read an allusion to this in the first verses of psalm 27. in drawing near to me to break to eat even my flesh, my troublers and my enemies, they - to me, they stumbled and fell בִּקְרֹב עָלַי מְרֵעִים לֶאֱכֹל אֶת בְּשָׂרִי צָרַי וְאֹיְבַי לִי הֵמָּה כָשְׁלוּ וְנָפָלוּ The eternal life that is in John is also fully intimated in the Psalms and known in the elect of Israel for our sake. Psalm 27 is a case in point. I will post on this one later today or tomorrow if I keep up my intent to read two psalms a day for the next 2 months.) If I weren’t spending my time on the Psalms and other bits of the writings, I would choose to read John. I wouldn’t choose an apocryphal gospel. What sort of counterfoil does one need to the fragmented triple voice of the synoptics? (With their occasional Johannine thunderbolt.) One finds that the one who is beloved creates by faith both history and eternity in one 24 hour day. This is the bread of life that was given for the life of the world. (I can read an allusion to this in the first verses of psalm 27.
in drawing near to me to break to eat even my flesh, my troublers and my enemies, they – to me, they stumbled and fell
בִּקְרֹב עָלַי מְרֵעִים לֶאֱכֹל אֶת בְּשָׂרִי צָרַי וְאֹיְבַי לִי הֵמָּה כָשְׁלוּ וְנָפָלוּ
The eternal life that is in John is also fully intimated in the Psalms and known in the elect of Israel for our sake. Psalm 27 is a case in point. I will post on this one later today or tomorrow if I keep up my intent to read two psalms a day for the next 2 months.)

]]> By: Weekend Fisher http://pursiful.com/2010/07/the-historical-jesus-and-the-gospel-of-john/comment-page-1/#comment-1973 Weekend Fisher Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:48:21 +0000 http://pursiful.com/?p=2849#comment-1973 LOL. (And it's not like the Jesus in GJudas has a distinctively different voice than the narrator. But it's still worth all the excitement.) LOL.

(And it’s not like the Jesus in GJudas has a distinctively different voice than the narrator. But it’s still worth all the excitement.)

]]> By: Paul Anderson and the Future of Johannine Studies | Near Emmaus http://pursiful.com/2010/07/the-historical-jesus-and-the-gospel-of-john/comment-page-1/#comment-1968 Paul Anderson and the Future of Johannine Studies | Near Emmaus Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:49:44 +0000 http://pursiful.com/?p=2849#comment-1968 [...] West, Darrel Pursiful, Ari, and James McGrath have already commented on it but if you’d like an additional [...] [...] West, Darrel Pursiful, Ari, and James McGrath have already commented on it but if you’d like an additional [...]

]]> By: James F. McGrath http://pursiful.com/2010/07/the-historical-jesus-and-the-gospel-of-john/comment-page-1/#comment-1967 James F. McGrath Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:21:11 +0000 http://pursiful.com/?p=2849#comment-1967 Even if the Gospel of John were found more recently, the excitement of its newness wouldn't change the fact that it has a high degree of internal stylistic consistency. The narrator, Jesus, and John the Baptist all speak in the same distinctive fashion. <i>That</i> is the main reason it is less useful than the Synoptics for looking at the historical Jesus, at least as far as his words are concerned. That some details of chronology may have historical value has long been taken seriously. And so I appreciate Paul's work on the Gospel of John, but I don't see that a "Johannine revolution in historical Jesus studies" is likely, to say nothing of whether it would be legitimate in the context of the rules of critical historiography. Even if the Gospel of John were found more recently, the excitement of its newness wouldn’t change the fact that it has a high degree of internal stylistic consistency. The narrator, Jesus, and John the Baptist all speak in the same distinctive fashion. That is the main reason it is less useful than the Synoptics for looking at the historical Jesus, at least as far as his words are concerned. That some details of chronology may have historical value has long been taken seriously. And so I appreciate Paul’s work on the Gospel of John, but I don’t see that a “Johannine revolution in historical Jesus studies” is likely, to say nothing of whether it would be legitimate in the context of the rules of critical historiography.

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