Navigating the Living Waters of the Gospel of John

by Paul N. Anderson

Overview

The fourth gospel has been called “a stream in which a child can wade and an elephant can swim.” John has long been used as a primer for newcomers to faith, and it continues to be a favorite devotional reading for young and old alike. On the other hand, John continues to be an ongoing storm center among the finest of Bible scholars and theologians. John’s content, complete with its theological tensions, evoked three centuries of debate in the early church, and it continues to produce great torrents of diverse scholarly opinion on a great number of issues into the twenty-first century. The question I want to explore is Why? What is it that renders John so reader friendly on one hand, and so theologically puzzling on the other? Put otherwise, how does one navigate the “living waters” of the Gospel of John?

Product Details

BN ID:	2940148172406
Publisher:	Pendle Hill Publications
Publication date:	02/05/2014
Series:	Pendle Hill Pamphlets , #352
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	30
File size:	93 KB

About the Author

Paul Anderson is Professor of Biblical and Quaker Studies at George Fox University where he has taught since 1989. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow, his M.Div. from the Earlham School of Religion, and his undergraduate degree from Malone College. Paul is editor of Quaker Religious Thought and has published many essays on biblical and Quaker themes.

This essay was first presented as a Monday Evening Lecture in a series on the Bible and contemporary scholarship, held at Pendle Hill, October, 2000.