Are there Parables in John? It is Time to Revisit the Question

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 243-276
Author(s):  
Ruben Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Specific Form ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Historical Document ◽  
Memory Research ◽  
Form Criticism

AbstractA point of agreement between historical-Jesus scholarship and Johannine scholarship is that there are no parables in the Fourth Gospel. The following article, however, questions this consensus on both historical and literary grounds. Drawing on the insights of memory research, the following discussion will not seek to peer 'behind' the text, but rather embraces the text itself as a historical document of the memory of Jesus. Additionally, new genre theories necessitate a shift in the application of form criticism to the parable genre. Taking these new methodological insights into account, one finds texts in John that have the same right to be called 'parables' as texts found in the Synoptic Gospels. Furthermore, these Johannine parables, in their specific form of remembering, preserve and reveal important theological aspects of Jesus' parables.

Recent Trends in Gospel of Thomas Research (1989–2011). Part II: Genre, Theology and Relationship to the Gospel of John

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Perrin ◽  
Christopher W. Skinner
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Previous Article ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Scholarly Research ◽  
Gospel Of Thomas ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
The Relationship

This article, the second of a two-part series, examines scholarly research on the Gospel of Thomas between 1989 and 2011. The previous article ( CBR 5.2 [2007]: 183-206) reviewed research on Thomas’s place in discussions of the historical Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels between 1991 and 2006. The current study focuses on three concerns: (1) scholarly opinions of Thomas’s genre, (2) the notoriously difficult problem of identifying Thomas’s theological outlook, and (3) the relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and the Fourth Gospel.

Orality is No Dead-End

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23
Author(s):  
Eric Eve
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Dead End ◽  
Form Criticism ◽  
With Memory

Paul Foster has recently argued that ‘orality’ (along with memory and the Fourth Gospel) is one of three ‘dead-ends’ in historical Jesus scholarship, and that it is more appropriate to continue to use traditional methods such as form criticism. While some of Foster’s criticisms are valid, he does justice neither to the particular scholars he addresses nor to the wider implications of orality studies for New Testament and Historical Jesus scholarship. It is in any case inconsistent to advocate form criticism while denying the usefulness of orality studies. nt scholarship needs to embrace newer approaches to ancient media studies, not spurn them as ‘dead-ends’.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Cefalu
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Eternal Life ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Saint John ◽  
Pauline Theology

The introductory chapter argues that, during the early modern period in England, the Fourth Gospel and First Epistle of Saint John the Evangelist were as influential as Pauline theology and, in many respects, more influential than the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The chapter outlines several features of a distinctive, post-Reformed, English Johannine devotionalism: a high Christology that emphasizes the divine rather than human nature of Christ; the belief that salvation is achieved more through revelation than objective atonement and expiatory sin; a realized eschatology according to which eternal life has been achieved and the end-time has already partially arrived; a robust doctrine of assurance and comfort, usually tied to Johannine eschatology and pneumatology; and a stylistic and rhetorical approach to representing these theological features that often emulates John’s mode of discipleship misunderstanding and irony not found to a comparable degree in the Synoptic writings.

Miracles, Early Modern Science, and Rational Religion

2006 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Early Modern Science ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
John's Gospel

Readers of the New Testament could be excused for thinking that there is little consistency in the manner in which miracles are represented in the Gospels. Those events typically identified as miracles are variously described as “signs” (semeia), “wonders” (terata), “mighty works” (dunameis), and, on occasion, simply “works” (erga). The absence of a distinct terminology for the miraculous suggests that the authors of the Gospels were not working with a formal conception of “miracle”—at least not in that Humean sense of a “contravention of the laws of nature,” familiar to modern readers. Neither is there a consistent position on the evidentiary role of these events. In the synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—Jesus performs miracles on account of the faith of his audience. In John's Gospel, however, it is the performance of miracles that elicits faith. Even in the fourth Gospel, moreover, the role of miracles as signs of Christ's divinity is not straightforward. Thus those who demand a miracle are castigated: “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” Finally, signs and wonders do not provide unambiguous evidence of the sanctity of the miracle worker or of the truth of their teachings. Accordingly, the faithful were warned (in the synoptic Gospels at least) that “false Christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders [in order] to deceive.”

The Form of the Sermon in Hellenistic Judaism and Early Christianity

1984 ◽  
Vol 77 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 277-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Wills
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Great Success ◽  
The Social ◽  
Hellenistic Judaism ◽  
Clear Idea ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Form Criticism

Form criticism has enjoyed great success in providing tangible insights into the social life and liturgical practices of Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity, but until now there has not been forthcoming a clear idea of what Jewish and Christian preaching was like before the middle of the second century CE Scholars are generally agreed that we have little, if any, direct evidence of sermons from this period. The sermons in Acts would seem to be excellent sources, but as Alexander Mac-Donald has pointed out, these are almost all missionary sermons or speeches to outsiders, and are therefore of little use in determining the nature of sermons addressed to coreligionists in the synagogue or church. Morton Smith attempted to isolate sermons in the synoptic gospels, but there he admits that the passages adduced—largely collections of sayings—may not constitute the actual form of oral preaching, but instead reflect a consistent pattern of literary sermon reports. As for Jewish sermons, the midrashic collections were edited later than the period in question, and it is generally unwise to extrapolate backward from these texts. Recent attempts to compare rabbinic homiletical forms with NT texts have been strongly criticized.

scholarly journals Åndsforestillinger og deres enhed i Johannesevangeliet

2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-40
Author(s):  
Jesper Tang Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of Mark ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
The Third ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Cross ◽  
First John ◽  
Ritual Praxis

Inspired by recent developments in Johannine research in Denmark, this article investigates the coherence of the concept of pneuma and paraklêtos in the Johannine writings. On the basis of the clear difference between pneuma and paraklêtos in First John, it differentiates between three different concepts in the Fourth Gospel. The first concerns Jesus’ possession of the pneuma from the incarnation to the death on the cross. It derives from the synoptic tradition, or more probably directly from the Gospel of Mark. The second does not have parallels in the synoptic gospels. It concerns the role of the pneuma for the believers. All instances are connected with the ritual praxis in the community and have remarkable relations to Paul. The third conception includes the Paraclete-sayings and is probably a genuine Johannine invention. It presents the pneuma-paraclete as an active figure that takes the place of the absent Jesus and in many ways authorizes the gospel writing. It is furthermore argued that the logos of the prologue can be understood in specific Stoic terms. The Stoic understanding of logos as being the cognitive side of the material pneuma is able to comprise all aspects of the Johannine pneuma-paraclete even if it is a combination of different ideas. Therefore, the prologue should be understood as a philosophical introduction that makes the reader incorporate all three Johannine pneumata into one conception.

The Function of the Son of Man according to the Synoptic Gospels

1968 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Maddox
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Son Of Man ◽  
Alternative Method ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Status ◽  
Sayings Of Jesus

The discussion about the meaning of the title ‘Son of Man’ continues to be a lively part of the quest for the historical Jesus. Nevertheless the discussion gives the impression of having come to a kind of stalemate; and this suggests that we ought to examine the method by which it has been pursued, to see if a fruitful alternative method can be found. The method usually followed is dominated by these three characteristics:(1) Diligent investigation is devoted to trying to distinguish which of the Son of Man sayings in the gospels (if any) are genuine sayings of Jesus.(2) It is accepted that the synoptic Son of Man sayings fall into three distinct groups, referring (a) to Jesus during his earthly life as Son of Man, (b) to predictions of Jesus' death and resurrection as Son of Man, and (c) to the future coming of the Son of Man at the end of the age. Since the meaning of the title is understood to differ from group to group, and especially between the last group and the other two, the discussion of genuineness has mostly taken the form of asking within which group or groups the genuine sayings are to be sought.(3) With respect to the meaning of the title, attention is concentrated on the status which it connotes (e.g. lowliness, suffering, exaltation, authority, vindication, heavenly enthronement, etc.), but little inquiry is made concerning the function which the Son of Man performs.

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