DESCRIPTION: This CATS seminar introduces students to perennially challenging and important issues in the study of the Gospel of John, including its relationship to the other Gospels; the contexts in which the Johannine tradition grew; the presentation of Jesus in its historical and theological dimensions; and the Gospel of John and its historical and contemporary relationship to Judaism.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: NT824/NS524 prepares students primarily for the ministry of teaching and research, focusing on critical issues for advanced study in the Gospel of John.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students completing this course will have demonstrated (1) a fundamental knowledge of the Gospel of John; (2) an acquaintance with a range of cultural and historical matters that may inform our understanding of the text; (3) further practice in and development of skills in interpreting the text; and (4) acquaintance and critical interaction with contemporary scholarship.

COURSE FORMAT: The class meets weekly for three-hour sessions.

REQUIRED READING FROM THIS LIST:

Anderson, Paul; Just, Felix, S.J.; Thatcher, Tom, eds. John, Jesus and History, Volume 1: Critical Appraisals of Critical Views. Symposium Series 44. Atlanta: SBL, 2007. ISBN: 978-1589832930. $37.95.

Anderson, Paul; Just, Felix, S.J.; Thatcher, Tom, eds. John, Jesus and History, Volume 2: Aspects of Historicity in the Fourth Gospel. Atlanta: SBL, 2009. ISBN: 978-1589833920. $49.95.

Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament's Christology of Divine Identity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008. ISBN: 978-0802845597. $34.00.

Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the Gospel of John. Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-0300140156. $37.00.

Carter, Warren. John and Empire: Initial Explorations. T. & T. Clark International, 2008. ISBN: 978-0567028402. $42.95.

Hurtado, Larry. Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005. ISBN: 978-0802831675. $36.00.

Martyn, J. L. History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel. Rev. and expanded ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2003. ISBN: 978-0664225346. $29.95.

Reinhartz, Adele. Befriending the Beloved Disciple. Continuum, 2002. ISBN: 978-0826414465. $21.95.

Smith, D. Moody. John among the Gospels. 2d. ed. Columbia: University of South Carolina, 2001. ISBN: 978-1570034466. $19.95.

Thatcher, Tom. Greater than Caesar: Christology and Empire in the Fourth Gospel. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009. ISBN: 978-0800663391. $29.00.

Thompson, Marianne Meye. The God of the Gospel of John. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001. ISBN: 978-0802847348. $24.00.

Other reading from articles in journals and on reserve and primary sources.

1. Regular attendance, preparation for, and participation in class discussions, with assigned short presentations on passages to be discussed for the week; 10% of the grade.

2. Greek facilitation; 10%.

3. Seminar presentation on required readings; 20%.

4. Four brief critical response papers to weekly reading; counting 20% together.

5. A final research paper, of 7000-8000 words inclusive of footnotes on a passage from or topic related to the Gospel of John; due March 11; 40% .