SYLLABUS

This course will involve a study of John both as literature and in relation to its historical setting. More information will be provided as the semester progresses on the class home page which can be reached through the following address: http://blue.butler.edu/~jfmcgrat/john/

 

 D. Moody Smith's commentary on John (Abingdon New Testament Commentary) will be the textbook for our course. Other academic commentaries (listed below) can be substituted with the professor's permission (it would be advantageous to the course if we had students reading different commentaries and sharing from these different scholars' perspectives in our discussions).  Please note that Smith's earlier commentary in the Proclamation Commentary series is a much smaller book and is not adequate for the purpose of this class.

 Students must also have a copy of the Bible in modern English which they can read and bring with them to class.

 

 

 

                                                    OTHER RECOMMENDED COMMENTARIES

                                         and see also... 

 

Bibliography

Ashton, John, Understanding the Fourth Gospel, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991.

Ashton, John, Studying John. Approaches to the Fourth Gospel, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994.

Barrett, C. K., The Gospel According to St. John. An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text, London: SPCK (Second Edition), 1978.

Barrett, C. K., Essays on John, London: SPCK, 1982.

Beasley-Murray, John (Word Biblical Commentary, 36), Dallas, Texas: Word, 1987.

Brown, Raymond E., The Gospel According to John (2 volumes), New York: Doubleday, 1966.

Brown, Raymond E., The Community of the Beloved Disciple, London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1979.

Dodd, C. H., The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, Cambridge University Press, 1953.

Dodd, C. H., Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel, Cambridge University Press, 1963.

Grayston, Kenneth, The Gospel of John (Epworth Commentaries), London: Epworth Press, 1990.

Harvey, A.E., Jesus on Trial. A Study in the Fourth Gospel, London: SPCK, 1976.

Jesus in Johannine Tradition, ed. R. T. Fortna and T. Thatcher, Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001.

Lindars, Barnabas, The Gospel of John, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans/London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1972.

Martyn, J. Louis, History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel (Second edition), Nashville: Abingdon, 1979.

McGrath, James F., John's Apologetic Christology, Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Michaels, J. Ramsey, John (New International Biblical Commentary), Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1984.

Moloney, Francis J., Belief in the Word and Signs and Shadows, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996.

Pryor, John W., John: Evangelist of the Covenant People, Downers Grove: IVP, 1992.

Rensberger, David, Johannine Faith and Liberating Community, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1988.

Robinson, John A. T., The Priority of John, London: SCM Press, 1985.

Smalley, Stephen, John: Evangelist and Interpreter, Paternoster, 1978.

Smith, D. Moody, Johannine Christianity. Essays on its Setting, Sources, and Theology, Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1984.

Smith, D. Moody, John Among the Gospels. The Relationship in Twentieth-Century Research, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

Smith, D. Moody, The Theology of the Gospel of John, Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Thompson, Marianne Meye, The Humanity of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988.

Thompson, Marianne Meye, The God of the Gospel of John, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.

Witherington, Ben III, John's Wisdom. A Commentary on the Fourth Gospel, Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox, 1995.

 

 

The following are available online [http://www.netlibrary.com]

Brodie, Thomas L., The Gospel of John: A Literary and Theological Commentary  (Oxford University Press). 

Cosby, Michael R., Portraits of Jesus: An Inductive Approach to the Gospels  (Louisville, Ky. Westminster John Knox Press, 1999)

Culpepper, Alan R., John The Son of Zebedee: The Life of a Legend (Columbia, S.C. University of South Carolina, 1994) 

Exploring the Gospel of John: in honor of D. Moody Smith, edited by R. Alan Culpepper and C. Clifton Black (Louisville, KY.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996).

Hawkin, David J., The Johannine World: Reflections On the Theology of the Fourth Gospel and Contemporary Society (SUNY, 1996).  

Kysar, Robert, John The Maverick Gospel (Louisville, KY.: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993)

McGrath, James F., John's Apologetic Christology (Cambridge University Press, 2001)

Ringe, Sharon H., Wisdom's Friends: Community and Christology in the Fourth Gospel (Louisville, KY.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1999).

Sloyan, Gerard, John (Atlanta: Westminster John Knox, 1988).

Stanton, Graham, The Gospels and Jesus (Oxford University Press, 1989).

Stibbe, Mark W. G., John's Gospel (New York: Routledge, 1994).

For other general readings about the Gospel of John, click this link.

 

 

Week	Tuesday	Thursday
I Jan 16	Introduction, syllabus, general information	What is the Gospel of John? [Kysar, John: The Maverick Gospel pp.1-26]
II Jan 23	John as History and Literature [Smith pp. 21-45; Exploring the Gospel of John ch.2]	John 1:1-18  [Kysar pp.27-35]
III Jan 30	John 1:19-2:12	John 2:13-3:21
IV Feb 6	John 3:22-4:3	John 4:4-54
V Feb 13	John 5	TBA
VI Feb 20	John 6	John 7
VII Feb 27	John 8	John 9
VIII Mar 6	John 10	John 11:1-54
IX Mar 20	John 11:55-12:50	John 13
X Mar 27	John 14	John 15
XI Apr 3	John 16	John 17
XII Apr 10	John 18	NO CLASS
XIII Apr 17	John 19	John 20
XIV Apr 24	John 21	Overview and conclusion

 

Assignments:

1)      Instead of requiring overnight writes and similar assignments, this semester I am asking students to collaborate on improving the site http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Gospel_of_John. Each student should contribute the equivalent of at least one paragraph for each chapter based on their reading in high-quality academic books about the Gospel of John. Although I will be able to observe your contributions in the edit history (you will need to create a user account), please also save a copy of the page before and after each time you edit it, for verification purposes. Please note that your contribution will involve not only writing complete paragraphs and posting them on the site, but also editing and rewriting what is there, which will at times include rewriting (and potentially interacting with on  the discussion page) other contributors, including your classmates!  Guidelines for formatting wiki entries can be found at the following pages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Wikitext,  http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?TextFormattingRules,  http://wikkawiki.org/FormattingRules

2)      Each student must make a 5-minute presentation to the class, introducing the chapter(s) to be studied on that day, and the issues of interpretation that arise from it. The aim of the presentation should be not only to inform one’s fellow students, but also to raise issues for discussion and provoke thought and reflection. In preparing one’s presentation, students should use at least two other sources of reference in addition to any relevant reading assigned from the textbooks. The materials prepared for one’s presentation, even if only consisting of a bibliography and outline, must be handed in on the date the presentation is made. You are free to talk about what the passage in question means to you, but you should also interact with commentaries and other works you have read which treat the chapters or related topics in a serious, academic manner.

3)      A term paper of roughly 8 pages will be written on one of the following topics:

a) What can we know about the community that produced the Gospel of John?

b) Did John son of Zebedee really write the Gospel that bears his name?

c) Does the Gospel of John’s depiction of Jesus depart from Jewish monotheism?

d) Does the Gospel of John provide us with useful verifiable information about the historical figure of Jesus?

e) Have all traces of the humanity of Jesus been overwhelmed in John’s depiction of Jesus as the incarnation of the pre-existent Word?

Other topics may be chosen in consultation with the professor. Please note that the term paper should not only make frequent reference to scholarly studies of the topic in question, but should also be written in dialogue with the Gospel of John itself.

 

Grades:  The final grade for each student will be made up of the following percentages

In-class presentation:                 15%

Attendance and participation:     25%

Wiki project:                              25%

Term paper:                              35%

 

 

DISCLAIMER: This syllabus is protected by international law regarding copyright and the preservation of endangered species. Any resemblance to any other course or syllabus living or dead is completely coincidental. No animals were harmed in the making of this syllabus. Some students may have been. If you have suffered ill effects after taking syllabi in the past, please consult your physician before using this one. The surgeon general has determined that smoking this syllabus can be hazardous to your health. Not intended for use as a floatation device.