In recent years, the disciplines of biblical studies and systematic theology have grown apart and largely lost the means of effective communication with one another. Unfortunately, this relational disconnect affects more than just these particular fields of study; it impacts the life of the church as a whole. The first St. Andrews Conference on Scripture and Theology brought leading biblical scholars and systematic theologians together in conversation, seeking to bridge the gap between them. Due to its profound influence on the development of Christian theology, John's Gospel is an ideal base for rekindling fruitful dialogue. The essays here -- taken from the inaugural conference -- consider this Gospel from many angles, addressing a number of key issues that arise from a theological discussion of this text: John's dualism in our pluralist context, historicity and testimony, the treatment of Judaism, Christology, and more. -This is the beginning of a conversation that can only be enriched by variety and experimentation. . . . It is a signpost . . . pointing towards a not-too-distant future when interdisciplinary conversation and collaboration between these two natural partners will become, no longer occasional and surprising, but a normal and essential element in the flourishing of both.- -- Richard Bauckham (from the introduction) Contributors: Paul N. Anderson Stephen C. Barton Richard Bauckham D. Jeffrey Bingham C. Stephen Evans Terry Griffith Martin Hengel Kasper Bro Larsen Tord Larsson Judith Lieu Andrew T. Lincoln Jurgen Moltmann Carl Mosser Stephen Motyer Murray Rae Anastasia Scrutton Marianne Meye Thompson Sigve K. Tonstad Alan J. Torrance Miroslav Volf Rowan Williams

D. Moody Smith treats the theology of the Gospel of John in its narrative form and historical context, both ancient Jewish and early Christian. His work draws upon the most recent scholarly investigations of the Gospel's historical purpose and setting. The major theological themes of the Gospel, especially its christology, are treated in relation to the context of the work, since Johannine theology is not simply a by-product of controversies that produced the Gospel, but is rather related to them in significant ways. As Professor Smith shows, John marks an important watershed between Christianity and Judaism. His study will thus serve equally well as an introduction to the question of the origin of John and as an introduction to its theology. It also consistently pays attention to the relationship of the Gospel to other major New Testament witnesses as well as to its important influence upon the development of later Christian doctrine.

In the light of the research undertaken in this book the author concludes that the so called "anti-Jewish" texts in Johannine Gospel are not directed against the Jews being an ethnic or religious community. The object of the polemic and attacks is not the entire Jewish nation across the span of all the ages but a group of the Jewish leaders or opponents to Jesus in the First Century AD. Looking through the prism of the aposynagogal polemics, one can notice that the state of tension between the Johannine community and the rabbinic Judaism is inter-Jewish, not anti-Jewish, in character. The source of the polemical language of the Fourth Gospel is the Christological discussion in the historical and sociological context (the Messianic confession, the excommunication from the Synagogue, the presence of Samaritans in the Johannine community, the struggle for the preservation of the identity).

Christianity Today 2023 Book Award Finalist (Biblical Studies) John is a Gospel of abundant truth, life, and love. David Ford, one of the world's leading Christian theologians, invites readers into a fresh, profound encounter with Jesus through the Gospel of John in this comprehensive theological commentary. This commentary will appeal to a wide audience, including pastors, church leaders, and other readers interested in the intersection of theology and spirituality. It will also be of interest to professors and students doing research on John and the reception of the Gospel in Christian theology.

Themelios is an international, evangelical, peer-reviewed theological journal that expounds and defends the historic Christian faith. Themelios is published three times a year online at The Gospel Coalition (http://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/) and in print by Wipf and Stock. Its primary audience is theological students and pastors, though scholars read it as well. Themelios began in 1975 and was operated by RTSF/UCCF in the UK, and it became a digital journal operated by The Gospel Coalition in 2008. The editorial team draws participants from across the globe as editors, essayists, and reviewers. General Editor: D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Managing Editor: Brian Tabb, Bethlehem College and Seminary Consulting Editor: Michael J. Ovey, Oak Hill Theological College Administrator: Andrew David Naselli, Bethlehem College and Seminary Book Review Editors: Jerry Hwang, Singapore Bible College; Alan Thompson, Sydney Missionary & Bible College; Nathan A. Finn, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Hans Madueme, Covenant College; Dane Ortlund, Crossway; Jason Sexton, Golden Gate Baptist Seminary Editorial Board: Gerald Bray, Beeson Divinity School Lee Gatiss, Wales Evangelical School of Theology Paul Helseth, University of Northwestern, St. Paul Paul House, Beeson Divinity School Ken Magnuson, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Jonathan Pennington, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary James Robson, Wycliffe Hall Mark D. Thompson, Moore Theological College Paul Williamson, Moore Theological College Stephen Witmer, Pepperell Christian Fellowship Robert Yarbrough, Covenant Seminary

The Johannine Renaissance in Early Modern English Literature and Theology argues that the Fourth Gospel and First Epistle of Saint John the Evangelist were so influential during the early modern period in England as to share with Pauline theology pride of place as leading apostolic texts on matters Christological, sacramental, pneumatological, and political. The book argues further that, in several instances, Johannine theology is more central than both Pauline theology and the Synoptic theology of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, particularly with regard to early modern polemicizing on the Trinity, distinctions between agape and eros, and the ideologies of radical dissent, especially the seventeenth-century antinomian challenge of free grace to traditional Puritan Pietism. In particular, early modern religious poetry, including works by Robert Southwell, George Herbert, John Donne, Richard Crashaw, Thomas Traherne, and Anna Trapnel, embraces a distinctive form of Johannine devotion 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; a robust doctrine of assurance and comfort; and a stylistic and rhetorical approach to representing these theological features that often emulates John's mode of discipleship misunderstanding and dramatic irony. Early modern Johannine devotion assumes that religious lyrics often express a revelatory poetics that aims to clarify, typically through the use of dramatic irony, some of the deepest mysteries of the Fourth Gospel and First Epistle.

The contribution of the Johannine literature to the development of Christian theology, and particularly to Christology, is uncontested, although careful distinction between the implications of its language, especially that of sonship, in a first century 'Jewish' context and in the subsequent theological controversies of the early Church has been particularly important if not always easily sustained. Recent study has shaken off the weight of subsequent Christian appropriation of Johannine language which has sometimes made readers immune to the ambiguities and challenging tensions in its thought. The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies begins with chapters concentrating on discussions of the background and context of the Johannine literature, leading to the different ways of reading the text, and thence to the primary theological themes within them, before concluding with some discussion of the reception of the Johannine literature in the early church. Inevitably, given their different genres and levels of complexity, some chapters pay most if not all attention to the Gospel, whereas others are more able to give a more substantial place to the letters. All the contributors have themselves made significant contributions to their topic. They have sought to give a balanced introduction to the relevant scholarship and debate, but they have also been able to present the issues from their own perspective. The Handbook will help those less familiar with the Johannine literature to get a sense of the major areas of debate and why the field continues to be one of vibrant and exciting study, and that those who are already part of the conversation will find new insights to enliven their own on-going engagement with these writings.

The advances of geologic science, Darwinism, theological liberalism, and higher textual criticism converged in the nineteenth century to present an imposing challenge to biblical authority. The meteoric rise in secular knowledge exerted tremendous pressure on the Protestant theological elite of the time. Their ruminations, conversations, quarrels, and convictions offer penetrating insight into their worldÑinto their perspective on Scripture and authority and how their outlook was challenged, defended, and sometimes changed across time. Moreover, the nineteenth-century imbroglios greatly illuminate a recent controversy over biblical authority. Some influential modern scholars of American religion contend that the doctrine of the inerrancy of the original autographs is a recently contrived theory, a theological aberration decidedly out of concert with mainline orthodoxy since the Reformation. They argue that pressure from biblical critics incited late nineteenth-century Princeton theologians to fabricate the notion as a way to quell criticism against Scripture. American fundamentalists, they insist, unwittingly adopted inerrancy as orthodoxy, being deceived by this innovation. This story has become standard scholarly currency in many quarters. However, The Sacred Text indicates that fundamentalists and conservative Protestants more generally are the standard-bearers of the ascendant theory of biblical authority commonly endorsed among many of the leading Protestant elite in nineteenth-century America.