The Theology of Judgement in the Fourth Gospel

The theology of judgement in John's Gospel has longbeen a problem in New Testament studies. John's claimthat Jesus is both judging and not judging and hisinterplay of freedom from judgement with the promiseof judgement have always puzzled readers of theGospel. Alan Blackwood adopts a fresh approach tothe problem. He looks at chapter 5 of the Gospel,examining the Greek text through the lens of not onlylinguistic and historical critical methods, but alsosociological inquiry and literary interpretation.His study shows that the text of John 5 presents acoherent theological argument in which the Gospel'sauthor reveals his community's belief that they hadcommenced eternal life exempt from judgement, whilethey also believed that everyone outside theircommunity would be subject to judgement on the lastday. Blackwood is also able to show how and why suchstartling new doctrines could have grown from earlierChristian beliefs. This book will prove invaluableto all students and teachers of New Testament studiesand particularly to those with an interest in howmodern research techniques are bringing freshinsights and understanding to the study of John's Gospel.

Autorentext

Dr Alan Blackwood lives in Cumbria, England, with his wife, Julie. He holds the degree of B.Sc. from the University of Strathclyde and the degrees of B.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow. He is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Klappentext
The theology of judgement in John's Gospel has long been a problem in New Testament studies. John's claim that Jesus is both judging and not judging and his interplay of freedom from judgement with the promise of judgement have always puzzled readers of the Gospel. Alan Blackwood adopts a fresh approach to the problem. He looks at chapter 5 of the Gospel, examining the Greek text through the lens of not only linguistic and historical critical methods, but also sociological inquiry and literary interpretation. His study shows that the text of John 5 presents a coherent theological argument in which the Gospel's author reveals his community's belief that they had commenced eternal life exempt from judgement, while they also believed that everyone outside their community would be subject to judgement on the last day. Blackwood is also able to show how and why such startling new doctrines could have grown from earlier Christian beliefs. This book will prove invaluable to all students and teachers of New Testament studies and particularly to those with an interest in how modern research techniques are bringing fresh insights and understanding to the study of John's Gospel.