A scholarly evaluation of the fourth Gospel and Johannine community.
For contemporary Christians, Johns Gospel is a paradox. On the one hand, it stresses boundaries: “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
But on the other hand, it’s all about community: “I have no longer called you servant, but friends.”
Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of John encourages readers to draw out the tensions between these two perspectives for an open, inclusive reading of this difficult Gospel—and to find in it reaching meaning for their lives. With a study guide that includes thoughtful, challenging questions for reflection and discussion, this is an ideal resource for individual and parish study.
Cynthia Kittredge is an Episcopal priest and dean and president at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. She is the author of Community and Authority: The Rhetoric of Obedience in the Pauline Tradition and is a contributor to the New Oxford Annotated Bible. She holds a Th.D. from Harvard University.
"The author, a professor of New Testament at Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, sees the Gospel of John as an invitation to become part of a 'community of friends.' Helpful side notes within chapters explain terms that may be unfamiliar. She succeeds in making readers want to open the gospel to examine what it says." —The Living Church
