Tom Thatcher

Nineteen hundred years ago, someone called the Beloved Disciple told stories about Jesus and his days on earth, including reports of what Jesus did and said. These stories had been todl for decades, but then someone took the stories and wrote them down, turning them from oral tradition into the book we know as the Gospel of John. Scholars have long concentrated on the content of this Fourth Gospel, analyzing how it differs from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and wondering how the different Gospels relate to the Jesus of history. Thatcher builds on all this previous scholarship to as new and exciting questions: Why was this Gospel written? Why would these followers of Jesus turn the oral stories into written Gospel? In exploring the reason for writing the Fourth Gospel, Thatcher focuses on how stories and written texts operate to reflect and to create memory with in groups of people. He uncovers how early Christians strove to remember Jesus in the decades after his ministry and how Christians came into conflict with one another about which memories were best. With this interest in the social memory of early Christians, Thatcher provides original insights into the Gospel of John and shows new answers to old questions. Writing in an engaging and accessible style, Thatcher uses numerous diagrams and modern parallels to show how Gospel texts shape the memory and identity of Christian communities, not only in the ancient world bu today as well.

Jesus - Memory - History

Why John Wrote a Gospel

Paul N. Anderson

Felix Just

This groundbreaking volume draws together an international group of leading biblical scholars to consider one of the most controversial religious topics in the modern era: Is the Gospel of John—the most theological and distinctive among the four canonical Gospels—historical or not? If not, why does John alone among the Gospels claim eyewitness connections to Jesus? If so, why is so much of John’s material unique to John? Using various methodologies and addressing key historical issues in John, these essays advance the critical inquiry into Gospel historiography and John’s place within it, leading to an impressive consensus and convergences along the way. The contributors are Paul N. Anderson; Mark Appold; Richard Bauckham; Helen K. Bond; Richard A. Burridge; James H. Charlesworth; Jaime Clark-Soles; Mary Coloe; R. Alan Culpepper; Craig A. Evans; Sean Freyne; Jeffrey Paul Garcia; Brian D. Johnson; Peter J. Judge; Felix Just, S.J.; Craig S. Keener; Edward W. Klink III; Craig R. Koester; Michael Labahn; Mark A. Matson; James F. McGrath; Susan Miller; Gail R. O’Day; Bas van Os; Tom Thatcher; Derek M. H. Tovey; Urban C. von Wahlde; and Ben Witherington III.

Aspects of Historicity in the Fourth Gospel

John, Jesus, and History, Volume 2

Over the last two centuries, many scholars have considered the Gospel of John off-limits for all quests for the historical Jesus. That stance, however, creates a new set of problems that need to be addressed thoughtfully. The essays in this book, reflecting the ongoing deliberations of an international group of Johannine and Jesus scholars, critically assess two primary assumptions of the prevalent view: the dehistoricization of John and the de-Johannification of Jesus. The approaches taken here are diverse, including cognitive-critical developments of Johannine memory, distinctive characteristics of the Johannine witness, new historicism, Johannine-Synoptic relations, and fresh analyses of Johannine traditional development. In addition to offering state-of-the-art reviews of Johannine studies and Jesus studies, this volume draws together an emerging consensus that sees the Gospel of John as an autonomous tradition with its own perspective, in dialogue with other traditions. Through this challenging of critical and traditional assumptions alike, new approaches to John’s age-old riddles emerge, and the ground is cleared for new and creative ways forward.

Critical Appraisals of Critical Views

John, Jesus, and History, Volume 1

Robert Tomson Fortna

This volume explores the distance, historically and theologically, between the historical Jesus and the Gospel of John. Essays on these topics are provided by 27 authors from a variety of backgrounds.

Jesus in Johannine Tradition

Mary L. Coloe

The Dead Sea Scrolls reveal a Palestinian form of Second Temple Judaism in which the seeds of Johannine Christianity may have first sprouted. Although many texts from the Judean Desert are now widely available, the Scrolls have had little part in discussions of the Johannine literature over the past several decades. The essays in this book, ranging from focused studies of key passages in the Fourth Gospel to its broader social world, consider the past and potential impact of the Scrolls on Johannine studies in the context of a growing interest in the historical roots of the Johannine tradition and the origins and nature of the “Johannine community” and its relationship to mainstream Judaism. Future scholarship will be interested in connections between the Gospel of John and the Scrolls and also in Qumran Judaism and Johannine Christianity as parallel religious movements. The contributors are Mary L. Coloe and Tom Thatcher, Eileen Schuller, Paul N. Anderson, John Ashton, George J. Brooke, Brian J. Capper, Hannah K. Harrington, Loren T. Stuckenbruck, and James H. Charlesworth.

Sixty Years of Discovery and Debate

John, Qumran, and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Daryl Charles

Continuing a Gold Medallion Award-winning legacy, the completely revised Expositor's Bible Commentary puts world-class biblical scholarship in your hands. A staple for students, teachers, and pastors worldwide, The Expositor's Bible Commentary (EBC) offers comprehensive yet succinct commentary from scholars committed to the authority of the Holy Scriptures. The EBC uses the New International Version of the Bible, but the contributors work from the original Hebrew and Greek languages and refer to other translations when useful. Each section of the commentary includes: An introduction: background information, a short bibliography, and an outline An overview of Scripture to illuminate the big picture The complete NIV text Extensive commentary Notes on textual questions, key words, and concepts Reflections to give expanded thoughts on important issues The series features 56 contributors, who: Believe in the divine inspiration, complete trustworthiness, and full authority of the Bible Have demonstrated proficiency in the biblical book that is their specialty Are committed to the church and the pastoral dimension of biblical interpretation Represent geographical and denominational diversity Use a balanced and respectful approach toward marked differences of opinion Write from an evangelical viewpoint For insightful exposition, thoughtful discussion, and ease of use—look no further than The Expositor's Bible Commentary.

1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, Jude

Catrin Williams

C. H. Dodd's Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel, published in 1963, marked a milestone in New Testament research and has become a standard resource for the study of John. Historically biblical scholars have concentrated on the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke. However, Dodd's book encouraged scholars to take John seriously as a source for the life of Jesus. This volume both reflects upon and looks beyond Dodd's writings to address the implications, limitations and potential of his groundbreaking research and its programmatic approach to charting a course for future research on the Gospel of John. Leading biblical scholars demonstrate the recent surge of interest in John's distinctive witness to Jesus, and also in Dodd's work as the harbinger of advancements in the study of the Fourth Gospel. This volume will be invaluable to all those studying the New Testament, Johannine theology and the history of the early Church.

Sixty Years of Tradition and Interpretation

Engaging with C. H. Dodd on the Gospel of John

Alan K. Kirk

Social and cultural memory theory examines the ways communities and individuals reconstruct and commemorate their pasts in light of shared experiences and current social realities. Drawing on the methods of this emerging field, this volume both introduces memory theory to biblical scholars and restores the category "memory" to a preeminent position in research on Christian origins. In the process, the volume challenges current approaches to research problems in Christian origins, such as the history of the Gospel traditions, the birth of early Christian literature, ritual and ethics, and the historical Jesus. The essays, taken in aggregate, outline a comprehensive research agenda for examining the beginnings of Christianity and its literature and also propose a fundamentally revised model for the phenomenology of early Christian oral tradition, assess the impact of memory theory upon historical Jesus research, establish connections between memory dynamics and the appearance of written Gospels, and assess the relationship of early Christian commemorative activities with the cultural memory of ancient Judaism. Contributors include April D. DeConick, Arthur J. Dewey, Philip F. Esler, Holly Hearon, Richard Horsley, Georgia Masters Keightley, Werner Kelber, Alan Kirk, Barry Schwartz, Tom Thatcher, and Antoinette Clark Wire. "Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)."

Uses of the Past in Early Christianity

Memory, Tradition, And Text

Richard Horsley

In this book Richard Horsley and Tom Thatcher trace the Gospel of John's portrayal of Jesus as a prophet of renewal by reading the text against a double backdrop -- the social history of Roman Palestine and the media world of John. This innovative study is the first to consider the Gospel of John as story in the ancient media context of oral communication and oral performance. Horsley and Thatcher creatively combine concerns from the fields of Jesus studies and ancient media studies in their analysis. Taking the main conflict evident in John's story of Jesus as the key to its plot, they discern how this Gospel -- usually read as "spiritual" -- portrays Jesus engaged in a concrete program of renewal and resistance.

John, Jesus, and the Renewal of Israel

Stephen D. Moore

Reflecting on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Alan Culpepper's milestone Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel (1983), Anatomies of Narrative Criticism explores current trends in the study of the Gospel of John as literature. The contributors to the volume represent a wide range of methodological approaches that all explore ways that contemporary readers generate meaning from John's story of Jesus. The book includes an introduction to narrative-critical studies of John; essays on specific themes and passages that focus on interpretation of the text, history of research, hermeneutical approaches, and future trends in research; and a reflective response from Alan Culpepper. Overall, the book seeks to trace the history and project the future of the study of the Bible as narrative. The contributors are Paul N. Anderson, Colleen M. Conway, R. Alan Culpepper, Robert Kysar, Tat-siong Benny Liew, Francis J. Moloney, S.D.B., Stephen D. Moore, Adele Reinhartz, Jeffrey L. Staley, Mark Stibbe, Tom Thatcher, Ruben Zimmermann, and Jean Zumstein.

The Past, Present, and Futures of the Fourth Gospel as Literature

Anatomies of Narrative Criticism

Essential reading for scholars and students interested in sociology and biblical studies In this collection scholars of biblical texts and rabbinics engage the work of Barry Schwartz, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology at the University of Georgia. Schwartz provides an introductory essay on the study of collective memory. Articles that follow integrate his work into the study of early Jewish and Christian texts. The volume concludes with a response from Schwartz that continues this warm and fruitful dialogue between fields. Features: Articles that integrate the study of collective memory and social psychology into religious studies Essays from Barry Schwartz Theories applied rather than left as abstract principles

Tom Thatcher

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