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Showing posts with the label historical criticism

The Way of the Towel: Greatness, Redefined by Jesus

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by Bart Denny Central text: John 13:12–17 (NIV) Over the years, in church settings, I’ve done a lot of dishes. I’ve raked a lot of leaves. I’ve painted plenty of church walls. I’ve plunged more than a few clogged toilets. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. But if I’m honest, at this age, with this many years in church, there’s a part of me that wants to say, “I’ve done my time.” I don’t usually say it out loud. I dress it up. I call it wisdom. Focus. Stewarding my time well. But the feeling sneaks up on me. It shows up when another need pops up. When the same few people carry the same load. When I feel tired. It shows up when I think, “Shouldn’t somebody else take a turn now?” And I’ll confess something else: I don’t mind serving. I just want to choose the terms. And if I’m not careful, I start thinking and acting like the low places belong to somebody else. Now let me be even more honest: I don’t struggle with getting my hands dirty. I struggle to keep my ego in check....
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Did John Write the Fourth Gospel? Why the Author Matters More Than You Think

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Apostle John the Theologian on the island of Patmos, by Andrei Mironov, 2012. by Bart L. Denny For nearly two millennia, the Church has affirmed that the Apostle John—the son of Zebedee and beloved disciple of Jesus—wrote the Gospel that bears no name. But in recent centuries, particularly in academic circles, that assumption has faced fierce opposition. Some modern scholars have dismissed John’s authorship, proposing instead a mysterious “John the Elder,” a hypothetical community of Johannine disciples, or even late Gnostic sources. 1 So, does it really matter who wrote the Gospel of John? More than you might think. In this article, I want to make the case that the traditional view—that the Apostle John wrote the Fourth Gospel—is not only historically viable but the most reasonable conclusion when all the evidence is laid out. We'll look at both the internal clues from the Gospel itself and the external witness of early church history. And we’ll see why this...
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