tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post3595563948256572758..comments2024-03-28T13:59:11.445-07:00Comments on Left Behind and Loving It: Bread That Does Not SpoilD. Mark Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-51089396796776579622018-08-05T06:38:13.174-07:002018-08-05T06:38:13.174-07:00Hi Wendy,
Thanks for the note. Sure, I'll ta...Hi Wendy, <br /><br />Thanks for the note. Sure, I'll take a whack at it.<br /><br />I have read arguments that John's gospel is strongly polemic, but I've never been very clear on who, exactly, is the object of the polemic. One suggestion is that John is writing against the kind of theology found in the Gospel of Thomas, where the divine light is found within, to which the Gospel of John argues that the divine light is found in Christ. (Elaine Pagels makes this kind of argument in "Beyond Belief," if I'm remembering correctly. <br /><br />It seems true that John is arguing with someone and it may well be the kind of theology that is represented in the Gospel of Thomas. But, I worry that by framing John so vividly within the polemical historical context, we may be missing some key connections in John. We might be reducing John's focus on 'believing' to a focus on "just believing," in Jesus - as if that believing is sum total of discipleship. It may be the sum total of how John differs from his interlocutors, without being the sum total of discipleship. <br /><br />In texts like this one, the movement between 'working' for food that does not spoil (v.27), the 'work of God' being to believe in the one whom God has sent (v.29), and Jesus himself being the 'bread of life' (v.35) - seems to me to be indicating something richer than 'just believing' in Jesus, if by that we think it is all about a believing the right side of a theological dispute. <br /><br />All of these dialogues are located within the literary context of Jesus healing, doing good, teaching, praying, dying, and ultimately being raised. The question to me is what "believing" in Jesus means in that literary context, as much as what it might have meant in the arguments of the historical context. And I think it is a question that we pursue better if we do not disconnect 'believing' from doing works. <br /><br />Or something like that. I'm not a John scholar by any stretch, so please feel free to roll your eyes and keep walking. <br /><br />Thanks again for your note,<br />MDD. Mark Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-8939597385808456302018-08-04T09:06:17.831-07:002018-08-04T09:06:17.831-07:00Mark,
Could you say a bit more about 'believi...Mark, <br />Could you say a bit more about 'believing in the gospel of John means doing'? I heard Kaaren Armstrong say something similar but would love a translation source or something. <br /><br />Thank you for all of your wonderful work. So helpful. <br />Wendy Tobias Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10875024278580258775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-85709032820635974252015-07-27T13:09:13.866-07:002015-07-27T13:09:13.866-07:00Thanks for these notes, Mark. They are fine, very ...Thanks for these notes, Mark. They are fine, very well written...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14837232050491652538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-62947265418660150292013-06-20T06:57:43.301-07:002013-06-20T06:57:43.301-07:00Thank you, Margaret. I'm glad we can journey t...Thank you, Margaret. I'm glad we can journey together with these texts. From Mark Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08343191370740534861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-66919234829174560882013-06-20T02:12:31.000-07:002013-06-20T02:12:31.000-07:00Thanks for this; you have given me so much food fo...Thanks for this; you have given me so much food for thought! Discovered your writing via textweek; will be looking for more! <br /><br />Margaret johnson Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09701413195348919855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-20898721442802657672013-06-20T02:11:05.685-07:002013-06-20T02:11:05.685-07:00Thanks for this; you have given me so much food fo...Thanks for this; you have given me so much food for thought! Discovered your writing via textweek; will be looking for more! <br /><br />Margaret johnson Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09701413195348919855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-73423713292516548462012-08-06T07:37:36.304-07:002012-08-06T07:37:36.304-07:00I agree that this "bread" conversation i...I agree that this "bread" conversation in John 6 seems remarkably parallel with the "water" conversation in John 4. <br />Thanks for chiming in, Nathan. It was good to see you last week.From Mark Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08343191370740534861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-23525323868546313012012-08-01T18:08:34.324-07:002012-08-01T18:08:34.324-07:00In v. 27, I find myself thinking of "seal&quo...In v. 27, I find myself thinking of "seal" in terms of "sign and seal" as the sacrament. Calvin meant that in terms of the imprint on a letter, but I like that there's also a "freshness seal" sense there. (I'm probably not bold enough to do a show-and-tell with a bottle of Maker's Mark whisky.)<br /><br />Thanks also for the "that which" in v. 33. The sequence - Jesus talking about stuff, then being asked for more of it, then using the I AM - better fits the pattern established in John 4 with the woman at the well.Nathan Williamshttp://hopecommunitypc.orgnoreply@blogger.com