Few scholarly constructs have proven as influential or as durable as the Johannine community. A product of the era in New Testament studies dominated by redaction criticism, the Johannine community construct as articulated first by J. Louis Martyn and later by Raymond E. Brown emerged with an explanatory power that proved persuasive to scholars deliberating on the provenance and emergence of the Johannine literature for the next 50 years. Recent years, however, have seen this once dominant paradigm questioned by many of those working with the Gospel and Letters of John. The Johannine Community in Contemporary Debate is dedicated to exploring the current state of the question while shining a light on new and constructive proposals for understanding the emergence of the Johannine literature. Some contributions accept the idea of a Johannine Community but suggest different ways we might know about the nature of that community. Others reject the existence of a Johannine Community, suggesting alternate models for understanding the emergence of these texts. These proposals are themselves set in perspective by responses from senior scholars.

Argues that the Fourth Gospel has "political dimensions" which offer both meaning and challenge to contemporary Christians.

During the last few decades there has been a debate concerning the prominence of ecclesiology in the Gospel of John. This book highlights that debate and makes an important contribution to our understanding of Johannine ecclesiology. It argues that ecclesiology is a major theological concern of the Gospel, that investigations into Johannine ecclesiology have suffered under categories that are alien to the Gospel itself, and that the Gospel espouses a christological ecclesiology that emphasizes the origin, nature and purpose of the community. The community is Christus prolongatus; Christology and ecclesiology overlap. In addition, the book makes several new suggestions: that the prayer of the Johannine Jesus in John 17 has its origin (Sitz im Leben) in the 'law-court' petitionary prayers of the Johannine community in its conflict with the synagogue; that the Johannine concept of glory has to be understood in soteriological terms and is closely related to the Johannine community's sense of mission; and that the Johannine concept of sending reflects a gnostic sending tradition that was current in first-century Palestine.

The contribution of the Johannine literature to the development of Christian theology, and particularly to Christology, is uncontested, although careful distinction between the implications of its language, especially that of sonship, in a first century 'Jewish' context and in the subsequent theological controversies of the early Church has been particularly important if not always easily sustained. Recent study has shaken off the weight of subsequent Christian appropriation of Johannine language which has sometimes made readers immune to the ambiguities and challenging tensions in its thought. The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies begins with chapters concentrating on discussions of the background and context of the Johannine literature, leading to the different ways of reading the text, and thence to the primary theological themes within them, before concluding with some discussion of the reception of the Johannine literature in the early church. Inevitably, given their different genres and levels of complexity, some chapters pay most if not all attention to the Gospel, whereas others are more able to give a more substantial place to the letters. All the contributors have themselves made significant contributions to their topic. They have sought to give a balanced introduction to the relevant scholarship and debate, but they have also been able to present the issues from their own perspective. The Handbook will help those less familiar with the Johannine literature to get a sense of the major areas of debate and why the field continues to be one of vibrant and exciting study, and that those who are already part of the conversation will find new insights to enliven their own on-going engagement with these writings.

The Gospel and epistles of John are commonly overlooked in discussions of New Testament ethics, often seen as of only limited value. Here, prominent scholars present varying perspectives on the surprising relevance and importance of the explicit imperatives and implicit moral perspective of the Johannine literature. The introduction sets out four major approaches to Johannine ethics today; a concluding essay takes stock of the wide-ranging discussion and suggest prospects for future study.

Written in a conversational and reflective tone, the articles offer an excellent overview of major issues in the study of the Fourth Gospel and 1-2-3 John.

The Gospel of John in Modern Interpretation provides a unique look at the lives and work of eight interpreters who have significantly influenced Johannine studies over the last two centuries. The chapters contain short biographical sketches of the scholars that illuminate their personal and academic lives, followed by summaries and evaluations of their major works, and concluding with an analysis of the ongoing relevance of their work in contemporary Johannine scholarship. Key thinkers surveyed include C. H. Dodd, Rudolph Bultmann, Raymond Brown, Leon Morris, and R. Alan Culpepper. An introduction and conclusion by general editors Stanley Porter and Ron Fay trace the development of Johannine scholarship from F. C. Baur to the present, and examine how these eight scholars' contributions to Johannine studies have shaped the field. Anyone interested in the recent history of the study of John will find this volume indispensable.