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 Atlanta Bible
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B242 - Gospel of John |
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Anthony Buzzard was born in Surrey, England and educated at Oxford University and later at Bethany Theological Seminary, Chicago. He holds Master's degrees in languages and theology. Anthony has traveled widely, including visits to Malawi for purposes of evangelism. He has written two full-length books, The Doctrine of the Trinity: Christianity's Self-Inflicted Wound and Our Fathers Who Aren't in Heaven: The Forgotten Christianity of Jesus the Jew, and many booklets and articles, some of which have been published in international theological journals. In 1996 he was a nominee for the Templeton Prize for progress in religion. He is co-editor of A Journal from the Radical Reformation, published by the Church of God General Conference. COURSE DESCRIPTION: A verse by verse reading of the Gospel of John with a view to understanding and applying the message of Jesus found in this celebrated document. Particular attention will be paid to setting John’s gospel in the framework of the rest of Scripture, especially the rest of the NT. John has often been pulled away from the rest of the NT and made to say things he did not say. A Long tradition lies behind this unfortunate tendency. Gnostics loved the Gospel of John and twisted it for their own agenda. The Jesus of John’s account is the same Jesus reported in the Synoptic gospels, and we will show how this can be made clear. We will search out the fundamental theological outlook of John’s presentation of Jesus and present the material in a way which will call us back to some fundamental and often neglected features of the teaching of Jesus. Our view of Jesus as the Son of God, supernaturally. COURSE OBJECTIVES: To prepare students for ministry in all forms, full-time or otherwise; to encourage personal communication of the gospel as well as personal growth "in grace and knowledge," as Peter puts it. To deal with verses of John sometimes distorted in favor of later theological interests unknown to John or even opposed by him. To set Jesus in his Jewish background and see him in the context of the great Plan of God for salvation. To encourage a love for Truth and Scripture and a personal examination of one ’s belief-system. WRITTEN WORK: A research paper (3-5 pages single spaced) with footnotes to at least 2 sources. The research should be on a topic of your choice — an aspect of John which you feel needs special investigation. This paper is due on final exam day. Begin your research early and let your thoughts develop. Papers should not be birthed overnight. Students are asked to write their own commentary on John as they proceed. These will not necessarily deal with every verse, but with those verses which each person feels need special treatment or is of particular difficulty or interest. Evidence of this daily work will be produced from time to time for teacher survey. Remember that your work in class is "worship," service to God and the Messiah and will affect your later success in ministry. Classroom provides a unique opportunity for getting to know the Bible well. Distance
Learning participants should email their chapter by chapter
summaries and comments. TEXTS REQUIRED: The Bible: Preferred A NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV used in the DVD) others o.k....ask F.F. Bruce, The Gospel and Epistles of John, Eerdmans, 1983. Library: Commentaries on John. Commentary by Heinrich Mayer. James Dunn, Christology in the Making Consult the article on "John 1:1 Caveat Lector (Reader Beware)"
GRADING: These will be awarded with reference to class participation, quizzes, research paper and final — ¼ for each category. SCHEDULE: Introduction, Chapter 1-3 Chapter 4-7 Chapter 8-11 Chapter 12-16 Chapter 17-21 Issues of authorship; the famous question of the day of Jesus’ death. The issue of preexistence; John and his epistles. Copyright 2008 - Church of God General Conference - All Rights Reserved
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