PROF. PAUL ANDERSON ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: EXPLORING MY FAVORITE BIBLICAL BOOK

Today, Richard's guest is distinquished professor, author, expert in John's Gospel Paul Anderson.  Anderson's been teaching in the College of Christian Studies since Jan. 1989. Paul became fascinated with the Gospel of John, addressing the tensions in John’s Christology in his doctoral work. He found himself applying cognitive-critical analysis to the historical development of Gospel traditions. That provided an interdisciplinary approach to some of the riddles that perplexed scholars.

Professor Anderson was a founding member of the John, Jesus, & History Project. His own book on the subject (The Fourth Gospel and the Quest for Jesus) argues for a more nuanced view, arguing also a new paradigm for understanding John’s composition, relations to other traditions, and likely contributions to the quest for Jesus. His approach to John's "dialogical autonomy" builds upon his new paradigm for seeing John as an independent Jesus tradition.