blakerussell
Puritan Board Freshman
Alright, there have been some things that have unsettled me a bit, and perhaps I've been misreading these authors a bit, but here's what's going on.
I've been studying John and have some books I've been going through. Two of them seem to suggest that the extended discourses of Jesus in the book of John aren't Christ's words verbatim but an interpretation of what Christ said after years of the author's reflection. Of course, this unsettles me because attributing words/discourses to Jesus which are really just compositions/reflections of John seems to me dishonest. Plus there's the fact that they aren't really Jesus' words too.
I don't know. Another example I ran across was a commentary I read some time ago on John 3:15 and forward which stated something along the lines of "it's hard to tell where Jesus words end and John's reflection begins." It appeared the commentator was almost confused as to who said what. Are these Jesus words or John's? That sort of thing.
I understand this is going to happen when writing a historical narrative/biography. It would be like me trying to quote a large portion of a sermon I may have heard a year ago. Either way, there's still something unsettling about what I'm reading. Perhaps it's liberalism. Perhaps it's not and I just don't understand the gospel genre and how scripture was written.
Any insight would be appreciated.
The authors/books I've been reading that have made me scratch my head are
Richard Bauckham: The testimony of the beloved disciple
And, Donald Guthrie: New testament introduction
I've been studying John and have some books I've been going through. Two of them seem to suggest that the extended discourses of Jesus in the book of John aren't Christ's words verbatim but an interpretation of what Christ said after years of the author's reflection. Of course, this unsettles me because attributing words/discourses to Jesus which are really just compositions/reflections of John seems to me dishonest. Plus there's the fact that they aren't really Jesus' words too.
I don't know. Another example I ran across was a commentary I read some time ago on John 3:15 and forward which stated something along the lines of "it's hard to tell where Jesus words end and John's reflection begins." It appeared the commentator was almost confused as to who said what. Are these Jesus words or John's? That sort of thing.
I understand this is going to happen when writing a historical narrative/biography. It would be like me trying to quote a large portion of a sermon I may have heard a year ago. Either way, there's still something unsettling about what I'm reading. Perhaps it's liberalism. Perhaps it's not and I just don't understand the gospel genre and how scripture was written.
Any insight would be appreciated.
The authors/books I've been reading that have made me scratch my head are
Richard Bauckham: The testimony of the beloved disciple
And, Donald Guthrie: New testament introduction