The Riddles of the Fourth Gospel: An Introduction to John

Glossary

255 Glossary agency schema—the agency schema underlying the Fourth Gospel shows the Son’s being sent by the Father as a representative agent. anagnorisis—meaning “recognition” or “discovery” in Greek, this term refers to pivotal moments in Greek drama when the truth is encountered and a character comes to know something in ways significant. aphorism—meaning a short, pithy saying that articulates a larger truth in a memorable way, likely the sort of speech used by Jesus as represented in the Synoptics and somewhat in John. apologetic—a defense of an argument, often with a theological purpose in mind. aporia—meaning “without passage” in Greek, this term is used especially to refer to literary perplexities that pose an impasse for interpreters. Rough transitions, problems with sequence, and other contextual problems affect one’s views of how the Fourth Gospel was composed. Bi-Optic Hypothesis—seeing John and Mark as “the Bi-Optic Gospels,” each having its own distinctive set of impressions of Jesus’ ministry from the earliest to the latest stages of their traditions; while Matthew and Luke built upon Mark, the first edition of John built around Mark. Birkat ha-Minim—literally, “the blessing against the heretics,” this term refers to the adding of a curse against the “Nazarenes” (that is, followers of Jesus of Nazareth ) to the twelfth of eighteen benedictions recited in Jewish synagogue worship after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 c.e. 256 Glossary chiastic—a literary structure, wherein a pattern (ABC . . .) is repeated, often inversely (. . . CBA), as a means of showing both the symmetry of a unit and its emphasis—the pivotal fulcrum as its central turning point. Christology—pertaining to theology about Jesus as the Christ. cognitive-critical biblical analysis—the study of the roles human perception and experience play in the formation of biblical content and material, including explanations for different first impressions and histories of perceptual developments within traditions. dehistoricization of John—the inclination to see the Fourth Gospel’s literary and theological features as displacing nearly everything historical in its tradition. de-Johannification of Jesus—the programmatic exclusion of the Johannine tradition from Jesus research, assuming its ahistoricity. determinism—a doctrine inferring that humans have no choice as to their responses to God; those have been determined beforehand. diachronic/synchronic—literary material that came together at different times and from different sources is called “diachronic” in contrast to a “synchronic” development, involving a similar time and origin of the text. dialectical/dialogical—both terms are based on the word dialogue, but “dialectic” implies either a cognitive, sociological, or theological dialogue, while “dialogism” connotes more of a literary dialogue. dialogical autonomy of the Fourth Gospel—the view that the Johannine tradition represents an autonomous and independent tradition, which develops in several dialogical ways—cognitively, theologically, historically, and literarily. Docetism—from the Greek dokein, “to seem”; some Gentile Christians argued Jesus did not suffer or die, he just “seemed” to—that is, he was divine, not human. dualism—the presentation of dual opposites within texts, either used rhetorically to motivate positive choices over negative ones, or reflectively to explain valued or disappointing developments or outcomes. ecclesiology—the theology of the church (ekklēsia). empiricism—the view that reality is determined and known by that which is ascertainable by the five senses. eschatology—the study of last (eschatos means “last”) things, assuming God acts with finality in human history. familial—having to do with family-oriented organization and leadership and informal authority. 257 Glossary historicized drama/dramatized history—the first approach assumes historical detail has been added for the sake of verisimilitude; the second sees John as a historical narrative with rhetorical features added. I-Am sayings (absolute; with the predicate nominative)—absolute I-Am sayings involve self-standing sayings; predicate nominative I-Am sayings involve a metaphorical reference. incarnational—referring to the fleshly humanity of Jesus, as well as God’s manifestation through human means. instrumental—the affecting of an outcome contingent upon having a required action. interfluence/interfluentiality—the phenomenon of influence in more than one direction between Gospel traditions, especially during their oral forms of development. intertraditional dialogue/intratraditional dialogue—dialogical reflection likely happened within traditions (intratraditional) or between traditions (intertraditional). Ioudaioi—literally meaning “Judeans,” this term also means “Jews”—some of whom accepted or rejected Jesus as the Messiah in the Johannine narrative. Logos—meaning “word,” “principle,” “thought,” “reason,” and “act”—this term is used as...