Raymond Brown, 'The Jews,' and the Gospel of John: From Apologia to Apology

Description

Until the mid-1960s, most commentators of the Gospel of John were aware of a polemic against 'the Jews,' yet they did not consider it with reference to contemporary ethical discussion. A shift in focus in Johannine scholarship is noticeable from the mid-1960s and 1970s to the present, where commentators began to connect the Gospel's polemic against 'the Jews' with potential anti-Judaism in the text. As yet, very little work has been done to answer the question of how this change in sensitivity came about. This book is a historiography of one scholar's growing awareness of potential anti-Judaism in the Gospel of John with the intention of using this individual history to explain the larger trend in biblical studies. Sonya Cronin examines the published work of Raymond Brown, a prominent Catholic New Testament scholar, between the years 1960-1998. The book contextualizes Brown's work by evaluating the impact of ecclesiastical statements and the influence of earlier and contemporary Johannine scholarship on Brown's biblical interpretation, and then posits theories as to why change occurs at specific times.

Sonya Shetty Cronin is lecturer at Florida State University, USA.

The book is clearly written ... It shows the benefit of a close study of one major author's thinking on a particular issue and the factors that influence a change in thinking ... An important reminder that biblical scholarship is never as 'scientific' as Brown himself sometimes claimed and that it cannot avoid important contemporary ethical issues. * Journal for the Study of the New Testament * Cronin's monograph tracks a development in the thinking of one of the greatest Johannine scholars of the twentieth century. * Reading Acts blog *