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Is Johns Prologue the Key to the Gospel? (It is the Key (Many themes…
Is Johns Prologue the Key to the Gospel?
Description
The prologue is Christological and theological and is thought to have been written by the disciple John (the beloved disciple) later than the Synoptic Gospels
Themes such as light, truth and eternal life are revealed in the prologue. The evangelist states that thede can only be achieved through belief in Jesus
Many people believe that major themes are revealed through the prologue and that it unlocks the gospel itself
It is the Key
Many themes explored in the prologue are also in the gospel itself e.g. John the witness saying that he is witnessing and declaring the truth
Stephen Smalley states that the prologue is a
'microcosm
of the fourth Gospel
Morna Hooker states that the prologue is the 'key enables us to understand the Gospel'
Rudolf Bultman agrees that it appears to be written as a hymn, however, states that it is still part of an origional gospel
Many of the conflicts between Judaism and believers of Jesus are discussed within the prologue and continued within the Gospel - Morner Hooker states its the writers 'gigantic takeover bid'
in the Gospel Jesus declares himself to be many of the things John suggests in the prologue -
I am the way, the truth and the life
Graham Stanton states that it is the lens through which we are meant to view the rest of the Gospel
It is written to show the evangelists 'beliefs' about Jesus before reading the Gospel
Not the Key
Some major themes such as the idea of 'Logos' aren't developed later in the Gospel
John Robinson believes that the prologue was a much later addition to the Gospel which was added many years after
C.F. Burney believes that the prologue was written as an Aramatic Hymn that may have been used by the Early Church - suggesting that it is a later addition
the prologue appears to be disconnected from the rest of the Gospel itself and this had lead scholars to ponder whether the prologue was written to server another purpose
Ideas about the Gospel being a 'hymn' or a later addition make the idea of it being a 'key' seem more like a 'coincidence' that it has so many parallels to the Gospel