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Seminar 3:
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Recent studies by the New Testament scholar, Richard Bauckham, have seriously questioned the popular scholarly assumption that John's gospel is the most historically and theologically unreliable of the four gospels. Bauckham makes a strong case for the author of the fourth gospel being the anonymous beloved disciple who reclined on the chest of Jesus at the Last Supper. If this is the case, the author of the gospel was clearly one of Jesus' closest friends, able to take us further into the meaning of the events of Jesus' life than others. He was the one who leaned close to Jesus in order to be close to God. We are the beneficiaries of both his sight and his insight. This striking claim has rich implications for our own relationship with God in prayer and our relationships with others. This seminar will seek to explore these implications, giving time for input, discussion and silent reflection. Participants will need to bring a copy of John's gospel.
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