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Summary: Voices of the Mystics.
Review: From the Publisher
"The Gospel of John has always been perceived as a more mystical Gospel than the Synoptics. This book explores the mysticism of John in its historical context and puts forward evidence that the mysticism developed in this text is the result of the textualization of a dialogue between the Johannine and Thomasine Christians on the subject of soteriology. In contradiction to the Christians who revered the Gospel of Thomas and taught salvation through ascent and vision mysticism, the Johannine Gospel argues for a mysticism based on the faith experience. DeConick examines evidence from the Preachings of John, the Gospel of the Saviour (Papyrus Berolinensis 22220), the Apocryphon of James, the Ascension of Isaiah, and the Dialogue of the Saviour to show that this soteriological controversy did not end with the composition of the Gospel of John but continued well into the second century. This book not only sheds new light on the development of Johannine ideology, but also forges a new path in New Testament socio-rhetorical criticism, particularly by developing the field of tradition intertexture."--BOOK JACKET. Table of Contents
Acknowledgments9
Abbreviations11
Ch. 1Traditio-Rhetorical Criticism: A Methodology for Examining the Discourse of Intertraditions15
Ch. 2Vision Mysticism in the Ancient World: The Religio-Historical Horizon34
Ch. 3Johannine Polemic against Vision Mysticism: The Traditio-Religious Horizon and the Point of Discourse68
Ch. 4Thomasine Support for Vision Mysticism: The Traditio-Religious Horizon of John's Opponents86
Ch. 5Faith Mysticism in the Gospel of John: The Interpretative Trajectory and Synthetic End Point109
Ch. 6Vision Mysticism in Early Syrian Christian Texts: The Discourse Continues133
Bibliography164
Index of References177
Index of Modern Authors188
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