Community of the Beloved Disciple
Tuesday, March 20 (6 pm supper) to Thursday, March 22 (1 pm)
Have you ever wondered why the Gospel of John is so different from the other three? Come and join Richard Rohrbaugh as he traces the life of the community that produced this unique book. Prepare for the Easter season by gaining a new understanding of this gospel’s often puzzling content.
The community that produced the Gospel of John was a mixed group of Galileans, Samaritans, and Gentiles. Its members were deeply alienated from Judean society, and even from many other Christians. We will trace the life of this community from its initial formation in Galilee in mid first century to its later exile and the bitter split that occasioned the letters of I, II, and III John. Along the way we will examine its break with the synagogue and its eventual production of three editions of the Gospel of John.
Most importantly, by close examination of a series of Johannine texts we will take account of its strange language and the puzzling content that differs so markedly from all other gospels. Finally we will also see what happened when the beleaguered Johannine group eventually rejoined the Pauline churches that dominated early Christianity.
Leadership:
Richard L. Rohrbaugh is the Paul S. Wright Professor of Religious Studies (Emeritus) at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where he has taught for the past 33 years. He holds a B.A. degree from Sterling College, an M. Div. from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and an S.T.D. from San Francisco Theological Seminary. He is a James Purdy Scholar, a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Association, and the American Schools of Oriental Research, under whose auspices he was an area supervisor in archaeological excavations at Tel Aroer (1980) and Tel Dan (1986).
Richard is spending the last four months of 2011 at an archaeological dig in Greece. He has been among the pioneers in using anthropological studies of Mediterranean culture to set the New Testament in its ancient social and cultural context. He is the author or co-author of nine books including: Listening to Scripture (2008), The New Testament in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Cascade Books, 2007), Social Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels (Fortress, 1992, 2003), Social Science Commentary on the Gospel of John (Fortress, 1998), and Using the Social Sciences in New Testament Interpretation (Hendrickson, 1996). His books and articles are now published in six languages and a dozen countries.
Contact Staff: Annette Taylor
Cost: $335 Decision Day: February 27
Registration cost increases 10% after this date
For more information please visit the website.