In this volume, Jan G. van der Watt analyses the ethics of the Letters of John against their respective socio-historical backgrounds to reveal a detailed ethical landscape. The author shows that 1 John is pastoral in nature and encourages the addressees not to be deceived but to remain loyal to the eyewitness group through fellowship and love.
Jan G. van der Watt analyses in detail the ethics of John's Letters against their respective socio-historical backgrounds. He then compares the ethics of the Gospel and Letters, showing that the basic core narrative overlaps in these writings, although some ethical material is applied in different ways to different situations. A rich ethical landscape is revealed, addressing issues like the importance of inter-personal relations, which results in co-operation through mutual love. The author shows that the focus in 1 John is pastoral, aiming at convincing the addressees not to be deceived by the schismatics but to strengthen their relationship with the eyewitness group. In 2 John, advice is given about visitors who threaten the church with false teachings, while 3 John deals with a conflict about receiving travelling missionaries. In both cases ethical guidelines are given which aim at protecting the group.
Table of contents:
Introduction
1. Ethics of the Johannine Letters in Research
2. The genre of the Letters
3. The relation between the Gospel and Letters of John
4. Do the Letters of John belong together?
5. Defining some key terms
6. The grammar of ethics: logical and coherent structuring
Section 1: The First Letter of John
Chapter 1: A suggested scenario for interpreting 1 John
Chapter 2: Relationships as part of the grammar of ethics (1): Family,
Immanenz, mimesis and reciprocity
Chapter 3: Relationships as part of the grammar of ethics (2):
koinōnia and love
Chapter 4: Commandments, paraenesis and free will
Chapter 5: Tradition and ethos as part of the grammar of ethics of 1 John
Chapter 6: Some practical issues addressed in 1 John
Chapter 7: Some concluding remarks
Section 2: The Second Letter of John
Chapter 8: A possible scenario
Chapter 9: Truth, love and commandments as ethical concepts in 2 John
Chapter 10: Some summarizing and concluding remarks
Section 3: The Third Letter of John
Chapter 11: Conflict in 3 John? What was it about?
Chapter 12: The ethical dynamics in 3 John
Section 4: The Letters and the Gospel of John
Chapter 13: Comparison between the Letters and the Gospel
