The Preacher,the Scholar,and the Gospel of John

Barrett C. K. , The Gospel according to St. John: An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text (London: Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, 1955). Well balanced and comprehensive, the best of the recent commentaries in English.

Lightfoot R. H. , St. John's Gospel: A Commentary with the Text of the Revised Version, edited by Evans C. F. (Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1956). Primarily a religious and theological exposition valuable for those who wish to make sense of the Gospel as it now stands without cutting it up and rearranging the pieces.

Bernard J. H. , A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St. John, edited by McNeile A. H. (in 2 vols., New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1929).In the International Critical Commentary Series.

Dodd C. H. , The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1953). Reconstructs the milieu, defines the leading concepts, and traces the course of the argument of the whole Gospel.

Bacon B. W. , The Gospel of the Hellenists, edited by Carl H. Kraeling (New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1933). General and special introduction, a new translation, a series of themes presenting the principal doctrines and religious ideas. Although the literary hypothesis is not proved, the discussion of it plows up historical facts which have to be considered by the theologian.

Howard W. F. , The Fourth Gospel in Recent Criticism and Interpretation, 4th ed., revised by Barrett G. K. (London: The Epworth Press, 1955). Surveys the various theories so as to enable the reader to determine for himself the standpoint from which the Gospel of John is to be viewed. Chapters contributed by the editor bring the discussion up to date.

McCown C. C. , The Search for the Real Jesus: A Century of Historical Study (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940). Illustrates the relations between the progress of research and the characteristic ideas and dominating tendencies of successive periods. The thesis that social influences affect the course of thought is balanced by attention to the idiosyncracies of individual scholars.

Burrows Millar , The Dead Sea Scrolls, with Translation by the Author (New York: The Viking Press, 1955). Tells the story of the discoveries, of the attempts to date the manuscripts, of their content, and of their significance. The translations of the materials available at the time of publication enable the reader to form a tentative judgment of their impact on the study of John's Gospel.

Robinson B. W. , The Gospel of John: A Handbook for Christian Leaders (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1925). Gives an introduction, then translates and interprets sections of the Gospel with the purpose of helping Christian leaders to study and present their religion in a modern and forceful manner.

Colwell E. G. Titus Eric L. , The Gospel of the Spirit: A Study in the Fourth Gospel (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1953). Presents evidence for two assertions: first, that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is an important part of the teaching of this Gospel; second, that the Fourth Gospel defines Jesus in terms of revelation.

Wilder Amos N. , New Testament Faith for Today (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1955). Shows how John emphasized eternal life here and now and pre-visioned a Christian freedom, and is concerned to explain the language of faith with its symbolism to the modern mind.

Raven C. E. , Experience and Interpretation. The second series of the 1951–2 Gifford Lectures, Natural Religion and Christian Theology (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1953). Faces the problems that have made traditional religion so often appear an anchronism. Examining critically and constructively the new theological statements that are required to express the twentieth century Christian's interpretation of his experience, the author helps to do for today what Henry Drummond's Natural Law in the Spiritual World did for Christians struggling with Darwinism in the nineteenth century.