Prologue

These next several posts are the written versions of Bible studies I have led over the last few weeks. Because I am writing largely from memory they have a feel to them that is distinct from the actual studies I led. Some information might be included here that was not mentioned in the studies, much information used in the studies is excluded. This happened both intentionally and inadvertently. Intentional editing took place for the sake of brevity. Writing takes much more work and time than speaking. Inadvertent editing took place because it just does. Also, I found myself (again for brevity's sake) paraphrasing the verses as I went along. This saved me energy and space. Kind of like interpreting on the fly. It will make sense if you read the paraphrase along with the actual text. I hope.

Also. The goal of these studies was and is to help you, the 21st century North American, see the characters, stories, and truths of the gospel of John as they would have been seen by a late-first or early-second century Jew or Greek, who knew nothing of Jesus until they came across this story. At least I hope to move you in this direction of understanding/appreciation. This explains my emphasis on history and cultural background. And I am passionate about doing this, and willing to take this approach when given the opportunity to speak in front of thousands at our Bible studies, because I have found it deeply impacting on a personal level. The logos of God did not become incarnate in Orange County last week but in Nazareth around 4 BC and, though Scripture is eternal and speaks in every culture and time period, when and where Scripture happened adds volumes of meaning to what it proposes to say. I hope at least one or two of the study attendees can now attest to that.

Also. Thanks to my friends who encouraged me to do this. I'm not very confident many will read these, let alone enjoy them, but it is worth doing if only for the personal benefit of having my thoughts on record. If I survive 2012, along with the internet, it is very possible and likely that my thinking will change with time and records such as these might likely prove a useful way of tracking this growth, assuming I will be fortunate enough to call it that with any integrity at all.

Also again. On the off-chance that anybody reads these, and on the still offer-chance that anybody has questions, feel free to e-mail me or facebook me. I prefer facebook, but I'll take what I can get.