John Through the Centuries / Blackwell Bible Commentaries (PDF)

This pioneering commentary embraces the full scope and themes
raised in John's Gospel, offering an engaging and perceptive
reading. Mark Edwards explores a diverse range of excerpts and
creative responses, with particular emphasis on the treatment of
the Gospel in English poetry.

* * Explores the diverse themes and issues raised in John's
Gospel, and considers its influence on figures from Saint
Augustine, to Dorothy Sayers and Bob Dylan.

* Treats well-known interpreters such as Thomas Aquinas along
with lesser-known figures such as the Gnostic Heracleon, and the
sixth-century hymn-writer, Romanos.

* Brings ancient and modern commentators into dialogue with each
other, and takes a critical stance towards some parallels drawn by
modern scholars between the Gospel and the surrounding pagan
culture.

* Features excerpts from a wide variety of poets who give a
creative interpretation of John's Gospel, and considers many
artistic representations.

* Suggests that imaginative response can illuminate a reading of
the Bible where purely critical and historical analysis has proved
unsatisfactory.

* An accessible introduction and extensive section notes address
interpretations of the Gospel from antiquity to the present.

* Published as part of the ground-breaking Blackwell Bible
Commentaries series.

More information about this series is available from the
Blackwell Bible Commentaries website at
http://www.bbibcomm.net/