Description: Hitherto unpublished essays by the renowned Johannine scholar, shedding light on the fourth Gospel itself and on current biblical scholarship more widely.
The renowned Johannine scholar John Ashton (1931-2016) left a large number of unpublished essays at the end of his life, representing his ongoing exegetical work. Introduced here by Christopher Rowland and Catrin H. Williams, they explore important themes such as mystery and Christology arising from his ground-breaking study, Understanding the Fourth Gospel.Alongside them is an intellectual autobiography originally intended for that volume, contextualizing Ashton's work both in the wider context of biblical scholarship and the particularities of his life. This in itself is an exceptional contribution, and together with the essays it sheds light not only on the current state of Johannine studies, but also on the situation of those involved with both church and academy in the closing decades of the twentieth century.
Brief description: Christopher Rowland is Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture Emeritus, University of Oxford, and was for many years a colleague of John Ashton at the University of Oxford. They shared a common interest in apocalyptic themes in the New Testament, and both edited volumes of essays that were presented on their respective retirements. Catrin H. Williams is Reader in New Testament Studies at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and Research Fellow in the Department of Old and New Testament Studies, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. The Gospel of John is her main research interest and, with Christopher Rowland, she has edited a volume of essays on apocalyptic themes in the Gospel of John engaging with one of the most original contributions of John Ashton's magisterial study of the Gospel.
Review Quotes: Reading this book is a moving experience. Equally, however, one comes away from having done so with a head brimming with new ideas and perspectives to return to the Gospel and see it again in a fresh light. John Ashton was a gifted exegete, who brought phenomenal scholarship, literary sensibility and insight, and a seasoning of delicious humour, to the task of interpreting the work of the gifted author of the Gospel of John.--Wendy E.S. North, Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Theology and Religion, University of Durham