[B-Greek] The opening of John: CAUTION
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Mon Mar 31 12:26:06 EST 2003
It is not immediately clear to me whether this question really has anything
to do with the Greek text of the Johannine Prologue or with evidence toward
interpretation provided by the Greek text itself. In any case, I'm going to
ask that those who have advice to offer by way of a reply that is NOT
directly related to the Greek text, please DO respond to Dan OFF-LIST. If,
on the other hand, any response is concerned with the text of the Johannine
prologue AS A GREEK TEXT, there may well be something illuminating for
list-members.
At 11:25 AM -0500 3/31/03, dnhschmidt at juno.com wrote:
>Hello
>
>The opening of the Gospel According to John is often dissected, with a
>view to supporting a particular doctrinal position.
>
>Alongside of this, some see in the opening the words of an ancient hymn.
>
>If we do see a hymn, is it really fair to subject the passage to such
>scrutiny? For example, take the phrase "All Hail the Power of Jesus'
>Name". Should we ask whether this should be understood as a statement of
>fact or as a command? What exactly is meant by "hail"? Is it a greeting
>or an invitation to worship? What was the author's original intent? But
>many people enjoy the thrust of the words without performing such an
>exercise. In my experience, too much scrutiny can lead to the thrust
>being blunted or missed.
>
>
>So, then, should the opening of the Gospel be viewed as a hymn? If so,
>then should it be dissected?
>
>
>Sincerely,
>Dan Schmidt
>Martins Ferry, Ohio
>
>If you wish, you may respond to me directly at dnhschmidt at juno.com
--
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/
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