This study in Johannine ecclesiology reconstructs the history of one Christian community in the first century, a community whose life from its inception to its last hour is reflected in the Gospel and Epistles of John. It was a community that struggled with the world and eventually among its own ranks, not unlike the Church of today. Pulling together twenty-five years of Brown's research into the Johannine corpus, this book explains why Brown called Johannine thought "the most adventuresome theology in the New Testament." In a new introduction to the book, Paul N. Anderson provides an updated overview of the book's receptions and further developments in Johannine scholarship.

Endorsements

"The Community of the Beloved Disciple is one of the most influential works of twentieth-century Johannine scholarship. This new printing, assisted by Paul Anderson's helpful introduction, is poised to inspire another generation of students and scholars."
—Christopher W. Skinner, Loyola University Chicago

"The Community of the Beloved Disciple encapsulates much of Raymond Brown's work on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles and continues to stimulate scholarly debate, as the useful introduction by Paul Anderson indicates."
—Harold Attridge, Sterling Professor of Divinity, Emeritus, Yale University Divinity School

"This new edition makes Raymond Brown's seminal work on Johannine literature available to the next generation of interpreters. Paul Anderson's introduction articulates the historical context and novel insights of Brown's work, making this volume a staple of contemporary study."
—Sherri Brown, professor of New Testament, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska

Raymond E. Brown, PSS (1928–1998), remains one of the best-known Johannine scholars in the world for his reconstruction of the community behind the Gospel and Epistles of John. He was the first Catholic professor to obtain tenure at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he taught for twenty years, and one of the first Catholic scholars to make extensive use of the historical critical method.

Paul N. Anderson serves as professor of biblical and Quaker studies at George Fox University and as extraordinary professor of religion at the North-West University of Potchefstroom.
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