Does John 17:11b, 21-23 refer to church unity?
In ecumenical circles, John 17:11b, 21-23 has been understood as Jesus prayer for church unity, be it confessional or structural. This article questioned such readings and conclusions from historical, literary and sosio-cultural viewpoints. The Fourth Gospels language is identified as antilanguage typical of an antisociety, like that of the Hermetic, Mandean and Qumran sects. Such a society is a separate entity within society at large, but opposes it. Read as a text of an antisociety, John 17:11b, 21-23 legitimises the unity of the separatist Johannine community, which could have comprised several such communities. This community opposed the Judean religion, Gnosticism, the followers of John the Baptist and three major groups in early Christianity. As text from the canon, this Johannine text legitimates tolerance of diversity rather than the confessional or structural unity of the church.
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2011
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222011000100067 |
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