In an essay of approximately 1500 words, explain the most significant differences between the portrayal of Jesus in the Gospel of John as opposed to the synoptic gospels. In other words, how and why does the Christology of the Gospel of John differ from that of three other canonical gospels? The focus of this paper is primarily on the Gospel of John; use the synoptic gospels as a foil to emphasize the unique features of the Fourth Evangelist's conception of Christ.
As you compose your paper, please keep the following in mind. First, your essay should be your own original analysis of the New Testament texts; external research is not required and should be kept to a minimum. Second, your evidence is confined to the text of the gospels; do not draw on other documents from the New Testament or from Christian tradition in an effort to prove what the Evangelists believed. Third, treat the gospels as the anonymous documents that they are; do not assume that they were written by the men to whom they are traditionally attributed. Do not make arguments that are dependent on these traditional attributions; your arguments should be based solely on the words in the text of the gospels. Fourth, carefully consider the structure of the gospels, and the ways that the author of John, in particular, develops setting, plot, character, symbols, and themes.
How do each of these elements affect the author's portrayal of Christ? Fifth, pay special attention to the different ways that the authors recount the same incident. For example, how does John's account of the feeding of the multitude differ from the accounts in the synoptics? How does the account of Christ's resurrection differ in the Gospel of John from the three other gospels? How do these differences affect the reader's understanding of Christ? Sixth, consider especially the material that is unique to the Gospel of John, such as the Prologue (In the beginning was the Word), the wedding at Cana, and the resurrection of Lazarus.
Finally, when citing the New Testament, indicate the appropriate chapter and verse in parentheses just before the period that ends the sentence in which the reference occurs. For example,
"In the beginning was the Word" (John 1:1).
You do not need to provide complete bibliographical citations for the Bible. If you wish to refer to Ehrman's textbook, do so with a parenthetical citation that includes his name and the appropriate page number (Ehrman, 10). If you cite any other work, you should provide a complete bibliographical reference for it; however, you do not need to conduct any additional research beyond a careful analysis of the New Testament in light of our textbook, and I encourage you to develop your argument using the evidence from our primary sources.
The essay will be graded according to the following criteria:
THESIS: Has the essay addressed the question and attempted to answer it? Does the paper have a clear and convincing argument based on evidence from the text? State your thesis-the answer to the question posed in the assignment-in your initial paragraph. Remember that your thesis is the conclusion to your analysis; you need
ANALYSIS: Is the paper analytical? Does it support each of its points with appropriate evidence drawn from the text? Does the paper actually analyze-not simply quote or paraphrase-the text?
EVIDENCE: Does the paper use evidence in a valid and convincing way? If the writer of the paper twists or distorts evidence to support his or her point, the argument is invalid. Likewise, if s/he ignores evidence from the text which clearly contradicts his or her argument, this oversight greatly weakens the essay. Does the writer avoid reading his own thoughts back into the text? Does s/he adduce a variety of evidence to demonstrate the correctness of his arguments?
STRUCTURE: Is the paper well-written and well-organized? Does it have a clear structure, with an introduction, body, and conclusion? Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence? Does the writer use complete sentences? Is each sentence clearly related to the main topic of the paper? Does each sentence carry the essay's argument forward?
Your papers should be typed, double-spaced, on standard 8.5" x 11" paper using twelve-point font, with one-inch margins all around. In the upper right corner of the first page of your paper, place your name, the course name, and a word count. You should not create a separate title page, but instead center your own creative title at the top of the first page of text. Your title should provide the shortest possible abstract of your paper for your reader. Please submit your paper as a Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format document (with suffixes *.doc, *.docx, or *. rtf). Do NOT submit your paper as an Adobe Acrobat file. When submitting the final copy of your essay, please name the file 371_P2_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME.doc, where LASTNAME and FIRSTNAME should be replaced by your last and first names respectively. Do not use any special characters when naming the file. Please submit your paper via the Major Essay Assignments link in the left column of the course website.