Seeing and believing: spiritual discernment and response in john's gospel: a study of encounters with Jesus, with special reference to the story of the man born blind.

Abstract

In this study I have set out to explore what I would see to be the central significance of the theme of "Seeing and Believing" in the Gospel of John, with special reference to the story of the healing of the man born blind in chapter 9, to consider that man's encounter with Jesus alongside other encounters recorded by John and the various responses to Jesus which we find in this Gospel, and to explore some of the issues and questions raised by any such study of the way in which individuals come to encounter Jesus and see - or not see - who he really is. After a preliminary chapter introducing the theme and glancing briefly at some encounters with Jesus recorded by John, and a second chapter considering the possible relevance to such a study of some recent critical approaches to this Gospel, especially those adopting a "historical-critical" or "literary" approach, I have looked in greater detail at two encounters with Jesus to place alongside that of the man born blind. Chapter 3 explores the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus, focusing on the three passages in which Nicodemus is seen in this Gospel, and chapter 4 turns to Pilate’s meeting with Jesus and his response to Jesus, the prisoner brought to him. Chapter 5 brings us to the central story for this study, the narrative of John 9 in which the man born blind encounters Jesus and comes to make a response of faith. The final chapter of the study focuses again on the central theme of "coming to see who Jesus really is", and takes up again those questions which have been discussed throughout the study: the question about whether faith is a gift, and the more "Johannine" question about the validity of what might be considered "inadequate" or "partial" faith responses.