The Gospel of John and Ancient Greek Philosophy: An Investigation of the Hellenistic Philosophical Background of Jesus's Long Speeches in the Gospel of John

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Athanasios Despotis
• Subject Area: Protestant Theology
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 417629664

This project refers to the current discussion on the relationship between the John's Gospel and ancient Greek philosophy and intends to develop a new model for the interpretation of John's Gospel. So far, a variety of comparative methods have been used that separate the Fourth Gospel from its Hellenistic background and fail to properly consider its author's constructive interaction with philosophy in the early Roman empire. However, the new project integrates voices of ancient Christian philosophers, who have cultural-historical proximity to the context of John and can help the modern exegete to better interpret the interdependence between Hellenistic religion and philosophy. Therefore, this project reinterprets the long speeches of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel as reflections of cultural hybridity. Thus, this study challenges the opinion that Hellenistic Jewish and Christian authors use elements of Hellenistic philosophy to convey religious propaganda.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants