Johannine Sectarianism in Perspective ─ A Sociological, Historical, And Comparative Analysis of Temple and Social Relationships in the Gospel of John, Philo, and Qumran

In order to challenge some implicit and explicit presuppositions in the reading of the Gospel of John, particularly relating to the choice of perspective in the historical evaluation of the Johannine community, Fuglseth (Bordo U. College, Norway) incorporates a sociological approach grounded in the modern sociology of religion and its models of new religious movements; a historical approach to the situation of the alleged Johannine community; and a comparative approach that encompasses texts of Philo of Alexandria and texts from Qumran. The study is revised from his 2002 doctoral dissertation in religious studies for the University of Trondheim, Norway. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Kare Fuglseth, Ph.D. (2002), Department of Religious Studies at the University of Trondheim (NTNU), Norway. At present he is Associate Professor at Bodo University College. He has published articles on the Gospel of John, the Revelation of John, Philo of Alexandria and hermeneutics. Together with Peder Borgen and Roald Skarsten he publishedThe Philo Index (Brill/Eerdmans 2000). He is also the author of A Comparison of Greek Words in Philo and the New Testament (Mellen 2003).