Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-275) and indexes.

Navigating a stream in which a child can wade and an elephant can swim -- An overview of the Fourth Gospel -- The theological riddles of the Fourth Gospel -- The historical riddles of the Fourth Gospel -- The literary riddles of the Fourth Gospel -- Scholarly approaches to John -- The dialogical autonomy of the Fourth Gospel : a plausible theory -- The origin and character of the Johannine riddles : a guide to interpretation -- The Christ of faith and Johannine theology -- The Jesus of history in John : a fourth quest for Jesus? -- The life of the church : Johannine ecclesiology.

"Paul Anderson, a leading scholar of the Fourth Gospel, provides an introductory textbook, crafted for a semester course, which leads students through literary, historical, and theological aspects of the Fourth Gospel's most vexing puzzles. Traditional, historical-critical, and literary-critical approaches are deftly introduced and their limitations evaluated; questions of the Gospel's authorship, composition, relationship to the Synoptics, and origins in particular historical experiences are succinctly addressed; and distinctive Johannine perspectives on Jesus, the church, and the world are discussed" -- Publisher description.