An engaging seminar by Dr Kath Rushton. Read the handout (link below) to find out what Kath discussed.
TCI offers research seminars every couple of months - watch the website as these will be posted in the latest news.
This paper extends my cosmological reading of the prologue to the “living waters” of Jn 4:4-42.
Previously, I have explored how the certain elements embedded in the cosmology of the prologue (word/logos, in the beginning/en arche, all things/panta and flesh/sarx) evoke ancient Hellenistic cosmology and the biblical cosmology of Genesis and the Wisdom Literature to suggest that its horizon and that of a present interpreter informed by twenty-first century cosmologies and evolutionary biology may meet to inspire a transforming spirituality and ethical action in this ecological age.
My interpretation is set within contemporary approaches of ecological hermeneutics. However, I understand a cosmological framework, which incorporates ecological concerns, is necessary for John’s gospel and for my earth-quake affected context of the city of Otautahi Christchurch.
First, I shall explain my methodology outlining how it links with Johannine symbolism. This is followed by a brief description of two contexts which influence my understanding of living water, then this symbol is considered in the light of Sheckem (in Samaria) having been an area of conflict related to water, an early Christian art depiction, the Jacob traditions and two terms used for water: “still water” (Jn 4:11-12 phrear) and “living water” as from a spring (vv. 6. 12 pēge). My hope is to offer a scriptural voice among the many voices raised in my home province of Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand where water “rights,”its use and storage are contested.