A Literary Reading of John 5 is a distinctive and critical study of John 5 from a literary and ideological perspective. This scholarly monograph employs a text-as- construction reading strategy that examines both the role of the implied reader within the narrative context of John 5 and the impact of John 5 on the implied reader. It argues that John 5 can be read as a reconstructed coherent and meaningful text centered on the conflict of belief and unbelief, which through the device of a failed anagnorisis can lead to an ideology of superiority for the implied reader.
"In this well-argued and accessible monograph, Lozada introduces the field of biblical studies to a thorough-going, reader-oriented analysis of John 5. Building upon reader-response criticism and formalist literary studies, Lozada moves significantly beyond these approaches by arguing that 'readers' are 'always' constructions of the interaction between texts and the ideological concerns of flesh-and-blood readers.
Lozada's work convincingly shows us that a constructionist reading of the Bible, coupled with insights from the burgeoning field of cultural studies, can lead to a clearer recognition of the role ideology plays in all readings of biblical texts - a role that earlier historical-critical and literary studies were unable to exploit.
Lozada's voice will be welcomed not only in Johannine literary studies, but also in the wider arena of biblical studies where issues of the ethics of reading and the ideologies of reading communities are becoming more and more central to scholars' interpretative conversations." (Jeffrey L. Staley, Visiting Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA)
"This ground-breaking study engagingly illustrates how the reader constructs the text of John 5. In dialogue with contemporary scholarship, Dr. Lozada interprets the textual gaps that require the reader to construct a more coherent text in the process of interpretation. He reads the text as a contemporary New Testament scholar and sensitizes readers to the place of ideological criticism in every act of reading and interpreting biblical texts. We will all read John 5 and other texts with greater awareness after having read for a while with the author." (R. Alan Culpepper, Dean of the McAffee School of Theology, Mercer University, Georgia)
Lozada's work convincingly shows us that a constructionist reading of the Bible, coupled with insights from the burgeoning field of cultural studies, can lead to a clearer recognition of the role ideology plays in all readings of biblical texts - a role that earlier historical-critical and literary studies were unable to exploit.
Lozada's voice will be welcomed not only in Johannine literary studies, but also in the wider arena of biblical studies where issues of the ethics of reading and the ideologies of reading communities are becoming more and more central to scholars' interpretative conversations." (Jeffrey L. Staley, Visiting Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA)
"This ground-breaking study engagingly illustrates how the reader constructs the text of John 5. In dialogue with contemporary scholarship, Dr. Lozada interprets the textual gaps that require the reader to construct a more coherent text in the process of interpretation. He reads the text as a contemporary New Testament scholar and sensitizes readers to the place of ideological criticism in every act of reading and interpreting biblical texts. We will all read John 5 and other texts with greater awareness after having read for a while with the author." (R. Alan Culpepper, Dean of the McAffee School of Theology, Mercer University, Georgia)