Patrick Chatelion Counet

John, a Postmodern Gospel: Introduction to Deconstructive Exegesis Applied to the Fourth Gospel (Biblical Interpretation Series) Patrick Chatelion Counet

This study deals with the postmodern philosophy of language as developed mainly by French authors such as R. Barthes, J. Derrida and J.-F. Lyotard. The four chapters of the first part are theoretical and relate the literary concepts of postmodernity, poststructuralism and deconstruction to the practice of biblical exegesis. One of the important conclusions is that deconstruction affects both diachronic and synchronic approaches of texts. Each chapter closes with implications for a postmodern, deconstructive strategy of reading. The four chapters of the second part apply this postmodern, deconstructive strategy of reading to the Fourth Gospel as a whole (Chapter 5), to John 6 (Chapter 6), to John 17 (Chapter 7), and to John 21, 24-25 (Chapter 8). This deconstructive reading shows the differential and apophatic character of St John's Gospel.