RE: John 17:3 and Augustine (1John 5:20)

Clayton Bartholomew (c.s.bartholomew@worldnet.att.net)
Sat, 23 Aug 1997 09:55:57 +0000

I read Carl's response with care and it is well argued and
convincing. I raised the question to begin with because a modern
author has revived Augustine's interpretation. Looking at the
passage I could not see how a modern author could read the
passage the way Augustine had. The author is W. Bousset,
*Kyrios Christos*, English Trans., New York, Abingdon 1970. I
have not seen this work and have to rely on Murray Harris for
my information about it.

Harris claims that the Bousset built his argument on a supposed
connection between John 17:3 and 1John 5:20. Now the
interpretation of 1John 5:20 is somewhat more complex than
John 17:3. The central issue of controversy in 1John 5:20 is the
antecedent of h0UTOS. It seems to me that no matter which side
one comes down on with regard to 1John 5:20, one would not be
justified in transferring the referent of O ALHQINOS QEOS from
this passage to John 17:3. The structure of John 17:3 is lucid and
unambiguous.

Clay Bartholomew
Three Tree Point