One Thing I Know: How the Blind Man of John 9 Leads an Audience Toward Belief

This work employs multiple methodologies to analyze the story of the man born blind (John 9) in order to discern how this episode serves the greater purpose of the Gospel stated in 20:31: so that you may trust that Jesus is the Messiah the Son of God and through trusting you may have life. The analysis of linguistic patterns; narrative structure; cultural anthropology; and an analysis of irony humor and wit are each employed. These are all synthesized in the final chapter which makes an attempt to discern how an ancient performance of John 9 might look and how such a performance might sway an ancient audience toward trust in Jesus as Messiah. The underlying question of this illuminating study is How does it work? If Johns goal is to lead people to trust in Jesus and the experience of eternal life in the present how does the narrative actually accomplish that goal? Britt Leslie sets out to answer that question through an analysis of the story of the healing of the man born blind in John 9. He does it by applying one method after another to lay bare the meaning and rhetoric of the passage until he reveals the overall impact designed to lead the audience of a performance of John to faith in Jesus and the spiritual experience of Jesus as the light of the world. Written with clarity and cogency this study of John is a must-read book for students teachers and scholars alike. --David Rhoads Professor Emeritus Lutheran School of Theology One Thing I Know is notable not only because it advances new insights on one of the most-discussed passages in the Fourth Gospel over the past fifty years but also because it illustrates the emergence of new and multidisciplinary approaches that bring together and build upon the conclusions of historical rhetorical social-scientific narrative-critical and media-critical approaches to the text. Judiciously combining observations on the narrative and performative dimensions of John 9 and combining these with historical insights in dialogue with prior scholarship Leslie underscores the value of multi-faceted readings of the text. The book is helpful not only for its synthesis of methods but also for its accessibility. --Tom Thatcher Professor of Biblical Studies Cincinnati Christian University Britt Leslie received his PhD from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and is currently an adjunct professor at United Theological Seminary in Dayton Ohio. He also teaches Bible in the Pastors Course of Study for the United Methodist Church in Ohio and Indiana.