“The Anonymous Witness: Solving the Riddle of the Beloved Disciple’s Anonymity in the Fourth Gospel” by Steven Daly (AUT Master of Theology [Research] graduate)
The so-called Beloved Disciple — “the disciple whom Jesus loved” — if he’s so important, why is he anonymous? It’s a mystery. And a riddle.
Pondering the complexity of the “Johannine problem” led The Revd Dr Steven Daly to investigate the third of four inter-related riddles: Who is this Beloved Disciple? What does that identifying clause—“the disciple whom Jesus loved”—actually mean? Why present your star eyewitness anonymously? And, fourthly, what exactly is his relationship to the text itself? By focusing on solving one riddle, the third, the riddle of anonymity, Steven believes he’s solved all four. Has he found the solution to a 2000-year-old mystery? You be the judge.
