Tuesday, May 17, 2016
I am deeply grateful and indebted to the life and contribution of D. Moody Smith.
Since doing my doctoral studies at Glasgow on John's Christology, Moody Smith has been a companion and guide in my quest for truth and in the work of meaningful interpretation. He contributed a gracious foreword to The Christology of the Fourth Gospel in 1996, and it was to him that I dedicated my introduction to John fifteen years later, The Riddles of the Fourth Gospel. Moody's judgments have always been measured and wise--delivered with clarity but also with graciousness--the finest of examples in the entire field of biblical studies. Along with Raymond Brown and Robert Kysar, I have long esteemed Moody Smith to be among the leading Johannine scholars in the world--certainly in America. Alan Culpepper and I were delighted to get his first book back into print and into his hands last November, as Volume 2 in The Johannine Monograph Series. Through this and other venues, his legacy will thus continue to speak.
From the start of our John, Jesus, and History Project in 2001, Moody was a member of our steering committee, providing wisdom and direction for us along the way. In appreciation for his wisdom and continuing influence, the steering committee decided this week to dedicate Volume 3 of the John, Jesus, and History Project--Glimpses of the Jesus Through the Johannine Lens--to D. Moody Smith. It will appear this summer with SBL Press. Here's what I have written for the front matter of that important book of over 600 pages, featuring the contributions of 29 leading Johannine and Jesus scholars around the world.
"During the finalization of this manuscript we learned of the passing of Moody Smith, a member of the original steering committee of the John, Jesus, and History Project. One of the leading American New Testament scholars over the last half-century and a luminary in the international "Johannine School," this volume is dedicated to him. Thanks, Moody, for your contribution and example; your measured and and reasoned legacy abides."
Paul N. Anderson
Professor of Biblical and Quaker Studies
George Fox University
Newberg, OR 97132
