Dualism

Two Different World
Johannine Dualism
Dualism:
• From the Latin word dou meaning “two”.
• Denotes the state of two parts.
• Was originally coined to denote co-eternal
binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved
in meta physical and Philosophical duality
discourse.
Usage has been more generalized and
indicates a system which contains two
essential parts.
Theological
Moral Ontological
(Theistic)
DUALISM
Philosophy
Political
of Science
History:
Book of John:
 Dualism is a prominent feature.
 Although not unique but used in different
ways.
History: 1st Century
Egypt Persian
Zoroastrianism
Jewish
People
Gnosticism Early Christians
Early Christian view
GOD
Christ’s
Victorious
Appearance
The Present Evil Age The Age to Come

Ruled by Satan Ruled by God
Satan’s Satan’s
Origin Destruction
The 4th Gospel does not accept this view in
total:
John, maverick Gospel book:
Positive Pole Example Negative Pole
Light 1:5 Darkness
Above 8:23 Below
Spirit 3:6 Flesh
Life (eternal) 3:36 Death
Truth 8:44-47 Falsehood
Heaven 3:31 Earth
God 13:27 Satan
Israel 1:19 & 47 “The Jews”
17:14 The World (sometimes)
Discussions
I. The Dualistic Symbols of the fourth

Gospel
II. The Jews in the 4th Gospel
III. The questions of determinism in the
Gospel
I. The Dualistic Symbols of the fourth Gospel
“WORLD” (KOSMOS)
 Is primarily vertical: a contrast between 2 worlds.

The world above and the world below.
 In contrast to Synoptic – Horizontal, a contrast
between two ages: This age and with the age to
come.
Kosmos
 This term is used in several distinct ways.

 Sometimes used as the entire created order (Jn 17:5-26)
 And “EARTH” in particular (Jn 11:9;16:21;21:25)
The earth is frequently referred to as the dwelling

place of humanity
So in the 1st terminology:
There is no trace of the idea that there is

anything evil about the world: “All things were
made through him and without him was not
anything made that was made (1:3) –
So the created world continues to be God’s world
– (Positive)
On the other hand – Kosmos can originate not only
the world but also those who inhabit the world –
human kind(12:19; 18:20)
Kosmos: Humanity at Enmity with God.
Human beings are viewed not simply as the

inhabitants of the earth and the objects of love
and redeeming acts, but in contrast to God, as
sinful, rebellious and alienated from God, as
fallen humanity.
The Dualities uses of the term “kosmos” in
John.
The distinction is between the world of the

human – natural region over against the
uncreated divine realm.
The 1st is dependent and while the 2nd is

independent and uncreated.
Important points:
It embraces a cosmic dualism of two worlds.
*New Testament literature implies a 3 story universe:

God and Angels in the highest level.
Satan and the demons - lowest level.
Humans and nature – stuck in between.
Important points continued…
The relationship of this Dualism of human self

understanding is - a question?
How literally did the 4th Evangelist embrace this

Cosmic dualism…?
Did they believe in 2 different worlds?

There are 2 possibilities.
One is that we have in the 4th Gospel 2 kinds of

Dualism both represented are of the “world”
• A human dualism (2 ways of understanding one self)
• A cosmic dualism (2 realms of being)
It would be would be living in a physical & materialistic

world while believing that there is another world of a
non-physical and non-material kind.
The other possibility

The two different worlds.
The world of the human and the world of the divine

are picture language to say that persons may (and
must) choose to understand themselves either as
independent of God or as dependent creatures.
In this case, the author would not mean that there
are literally 2 different realms within the cosmos.
In other words those 2 realms are a positive

way of expressing the connection that
humans must choose either to live under the
rule of God or to try to escape that rule.
[Metaphor of human lifestyle]

Interpretation
Difficult situation
-Literal vs poetic
-Facts vs understanding (subjective)
Thought:
Johannine dualism is continuous with its cosmic
dualism.
Having said that in Johannine Dualism:
There is a negative pole that describes the

state of misdirected and conferred human
life. To falsehood, flesh, satan.
There is a positive pole which symbolizes the

light, truth, spirit, etc.
Johannine Dualism:
The Johannine dualism of 2 different world

is, then, the evangelist's understanding of the
human need for salvation and the nature of
that Salvation.
It answers human identities. The two

different worlds of John are two different
identities.
The Gospel is more concerned with the way in
which human existence is deformed by
misunderstanding.
Johannine Dualism:
The Johannine dualism of 2 different world

is, then, the evangelist's understanding of the
human need for salvation and the nature of
that Salvation.
It answers human identities. The two

different worlds of John are two different
identities.
The Gospel is more concerned with the way in
which human existence is deformed by
misunderstanding.
II. The Jews in the 4th Gospel.
 Facts, if Synoptic Gospels refer to the Jews

5x to 6x. The 4th Gospel used the word
Jews 70x.
 The manner it is used had some tragic
consequences.
 It is used as basis for Christian anti-
semitism.
Several distinct references
Group of Villains in
believers the Gospel
Jews
Religious authority
who are oppose to Judean Jews
Christ
The “jews” has nothing to do with religious national

or ethnic congregations.
In other words – “jews” restricted to the role
they play types of unbelief.
“The jews”
As the symbol is a part of the broader
Johannine dualism.
Those human beings who fail to see that in

Christ there is fulfillment of the heritage of
the Hebrew bible.
Those humans who cling to their pride.
These are the persons represented in the

symbol “The Jews”.
Any person who refuses to accept the human
identity proposed by Christ in the Gospel is a
“jew”
III. Johannine Determinism.
In the Gospel there are frequent occurrences of
what sounds like a determinism.
1. Jesus often speaks as if the will of God has
determined those who would respond to the
divine revelation in Christ.
2. Jesus sometimes claims that one must be drawn
by God in order to believe.
3. According to Jn6:65 belief is not possible unless it
is granted.
This kind of language is set beside a clearly
implied freedom to believe or not.
Determinism
All persons are selected by God for belief
vs
Only those who are selected by God are given the
capacity for faith.
Some whom have a heavenly origin and
destiny and some of whom do not.
There is a paradoxical dimension to religious
belief.
The divine determination and human

freedom are woven together to produce
belief.
Conclusion
 Evil has its roots in humans.
It is rooted in particular aspect of human
life, namely identity.
 The 2 worlds in the Gospel represent two ways

of existence open to persons: the way of evil,
with its pretense of independence. And the
way of truth, with its acknowledgement of
dependence on God.
 The 4th Evangelist utilizes a wide spectrum of

symbols to describe these two worlds.
Thank you

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Two Different World

The Present Evil Age The Age to Come

I. The Dualistic Symbols of the fourth

 Is primarily vertical: a contrast between 2 worlds.

 This term is used in several distinct ways.

The earth is frequently referred to as the dwelling

There is no trace of the idea that there is

Human beings are viewed not simply as the

The distinction is between the world of the

The 1st is dependent and while the 2nd is

It embraces a cosmic dualism of two worlds.

*New Testament literature implies a 3 story universe:

The relationship of this Dualism of human self

How literally did the 4th Evangelist embrace this

Did they believe in 2 different worlds?

There are 2 possibilities.

One is that we have in the 4th Gospel 2 kinds of

It would be would be living in a physical & materialistic

The other possibility

The world of the human and the world of the divine

In other words those 2 realms are a positive

[Metaphor of human lifestyle]

There is a negative pole that describes the

There is a positive pole which symbolizes the

The Johannine dualism of 2 different world

It answers human identities. The two

The Johannine dualism of 2 different world

It answers human identities. The two

 Facts, if Synoptic Gospels refer to the Jews

The “jews” has nothing to do with religious national

Those human beings who fail to see that in

Those humans who cling to their pride.

These are the persons represented in the

The divine determination and human

 The 2 worlds in the Gospel represent two ways

 The 4th Evangelist utilizes a wide spectrum of

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