A Whole New World: Great Insights into Transformation & Fulfillment --The Gospel of John

What is the purpose behind the Gospel according to John? A quick perusal through any Bible study section of a local religious bookstore will reveal that there are as many answers to that question as there are authors. John Blackwell has added his voice to that mix in his little book “A Whole New World: Great Insights into Transformation & Fulfillment—The Gospel of John.” Blackwell asserts that John’s Gospel is primarily about relationships, and supplies answers on how to transform our relationships, “My desire is that the essays that follow will help that transformation come alive to you” (16). Blackwell works hard in his attempt to create this sense, though one gets the feeling that most of his exposition is shaped by his own personal experiences than it is from the Gospel of John.

Blackwell has written for the average reader, and writes in a style that is easy enough to follow. While he has not written a Bible study, he does try to pull together various themes and stories in John that fit his scheme. For example, Blackwell endeavors to summarize John’s use of metaphors with statements like this, “[…]: Christ brings the world to fulfillment enlarging our capacity for authentic relationships with God and each other” (9, emphasis in original).

Occasionally Blackwell brings to the surface some solid reflections from this Gospel, as when he writes, “[…] Christ embodies God in the flesh. When we interact with Christ, we interact with God. When we observe Christ’s interactions with others, we see God at work” (77). But most of the time Blackwell’s observations are more focused on the therapeutic and self-help, and less with what the Gospel is addressing.

The format of the book is open and thoughtful. Each short chapter ends with questions that are tied to the chapter in some way, and have plenty of space for the reader to write her own reflections.
While the book, “A Whole New World: Great Insights into Transformation & Fulfillment—The Gospel of John,” gives the appearance that it is going to help the reader work through the Gospel of John, and give a greater grasp of the Gospel and how it personally applies, instead the book is more of a reflection on the author’s preconceived mold into which the chosen texts are made to fit like a Procrustean bed.

A Whole New World: Great Insights into Transformation & Fulfillment --The Gospel of John
John Blackwell
Morgan-James Publishers (2006)
ISBN 9781933596952
Reviewed by Dr. Michael Philliber for Reader Views (12/07)