Quick Plug: Christopher Skinner's Reading John

Once in awhile a book comes along that is not only a good read, but simultaneously proves itself to be eminently useful. Such a book is to be found in Christopher Skinner's Reading John in the Cascade Companion Series.

Although I have yet to finish the little volume yet (152 pages), I have read enough to stand by the above statement . Skinner has achieved a rarity in this book; he writes a primer of the Fourth Gospel aimed directly for students. This is no small feat, as I have read many works supposedly geared for students, which end up overestimating the target audience with dense prose, scholarly jargon, and technical discussions that rarely break down for the audience for whom the work is directed. Skinner avoids these missteps, presenting a well-rounded introduction to John, while only using technical jargon where it is unavoidable.

I cannot say enough about this little gem of a book, and I will be saying more in subsequent posts. For my part, I cannot wait to teach John's Gospel again, and Skinner's Reading John will undoubtedly be my teaching textbook of choice.