Imagination, Temporality, and Anti-Imperialism in the Gospel of John

Description

'Imagine all the people, living for today': this is a rather accurate summary of how scholars describe the eschatology of John’s gospel. It is known for its realized eschatology and its spiritualized, individual views on eternal life. The future, or collective, empire-critical imaginations thereof, does not seem to be on the author's mind. This paper, however, proposes that the concept of ‘time’ in the narrative points to the religious community’s self-understanding as a prefiguration of the coming divine reign. Thus, it shapes the identity of the (real or constructed) ‘Johannine community' vis-à-vis other more dominant religious and imperial temporalities. By using the lens of ‘prefigurative politics’ – a political-philosophical concept – it is argued that the gospel’s author uses the notion of ‘time’ to set up its religious community as an imaginative heterotopia drawing the divine future into the present.

Period	7 Nov 2025
Event title	NGG (Dutch Association of the Study of Religion) Conference 2025: Imagination/Religion
Event type	Conference
Location	Utrecht, NetherlandsShow on map
Degree of Recognition	National