Nuño Calafell, Abel <br/><br/>
Perspectivade la Libertaden Juan 8:31-38 Implicaciones en Clave Relacional, Identitaria y Redentora 

 - Johannesburg  South African Theological Seminary  2020 
 - 117 pages  PDF  A4  Abstract, TOC 
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<br/><br/> The  theme  of  freedom  is  one  of  humanity's  most  fundamental  values,  even sometimes seeming to dominate over the value of one's life. Many have written about freedom; many opinions and perspectives have tried to glimpse their nature and content. But there has also been a lot of confusion around it. This  work  aims  to  shed  some  light  on  this  confusion.  As  a  study  within  the framework  of  biblical  theology,  this thesis  shall  endeavour  to  answer  essential questions such as: What is freedom? What does it mean to be free? What is it worth  to  be  free?  What  are  the  limits  to  freedom?  To  what  or  to  whom  does freedom  relate?  Is  freedom worthwhile?  If  there  are  different  ways  of  under-standing freedom, which what is the real one? To this end, it will focus on the in-depth study of a key scripture text that speaks of freedom, John 8:31-38. This study is divided into three sections (or chapters) that will help answer these questions. First an introductory approach to the text will be developed with specific reference to the context in the Gospel of John. The second chapter will develop the exegesis of the text taking into account the grammatical  and  semantic  structure. Specifically,  it  will  explore  the  theme through  the  three  different  lenses  derived  from the  perspective  of  freedom of-fered by the text itself:(1) The relational  lens(v. 31 "If  you remain  in  my  word  you  are  truly my  disciples" ) will demonstrate Christ’s interest in relating to his own, establishing criteria for that relationship within the context of discipleship.(2) The identity  lens(v.  32  "and  ye  shall  know  the  truth  and  the  truth  shall  set you free" ) will clarify the link between truth and freedom in order to understand the true nature of freedom.(3) The redemptive lens(v.36: "So if the Son makes you free, ye shall be truly free")  will  show  the  need  for redemption  to  attain  full  freedom,  understanding the state of slavery of sin in which human beings are immersed and, therefore, the impossibility of self-liberation. Finally, the third chapter will analyse the implications and consequences of the exegesis of John 8:31-38 for the perspective of freedom offered, in light of the three  lenses  (relational,  identity  and  redemptive)  identified,  all  with the  aim  of discovering the true nature of true freedom in Christ.