Tricia Gates Brown

"Buddhist spirituality teaches that clinging to the impermanent causes suffering-and the true spiritual path is the path to awareness, acceptance, and letting go, the pathway to joy. Mostly I hate this with the shit-fire passion of a bull. Yet I must face the bull in me like the bastions of adrenaline-charged men in Pamplona, or in better moments, the graceful matador choreographing the dance of non-resistance."After experiencing a devastating loss, writer Tricia Gates Brown could no longer write. Seven months later, as she gathered strength, she set out composing short pieces simply as writing practice. Yet the narrative that tumbled out was a surprise. An arc of losing and finding. A journey of self-discovery and wonder.

Tricia Gates Brown employs the methodology of socio-scientific biblical criticism to investigate the pneumatology of John and 1 John. She argues that the meaning of spirit in John and 1 John is best understood using the anthropological model of brokerage. The model of patronage and its relevance to the socio-cultural world of JohnGCOs gospel is also discussed. Spirit in the Writings of John examines the development in pneumatology between John and 1 John and analyzes what this suggests about the socio-cultural context of the Johannine community. There is a discussion of the meaning of the term paracletos in literature antedating John, and the dominant view that the word was a formal forensic term is challenged.