Johnson Thomaskutty


Johnson Thomaskutty is an Indian New Testament scholar and theologian, currently serving as Professor of New Testament and Chairperson of Biblical Studies at the United Theological College, Bengaluru. He is known for his contributions to Johannine literature, dialogical hermeneutics, and contextual readings of the New Testament in Asia. He is currently serving as the editor of Bangalore Theological Forum. He was invited as a resource person in churches and academic institutions in different parts of India and in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Turkey, Thailand, South Korea, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Early life and education

Dr. Thomaskutty was born in Kollam, Kerala, to a Malayali Christian family. He is an ordained Pentecostal minister and an ecumenical theologian hailing from the Indian context. He has earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Kerala, India. He then earned his Bachelor of Divinity and a Master of Theology in New Testament under the Senate of Serampore College (University) at Faith Theological Seminary, Manakala, and Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, respectively.
He later completed a ThM in New Testament studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey, USA, and earned a PhD in New Testament under Prof. Jan van der Watt from Radboud University Nijmegen in 2014. His doctoral dissertation was titled The Nature and Function of Dialogue in the Book of Signs .

Academic career

From 2001 to 2004, he served as a lecturer in New Testament and Greek language, and also as a College Chaplain at Serampore College, West Bengal.
He then joined the Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, becoming Head of the Department of New Testament, Dean of Biblical Studies, and Dean of Distance Learning.
In 2021, he was appointed Professor of New Testament and later on Chairperson of Biblical Studies at the United Theological College, Bengaluru.
He also serves as a Research Associate at the Department of New Testament & Related Literature, University of Pretoria, South Africa. He is a member of the Society for Biblical Studies in India, the, the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, and the Society of Biblical Literature.

Research interests

Dr. Thomaskutty's research explores the literary, theological, and cultural dimensions of the New Testament, with a special focus on the Gospel of John. His work emphasizes dialogue as a defining narrative mode in the Johannine writings, interpreting it through polyphonic, polyvalent, and contextual lenses. He investigates how conversation functions as both a theological and literary device within the Gospel's structure. In addition, he studies the Thomas tradition and the intersections between New Testament texts, apocryphal writings, and early Indian Christianity. A major thrust of his scholarship is the decolonization of biblical interpretation and translation, advocating Asian, linguistic, and cultural frameworks for reading Scripture. Thomaskutty's works Dialogue in the Book of Signs and Saint Thomas the Apostle: New Testament, Apocrypha, and Historical Traditions have been extensively cited with academic reviews as a significant contribution to the study of dialogue and characterization in the Gospel of John. Moreover, his works, such as An Asian Introduction to the New Testament and John: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary are highly appreciated in the academic and ecclesiastical circles.
He is noted for advancing a decolonized hermeneutic of the New Testament that integrates Asian linguistic and cultural contexts.

Selected works

Books

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Book chapters

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Academic writings

Thomaskutty has also authored numerous scholarly articles in academic journals and dictionaries. Prominent among them are:
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. "Nathanael from an Indian Perspective". Bible Odyssey: Society of Biblical Literature. https://www.bibleodyssey.org/articles/nathanael-from-an-indian-perspective/
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. "Christian Religious Education in the Context of Artificial Intelligence". Eighth World Humanities Forum. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/400075069_Eighth_World_Humanities_Forum_Book
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. "Thomas". Bible Odyssey: Society of Biblical Literature. https://www.bibleodyssey.org/articles/thomas/
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. . Biblical Studies Journal 5: 1-19.
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. "Ekklesio-Academics in the Johannine Community as a Paradigm in the Indian Context". Biblical Studies Journal 5: 77-98. https://www.biblicalstudies.in/index.php/pub/article/view/75
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. . Biblical Studies Journal 3: 1-7.
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, India: 1-50.
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. "'Suffering for Christ': A New Testament Perspective". Biblical Studies Journal 2: 12-24. https://www.biblicalstudies.in/index.php/pub/article/view/58/50
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. "Dialogue as a Literary Genre in the Book of Signs ". Biblical Studies Journal 1: 1-16. https://www.biblicalstudies.in/index.php/pub/article/view/33/26
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. Doing Theology and Mission in Nepal : 110-132.
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. . Journal of Asian Evangelical Theology 21: 53-72.
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. . Journal of Asian Evangelical Theology 20: 5-21.
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson, Indian Journal of Theology 44: 79-93.
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. Bangalore Theological Forum 34: 58-77.
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. Bangalore Theological Forum 34: 163-175.
  • Thomaskutty, Johnson. . Indian Journal of Theology 43: 42-49.