Johnson Thomaskutty

Reverend Dr
Johnson Thomaskutty
Born
Kottarakara, Kerala, India
Academic background
EducationUniversity of Kerala, BA
Senate of Serampore College, BD
Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, MTh
Princeton Theological Seminary, ThM
Radboud University Nijmegen, PhD
ThesisThe Nature and Function of Dialogue in the Book of Signs (John 1:19–12:50) (2014)
Jan van der Watt
Academic work
DisciplineNew Testament Studies
Sub-discipline
Johannine literature; Dialogical hermeneutics
InstitutionsUnited Theological College, Bengaluru
Union Biblical Seminary
Serampore College
Main interests
Gospel of John, Hermeneutics, Contextual Theology, Asian Biblical Interpretation
Notable works
Dialogue in the Book of Signs (Brill, 2015)
Saint Thomas the Apostle (T&T Clark, 2018)
An Asian Introduction to the New Testament (Fortress, 2022)
"John: Asia Bible Commentary Series" (Langham, 2025)
Websitehttps://ntscholarship.wordpress.com/

Johnson Thomaskutty is an Indian New Testament scholar, theologian, and Professor of New Testament and Chairperson of Biblical Studies at the United Theological College, Bengaluru.

Early life and education

Thomaskutty was born in Kollam, Kerala, to a Malayali Christian family. He is an ordained Charismatic minister and an ecumenical theologian hailing from the Indian context. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in history at University of Kerala, India. He then earned his Bachelor of Divinity (BD) and Master of Theology (MTh) in New Testament from the Senate of Serampore College (University) at Faith Theological Seminary, Manakala, and Gurukul Lutheran Theological College in Chennai, 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 (John 1:19–12:50).[citation needed]

Academic career

From 2001 to 2004, he was 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 (2008–2021). In 2021, he was appointed Professor of New Testament and later on Chairperson of Biblical Studies at the United Theological College, Bengaluru. He is also 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 (SBSI), the Society of Asian Biblical Studies (SABS), the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS), and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL).[citation needed]

Research interests

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.

Books

Thomaskutty's books include

References

  1. ↑ Thomaskutty, Johnson. "Johnson Thomaskutty, Author at Bible Odyssey". Bible Odyssey. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  2. ↑ Woods, R. Alan (4 January 2013). Just Keep'in It Real: The Complete Collection of Essays, Notes, Letters, Articles, and Reviews. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-300-59829-9.
  3. ↑ Bradshaw, Rob (27 February 2018). "An Interview with Dr. Johnson Thomaskutty about his new book on "Saint Thomas the Apostle"". Biblical Studies. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  4. ↑ Thomaskutty, Johnson (2023). "EKKLĒSIO-ACADEMICS IN THE JOHANNINE COMMUNITY AS A PARADIGM IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT" (PDF). Biblical Studies Journal. 05 (4): 77–98. doi:10.54513/BSJ.2023.5405 (inactive 13 October 2025).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of October 2025 (link)
  5. ↑ Thomaskutty, Johnson (27 December 2021). "A brief glance of Johnson Thomaskutty's 2021". NT Scholarship Blog. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  6. ↑ "Faculty-United Theological College, Karnataka – SENATE OF SERAMPORE COLLEGE". Serampore College. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  7. ↑ Thomaskutty, Johnson (September 2021). "Jesus and spirituality: reading the fourth gospel in the light of the Indian culture". Religions. 12 (9): 780. doi:10.3390/rel12090780. hdl:2263/85252. ISSN 2077-1444.
  8. ↑ Thomaskutty, Johnson (2022). An Asian Introduction to the New Testament. Augsburg Fortress. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1khdpf0. ISBN 978-1-5064-6269-1. JSTOR j.ctv1khdpf0.
  9. ↑ Lawrence, Arren Bennet (6 September 2022). One Gospel, Many Cultures: Doing Theology in Context. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-1-5064-8540-9.
  10. ↑ Thomaskutty, Johnson (2022). "Oneness in John 17:1?26 as a Paradigm for Wider Ecumenism and Dialogue". HTS Theological Studies. 78 (3): 8. doi:10.4102/hts.v78i3.7838.
  11. ↑ Thomaskutty, Johnson (2020). The Gospel of John: A Universalistic Reading. Christian World Imprints. ISBN 978-93-5148-400-4.
  12. ↑ Thomaskutty, Johnson (1 January 2022). "Normal, post-normal and new normal: A theology of hope in John 20:1–29". HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies. 78 (4). doi:10.4102/hts.v78i4.7214. ISSN 2072-8050.
  13. ↑ Thomaskutty, Johnson (22 August 2019). Saint Thomas the Apostle: New Testament, Apocrypha, and Historical Traditions. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0-567-69005-0.
  14. ↑ de Wet, Chris L. (2021). "Review of Saint Thomas the Apostle: New Testament, Apocrypha, and Historical Traditions. Jewish and Christian Texts in Contexts and Related Studies 25". Neotestamentica. 55 (1): 212–216. ISSN 0254-8356. JSTOR 27133868.
  15. ↑ Thomaskutty, Johnson (2024). "Decolonizing New Testament Translation in the Indian Context: John 10:1–18 in the Satya Veda Pusthakam". Asia Journal of Theology. 47. SAGE: 109–127. doi:10.1177/0142064X241262450. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  16. ↑ Reviewed in
    • de Wet, Chris L. (2021). "Saint Thomas the Apostle: New Testament, Apocrypha, and Historical Traditions by Johnson Thomaskutty". Neotestamentica. 55 (1): 212–216. doi:10.1353/neo.2021.0008.
    • Foster, Paul (August 2018). "Book Review: Saint Thomas in Early Christian Tradition: Johnson Thomaskutty, Saint Thomas the Apostle: New Testament, Apocrypha, and Historical Traditions". The Expository Times. 129 (11): 542–542. doi:10.1177/0014524618780081.
    • Skinner, Christopher W. (2019). "Saint Thomas the Apostle: New Testament, Apocrypha, and Historical Traditions by Johnson Thomaskutty". The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 81 (4): 750–751. doi:10.1353/cbq.2019.0193.
    • Small, Brian C. (March 2020). "SAINT THOMAS THE APOSTLE: NEW TESTAMENT, APOCRYPHA, AND HISTORICAL TRADITIONS. By Johnson Thomaskutty. Jewish and Christian Texts in Contexts and Related Studies, 25. London, UK: T&T Clark, 2018. Pp. xx + 256. Hardback, $114.00". Religious Studies Review. 46 (1): 101–101. doi:10.1111/rsr.14477.
    • Tripp, Jeffrey M. (January 2019). "Saint Thomas the Apostle: New Testament, Apocrypha, and Historical Traditions, Johnson Thomaskutty, Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018 (ISBN 978‐0‐567‐67284‐1), xx + 260 pp., hb £85". Reviews in Religion & Theology. 26 (1): 167–169. doi:10.1111/rirt.13499.
  17. ↑ Reviewed in
  18. ↑ Reviewed in
  19. ↑ Reviewed in