David Woodyard

[Frederic K.] Herzog has an important interpretation of the passage in John 3:1-21 where the issue of being born again appears. Conservatives have traditionally reduced the narrative to, “Have you found Jesus?” The individual is set apart and privatized. Herzog centers on, “Have you found your neighbor?” De-privatization occurs in community. To be born again is to enter into a new relationship with oneself, one that is corporate and in solidarity with others, especially the powerless and the poor. And it is a selfhood with open borders.