Defending the Gospel of John

I am currently putting together a self-developed curriculum related to subject that I hope will be completed in time to teach it in the fall as part of my church's adult Sunday school course offerings. It was through the Johannine writings that my interest in hospitality as both an academic and ministry pursuit was born. So this corpus has long been of particular fondness to me.

This course is designed to equip those who consider the Fourth Gospel to be normatively authoritative to defend it against a rather wide swath of serious accusations. Among the topics the curriculum will cover:

1) Does the Fourth Gospel teach or give aid and comfort to Gnosticism?
2) Was St. John the author of the Fourth Gospel?
3) Is the Fourth Gospel historically reliable?
4) Is the Fourth Gospel anti-semitic?
5) Is the Fourth Gospel anti-pluralistic?
6) Is the Fourth Gospel sectarian and/or cultic?
7) Is the Fourth Gospel morally bankrupt?

Each of these general accusatory categories enjoy bases of support in the Academy, the clergy, and lay Christians and non-Christians alike. Therefore, the curriculum will interact with the views of many critical scholars such as Brown, Culpepper, Kysar, Segovia, Malina, O'Grady and Casey. It will also address some questionable assumptions made by evangelical scholars as well. We will touch on matters of exegesis, hermeneutics, theology, philosophy, church history, and linguistics. For each accusation discussed, we will also ask the 'So What?' question, which will attempt to flush out the implications should such accusations go unchecked and win the day.

Right now, I envision the course being comprised of 12 lessons, of which I have essentially completed three and am close to finishing a fourth. Because the curriculum is still in a fairly formative stage, suggestions are welcome. If anyone thinks some accusation or concern should be addressed that doesn't fall under the general categories mentioned above, please let me know. I would be happy to try and incorporate it into the curriculum.