This large body of academic work concerning the Gospel of John has focused on the idea that the text evolved over time within an isolated, sectarian "Johannine community." This dominant view tends to reject traditional authorship, treating the narrative primarily as theology reflecting the community's conflicts, such as expulsion from the synagogue, rather than reliable history about Jesus. This powerful alternative perspective argues that the Gospel is a unified composition by a single, theologically creative individual—the Beloved Disciple, understood as John the Elder. This approach maintains that the document is a sophisticated form of Greco-Roman biography intended for general Christian circulation. It emphasizes the Gospel’s strong historiographical traits, noting its precise chronology and accurate knowledge of first-century Palestinian settings. This scholarly effort systematically defends the historical plausibility of unique Johannine details, such as the characters of Nicodemus and the Bethany family, and explores the text’s intricate numerical design, which undergirds its assertion of Jesus' divine identity and universal significance.
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1. John’s Gospel - The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple: A New Theory
3. The Beloved Disciple as Ideal Author
4. Characteristics of the Gospel of John
5. The Audience of the Gospel of John
6. The Qumran Community and John
7. Nicodemus and the Gurion Family
8. The Bethany Family in John 11-12
9. Did Jesus wash His Disciples Feet