Signs of authentic Christianity?

There are over 2 billion Christians in the world. We are scattered around the world. Our variety is almost without limit. I often ponder the differences among us. The differences are found between denominations and within denominations. The differences flow out of geography, nationality, politics and language, and the differences often reflect Christianity’s conflicts with dominant cultures. Over the centuries every attempt to unify Christian thinking has failed. Apparently we are and will continue to be a religion of diverse beliefs and practices.

John’s gospel is an example of the growing Christian diversity that developed within two or three generations of the death of Jesus. John’s differences with the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are obvious to the most casual reader. There is no way the John gospel can be harmonized with the other three gospel stories. The John gospel was written a full generation after the other gospels were written. Scholars agree that the John gospel was written in Ephesus, a culture and business center in southwest Asia Minor. Ephesus was on the road that ran from Babylonia, through Asia Minor and Greece to Rome. Jerusalem was not on that path.

Jerusalem was located about 800 miles southeast of Ephesus. Ephesus was dominated by Greek culture.

Given the realities of time, geography, language and culture, the differences with the other three gospels should be expected. The earlier gospels were rooted in Palestine, Israelite religion and culture, the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 CE by the Romans, and the Aramaic language. The disparities between Ephesus and Jerusalem were monumental. In addition the John writer was writing for a completely different audience.

The Judaism that provided the roots for Christianity was never aggressively evangelistic. Early Christians with Paul, a converted Jew, taking the lead, became very ambitious in the spread of the new Faith. Apparently Paul made a stop in Ephesus in one of his journeys and left behind the beginnings of a congregation. A form of Christianity developed around Ephesus, outside the domination of the Christianity that developed in and around Jerusalem and the broader reaches of Palestine.

The writer of the John gospel was not John the disciple of Jesus. The writer of the John gospel was an unknown theologian/writer who used the John name, probably as a way to give authority to his writings. There is no evidence that he was familiar with the Matthew, Mark, or Luke gospels. Ninety percent of the John gospel material is new. It does not conform to known history. The John gospel is a work of fiction that contains errors of time, place, and historical sequence.

The John gospel writer was very forthright about his motivation for writing this new gospel. He states his purpose in verses 30 and 31 of chapter 20:

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”

The spread of the John gospel was quite rapid and expansive. Its message appealed to multitudes. As Christian writings were collected, the John gospel was embraced by church leaders and became the fourth gospel.

The organization of the John gospel is easily discerned. The John gospel is determined to convince people that Jesus was the Son of God and the savior of the world. After a prologue in chapter one, Jesus is reported performing his first miracle. At a wedding in Cana in Galilee, Jesus turned large pots of water into fine wine. The John writer identifies this as his first sign. Six more miracle/signs are reported. Three are stories of healing. John reports the feeding of 5,000 people with a few loaves and fishes. Jesus walked on water, and finally Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. These seven signs are considered sufficient to convince the doubters of the true identity of Jesus.

In addition to his obsession with signs as proof of the divine nature of Jesus, the John writer was a thoughtful storyteller. The stories he tells are not reported anywhere else in the gospels. They are not parables but stories about Jesus and his activities.

As I have learned more about the John Gospel, the more I have come to respect it and love it. My first hurdle was to accept that almost nothing in the John Gospel is historical. It is beautifully written fiction that presents a God of love bringing a message of wholeness through Jesus, his only begotten.

The John gospel has taught me an important lesson. There is more than one version of the Faith that we call Christianity. I do not have to embrace every version of Christianity and I recognize my own beliefs are a minority opinion. I strongly suspect that our diversity is the key to our great strength.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.