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Is the Gospel of John a Forgery?
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Episode Outline:
0:00 Special episode: Is the Gospel of John a forgery?
0:26 Bart introduces Hugo Mendez and his background in linguistics and early Christianity
5:04 Why the authorship of John matters so much
6:32 The Beloved Disciple appears: how John constructs its author
10:11 John 19 and 21: why many readers think the Beloved Disciple wrote the Gospel
17:07 Why early Christians connected the Beloved Disciple with John son of Zebedee
21:02 Chapter 21 and the question of a later ending
29:16 What counts as a forgery in ancient Christian literature?
33:33 Why Mendez thinks John falsely presents itself as eyewitness testimony
39:20 Did the author knowingly reshape Jesus’ teachings?
43:41 John as a “corrective” Gospel to earlier Jesus traditions
49:13 Can Christians still accept John if its authorship claim is deceptive?
54:45 Final reflections and where to read more from Hugo Mendez
Episode Description
In this special episode, Bart takes a turn at doing the interviewing, talking to his colleague Hugo Mendez about the Gospel of John. Scholars have long argued that the Gospel of John -- named after Jesus' disciple John the Son of Zebedee -- was in fact written by someone else. Only later in Christian tradition was it ascribed to John. In that view, the author himself is not a "forger" -- that is, he did not claim to be a famous person knowing he was someone else. The book was anonymous: the author never names himself and so can't be blamed for later readers mistaking his identity. But in fact is there evidence that the author wanted his readers to think he was one of Jesus' closest disciples, and that he left hints for them in the book. If so -- and if he wasn't who he intimated he was -- isn't John a forgery?
Also watch these episodes:
Is The Gospel of John Anti-Semitic?
Is The Gospel of John Anti-Semitic?
The Gospel Truth: What Are the Gospels of the New Testament?
The Gospel Truth: What Are the Gospels of the New Testament?
Is the New Testament Actually Filled with Forgeries?
Is the New Testament Actually *Filled* with Forgeries?
0:00 Special episode: Is the Gospel of John a forgery?
0:26 Bart introduces Hugo Mendez and his background in linguistics and early Christianity
5:04 Why the authorship of John matters so much
6:32 The Beloved Disciple appears: how John constructs its author
10:11 John 19 and 21: why many readers think the Beloved Disciple wrote the Gospel
17:07 Why early Christians connected the Beloved Disciple with John son of Zebedee
21:02 Chapter 21 and the question of a later ending
29:16 What counts as a forgery in ancient Christian literature?
33:33 Why Mendez thinks John falsely presents itself as eyewitness testimony
39:20 Did the author knowingly reshape Jesus’ teachings?
43:41 John as a “corrective” Gospel to earlier Jesus traditions
49:13 Can Christians still accept John if its authorship claim is deceptive?
54:45 Final reflections and where to read more from Hugo Mendez
Episode Description
In this special episode, Bart takes a turn at doing the interviewing, talking to his colleague Hugo Mendez about the Gospel of John. Scholars have long argued that the Gospel of John -- named after Jesus' disciple John the Son of Zebedee -- was in fact written by someone else. Only later in Christian tradition was it ascribed to John. In that view, the author himself is not a "forger" -- that is, he did not claim to be a famous person knowing he was someone else. The book was anonymous: the author never names himself and so can't be blamed for later readers mistaking his identity. But in fact is there evidence that the author wanted his readers to think he was one of Jesus' closest disciples, and that he left hints for them in the book. If so -- and if he wasn't who he intimated he was -- isn't John a forgery?
Also watch these episodes:
Is The Gospel of John Anti-Semitic?
Is The Gospel of John Anti-Semitic?
The Gospel Truth: What Are the Gospels of the New Testament?
The Gospel Truth: What Are the Gospels of the New Testament?
Is the New Testament Actually Filled with Forgeries?
Is the New Testament Actually *Filled* with Forgeries?
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