Why John Wrote a Gospel: Jesus--Memory--History

by Tom Thatcher

Nineteen-hundred years ago, someone called the Beloved Disciple told stories about Jesus and his days on earth. These stories had been told for decades when someone took the stories and wrote them down, turning them from oral tradition into the book we know as the Gospel of John. Scholars have long concentrated on the content of this Fourth Gospel, analyzing how it differs from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and wondering how the different Gospels relate to the Jesus of history. Tom Thatcher builds on all of this previous scholarship in this book, focusing on how stories and written texts operate to reflect and to create memory within groups of people. He uncovers how early Christians strove to remember Jesus in the decades after Jesus' ministry and how Christians came into conflict with one another about which memories were best. With this interest in the social memory of early Christians, Thatcher provides original insights into the Gospel of John and provides new answers to old questions.

216 pages, Paperback

First published December 19, 2005

Reviews

[Bruce Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't agree with some of his suppositions, example that the people of the first century were illiterate. Just because there were no public schools does not mean the majority were illiterate?

Anyway the book is more a personal monologue, not really a treatise.

He attempts to give examples to help make his point. Sometimes it is not really clear what his point. He wants to leave us with stories that are to act as parables. But he is not as good as Jesus at that.

Why did John Write a Gospel. If you read this you will not learn the answer. You may learn a little about how people's acts become history.

[James Klagge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concerned with why John wrote down, not just composed, a gospel. Argues that it was meant not for external evangelistic purposes, but for internal purposes to establish theological authority in relation to off-shoot Christian groups (the "antichrists") that also claimed the authority of the "paraclete" (= holy spirit?). Not as exciting as it sounds...but interesting in its own way. An interesting discussion of the role and functioning of memory. Extremely repetitive. Several personal illustrations were helpful, but mostly designed to fill up space.