{"product_id":"the-gospel-of-john-a-new-history-9780197686126","title":"The Gospel of John: A New History","description":"The biblical Gospel of John casts itself as a memoir of \"the disciple whom Jesus loved\"--a mysterious figure who allegedly watched Jesus die on the cross and stepped into his empty tomb. But in this groundbreaking study, Hugo Méndez argues that the text is something else entirely: a falsely authored gospel that inspired a rich tradition of disguised writing. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe author of John believed that Jesus was a divine being who came to earth to transform humans into divine beings. To encourage others to embrace this startling vision, that author composed a gospel filled with invented materials--one in which Jesus communicates the author's views through cryptic words and symbolic gestures left for readers to decipher. Finally, to make this revisionary portrait of Jesus plausible, the author concealed his identity, attributing his Gospel to an invented, shadowy disciple of Jesus gifted with supernatural insight and able to retrieve lost memories of Jesus's life. In these respects, the \u003cem\u003eGospel of John\u003c\/em\u003e is similar to the so-called apocryphal gospels produced in the second century, including the \u003cem\u003eGospel of Thomas\u003c\/em\u003e and the \u003cem\u003eGospel of Judas\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe invention of this eyewitness was not a self-contained event, however. It was the genesis of a new and vibrant literary tradition. As the enigmatic disciple of the Gospel was folded into the same collective memory as Peter and Paul, he became a viable mask for other authors. In time, many such writers--among them, the authors of 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation, the \u003cem\u003eApocryphon of John\u003c\/em\u003e, and the \u003cem\u003eEpistula Apostolorum\u003c\/em\u003e--coopted this figure, repurposing him for new agendas and weaving countless afterlives for him. \u003cem\u003eThe Gospel of John: A New History\u003c\/em\u003e traces this arc, showing how a single act of disguised authorship ignited new literary trajectories and dramatically shaped twenty centuries of Christian culture.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHugo Méndez\u003c\/strong\u003e is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in early Christianity. He is the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem: Inventing a Patron Martyr \u003c\/em\u003eand co-author of \u003cem\u003eThe New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings\u003c\/em\u003e, 8th edition. He is also a frequent contributor to documentaries for History and other media outlets.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51500169789714,"sku":"9780197686126","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c47457c6-9748-4ce3-afb4-5e60298005fb.jpg?v=1753187564","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-gospel-of-john-a-new-history-9780197686126","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}