The Gospel of John: A Biography

Haines-Eitzen (The Gendered Palimpsest), a professor of religion at Cornell, traces in this robust account the complex “afterlives” of the gospel of John. As she notes, the gospel became a site of debate for early religious groups and philosophers, with the Gnostics and such theologians as Augustine of Hippo seeking “hidden meanings” in its stories and Protestant Reformation–era thinkers using its vivid depictions of the eucharist to quibble over the literality, utility, and significance of the practice. Later, its language informed the American evangelical movement, where the term “born again,” which was drawn from the gospel of John, was used to support the idea that one must embrace Jesus to receive eternal life. On a darker note, the gospel’s anti-Jewish rhetoric (“the Jews” are referenced some 70 times in the text, generally as hostile antagonists calling for Jesus’s crucifixion) was harnessed throughout history to bolster antisemitic sentiment, including legitimizing Nazi propaganda and justifying violence against “heretics” during the Crusades. The author comprehensively catalogs the gospel’s role in Christian history and reveals how religious texts serve as vital sites for thinkers and movements to negotiate their theories and differences. The result is a robust study of a foundational Christian text. (Feb.)