Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 02:27:18 -0400 (EDT) From: Andrew Lincoln To: Stevan Davies cc: crosstalk@info.harpercollins.com Subject: re: John and Thomas Steve, I have a question for you that links the John thread and the earlier Thomas thread, but the thoughts of any one on this would be welcome. It arises from looking again at the Riley book, Resurrection Reconsidered. I have read your review, so know that you disagree with his exegesis of GTh 71 _ I will destroy this house and no one will be able to build it. I also think that he has skewed the point of John 20:24-29 about Jesus showing Thomas his hands and side, so his particular point about the different views of resurrection in John and GTh has some problems. But what I would be interested in knowing is whether you think that his more general view shared by some others that Thomas in John's gospel represents the evangelist's view of the contemporary Thomas group has anything going for it. Some of the points he adduces in support are: 1. Various characters in John are representative figures of contemporary realities in John's world. 2. Thomas does get far more attention in this gospel than anywhere else in the canonical gospels. 3. This attention is primarily negative apart from the climactic confession, "My Lord and my God", that Riley interprets basically as John saying this is what Thomas Christians should say about Jesus according to John in contrast to GTh 13 where Jesus denies he is superior to Thomas. One could add Thomas starts off by disbelieving the apostolic testimony - also a point that John might have wanted to make against Thomas Christians. Further Thomas is excluded from the commissioning and the reception of the Spirit by John. And all this is in a pericope John appears to have created for his own purposes. 4. John calls Thomas "one of the twelve." This seems unremarkable until one observes that the only other disciple who is given this designation in John is Judas. So Thomas is guilty by association! But this is not insignificant because Thomas' other name is Judas. GTh names him Didymus Judas Thomas. 5. In the Synoptics and Acts he is simply called Thomas. John is the only place in the canon that Thomas is also called Didymus because both names mean Twin. So, says Riley, John knew the Thomas group were calling him both Twin and Judas. 6. Thomas is portrayed in John as initially unbelieving and told to have faith. GTh never recommends faith to anyone as the appropriate spiritual attitude. In John 14:5 Thomas is made to say that he does not know the way and can then be told that there is only one way to God - the Johannine Jesus. In 14:7 he is addressed in the plural as representing his community and told that he and his community do not know God because they do not know properly who Jesus is. So do you think there is anything to this view of John having a bash at the Thomas Christians? It might have some appeal to you in that it would put Thomas Christianity relatively early, though not necessarily as early as prior to Mark. Andrew