The Other John

Five Books of the New Testament bear the name John. But which John? That apparently simple question has puzzled readers and commentators since the earliest centuries of the Christian Church, and continues to puzzle readers today. Some commentators and scholars insist they know the answer. Others are skeptical of the many theories that have been proposed.

   Some writers raise deep doubts about who the author of the Fourth Gospel was, and so they dismiss this Gospel as the very late invention of a group of well-meaning disciples who really knew little of Jesus' life, or his actual ministry. Further, some claim that this Gospel's long discourses do not reflect the actual teaching of Jesus, but are simply lovely theological make-believe.

   Others writers wonder if the same man - or someone else - wrote the three letters of the one who calls himself the Presbyter.

   Then there is The Apocalypse of John, known in translations as The Book of Revelation. Did the same man write this book also?

   In The Other John, John R. Spencer takes a fresh, comprehensive look at the actual evidence within the New Testament books themselves, and examines evidence from some of the earliest writers of the Christian Church.

   His conclusions will surprise you.