What is the Gospel of John?
The Gospel of John is a multidimensional early Christian text that was networked into a number of different forms of Christianity in antiquity, including Syrian Christianity such as reflected in the Gospel of Thomas, and also Gnostic spirituality such as reflected in Simonianism, Valentinianism, and those who followed Cerinthus. This text according to our earliest testimonies was being read and adored by both Gnostic and catholic Christians.
The following publications address my work on the Gospel of John
"Who is Hiding in the Gospel of John: Reconceptualizing Johannine Theology and the Roots of Gnosticism"
2013. “Who is hiding in the Gospel of John? Reconceptualizing Johannine theology and the roots of Gnosticism.” Pages 13-29 in Histories of the Hidden God: Concealment and Revelation in Western Gnostic, Esoteric, and Mystical Traditions. Edited by April DeConick and Grant Adamson. Gnostica Series. Durham: Acumen.
"Why are the Heavens Closed? The Johannine Revelation of the Father in the Catholic-Gnostic Debate."
2013. Why are the Heavens Closed? The Johannine Revelation of the Father in the Catholic-Gnostic Debate. Pages 147-179 in John’s Gospel and Intimations of Apocalyptic. Edited by Catrin H. Williams and Christopher Rowland. London: T&T Clark, 2013.
2001. “John Rivals Thomas: From Community Conflict to Gospel Narrative.” Pages 303-312 in Jesus in Johannine Tradition: New Directions. Edited by T. Thatcher and R. Fortna. Westminster John Knox Press.
Abstract: This essay explores the connection between the gospels of John and Thomas on the community and tradition level rather than source level. Like other religious texts, these gospels address the particular needs of their respective communities and express special theological and soteriological positions. As community documents, each as its own geographical location, its own community history, and its own religious traditions. Like other religious texts, both were written with the express purposes of polemicizing, persuading, and propagating a particular belief system. In the case of the Gospel of John, one of the dialogues it is engaged in is whether or not visions and heavenly journeys can effect salvation.
"'Blessed are those who have not seen' (John 20:29: Johannine Dramatization of an Early Christian Discourse"
1997. “‘Blessed are those who have not seen’ (John 20:29): Johannine Dramatization of an Early Christian Discourse.” Pages 381-398 in The Nag Hammadi Library after Fifty Years, Proceedings of the 1995 Society of Biblical Literature Commemoration. Edited by J. Turner and A. McGuire. NHMS 44. Leiden: E.J.Brill.
Abstract: This article represents the beginnings of DeConick's consideration of the relationship between the Gospels of John and Thomas, which resulted in her book Voices of the Mystics. The article focuses on John's articulation of a debate about soteriology, specifically over the validity of proleptic visionary flights to heaven. She concludes that the Johannine author is not painting an arbitrary picture of the apostle Thomas, the hero of Syrian Christianity, when he portrays him as a false hero whose mystical leanings are corrected by Jesus in chapter 20.