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John and Thomas: Gospels in Conflict?: Johannine Characterization and the Thomas Question

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This book is an important contribution to Thomasine and Johannine studies, and should be read by those on both sides of the aisle. It begins with a very fine historical overview of the literature on the John-Thomas question, including summaries of the views of Riley, Pagels, and DeConick. This is followed by a chapter on methodology, and then the heart of the book, which is a nuanced examination of the interactions between Jesus and most of the other characters in the Gospel of John. This latter portion of the book is divided into four chapters, examining in turn the interactions between Jesus and (1) Thomas, (2) Peter, (3) other disciples, and (4) "others" (viz., Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, and the sisters Martha and Mary). Skinner is intimately familiar with many major exegetical works on GJn, and it shows, as he weaves his interpretations with an eye to the question of how the treatment of the Thomas character compares to the treatment of other characters. Although in the end he concludes that Thomas is treated no differently, and that that conclusion undermines the theories of Riley et al, Skinner also expresses an understanding of the intuitive force behind those theories, which rest not only on certain interpretations of GJn (which Skinner argues are inadequate), but also on some historical considerations which are beyond the scope of this book. Overall, a learned and detailed examination of how the Johannine author used his characters, against which any analysis of the character of Thomas alone must be measured.

Skinner's dissertation offers a serious critique of the community-conflict hypothesis (i.e., the idea that John's gospel was written against the backdrop of an intramural conflict between inferred "Johannine" and "Thomasine" communities) by examining the ways in which the author of the Fourth Gospel portrays minor characters.

Contrary to the common reading of John as anti-Thomas, Skinner demonstrates that most minor characters in John are portrayed in mixed light, Thomas not least among them, and that other characters such as Peter come off much worse than Thomas does.

This student of Frank Moloney's (Catholic University of America) has produced a clear and compelling argument, presented with grace and vigor, that seriously undermines the presuppositions undergirding the approaches taken by scholars like Elaine Pagels who portray the Fourth Gospel as anti-Thomas propaganda.