Talk:Mystery: Was John a Samaritan

Are these arguments sound?

Sorry, I just noticed these arguments below. My responses are interspersed for clarity.--Andy Schlafly (talk) 22:12, May 21, 2024 (EDT)

First off, there are good indications that Apostle John was a Palestinian Jew. [1][2][3] And to reply to most of the points made:

• "the universality of the Gospel of John"—it's clear that John the Apostle, the youngest and the "disciple whom Jesus loved," understood Christ's teachings well, and therefore him grasping that Christianity is for both Jews and Gentiles alike simply means that he understood the emphasis well while early Jewish Christians may have viewed down on the Gentiles until Peter's vision in Acts

This does not seem to rebut any of the reasons, totaling 20 now, for why the author of the Gospel of John was probably a Samaritan.--Andy Schlafly (talk) 22:12, May 21, 2024 (EDT)

• "his harsh language against Jewish leaders"—now, initially as I pondered this, it seemed to make some sense, as Apostle John frequently describes Jesus's opponents vaguely as "the Jews," though it's important to keep in mind that many individuals throughout history with integrity are most vocal in denouncing the issues in the heritage they were brought up in

the language is harsher than that, and more plausibly from an ethnic rival as the Samaritans were.--Andy Schlafly (talk) 22:12, May 21, 2024 (EDT)

• "John had a rivalry with Peter, suggesting they may have had different ethnicities"—is there any substantiation for this? Wouldn't such a rivalry have been more motivated by age differences? It's important to remember that Peter, the oldest (since he was married) of the Apostles, promised prestigious leadership in the church by Jesus, was most openly prone to slips throughout his life (rebuking Jesus, denying Him three times, and being hypocritical between Jews and Gentiles); meanwhile, John, being the youngest, clearly understood Christ's teachings best, since he was ultimately entrusted at the end of his life to write the last book of the Bible. It's natural for children who understand life's lessons better than their older counterparts to develop eager zealousness and an inclination for competition, especially when they are denied certain prestigious privileges despite their merit due to their age.

Age rivalries are not as common as ethnic ones.--Andy Schlafly (talk) 22:12, May 21, 2024 (EDT)

• "the name "John" is Aramaic rather than Hebrew"—another person named John, John the Baptist, was Jewish, so I don't think the linguistic origins of the name provide adequate indications that Apostle John was a Gentile.

Do we know that much about the ethnicity of John the Baptist?--Andy Schlafly (talk) 22:12, May 21, 2024 (EDT)

—LT ^{(Matthew 26:52)} Sunday, 18:54, February 5, 2023 (EST)

This page needs more footnotes to support its contentions or the number of its contentions must shrink

Currently, the page states: "John's father's name, translated as "Zebedee", appears nowhere in the Old Testament and is most common today in Nigeria, Africa, which is half Muslim and half Christian;

However, some quick research indicates:

"There's nothing in the Greek language that looks like the name Zebedee (or rather Zebedaios) and Zebedee is most probably a transliteration of the very popular Hebrew name Zebadiah, says Spiros Zodhiates (The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary), or rather, the truncated version Zabdi, says BDB Theological Dictionary.

The name Zebadiah consists of two elements, the final one being יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton; the name of the Lord: YHWH.

The first part of the name Zebedee or Zebadiah comes from the verb זבד (zabad), meaning to give".[4]

"Zebedee is a boy's name of Hebrew origin. Meaning “gift of God,” it garners its religious interpretations from Zebedee of the Christian New Testament, a humble fisherman and the father of the apostles James and John."[5] Conservative (talk) 10:21, June 6, 2024 (EDT)