The stages in this demotion and marginalization of the [[Gospel of John]] include:
The stages in this demotion and marginalization of the [[Gospel of John]] include:
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*early dilutions of this Gospel that obscure its powerful meaning, including adding an apocryphal, confusing [[John ending]] and the very [[liberal]], doctrinally incorrect [[Essay:Adulteress Story|Adulteress Story]];
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*early dilutions of this Gospel that obscure its powerful meaning, including adding an apocryphal, confusing [[John ending]], the very [[liberal]], doctrinally incorrect [[Essay:Adulteress Story|Adulteress Story]], and numerous parenthetical [[Gospel of John Asides|asides]];
*placing the [[Gospel of John]] last of the four [[Gospels]], which makes no sense as a way of [[Ordering the Gospels]];
*placing the [[Gospel of John]] last of the four [[Gospels]], which makes no sense as a way of [[Ordering the Gospels]];
*removing its regular use as a [[New Testament]] reading from the liturgy as part of [[Vatican II]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], which is also followed by other Christian denominations; and
*removing its regular use as a [[New Testament]] reading from the liturgy as part of [[Vatican II]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], which is also followed by other Christian denominations; and
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*liberal slanders of the Fourth Gospel as "antisemitic" (despite its emphasis on Jewish feasts as the only book in the Bible to mention Hanukkah)
*liberal slanders of the Fourth Gospel as "antisemitic" (despite its emphasis on Jewish feasts as the only book in the Bible to mention Hanukkah)
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The oldest [[extant]] fragment from the entire [[New Testament]] is [[P52]] (the [[John Rylands Fragment]]), dating from the first half of the 100s A.D. This weighs further against deemphasizing this [[Gospel]].