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"John" in the Bible

Johannine literature Gospel of John First Epistle of John Second Epistle of John Third Epistle of John Revelation Authorship of literature

Names John the Apostle Disciple whom Jesus loved John the Presbyter John the Evangelist John of Patmos

Communities Twelve Apostles The Early Church

Related Literature Homosexual Reading Apocryphon of John Egerton Gospel Signs Gospel Logos This box: view • talk • edit

A tradition that has developed since the 16th century has interpreted the story of Jesus and John the Apostle as an erotic romance and their love has been held up as an exemplar of same sex love that created a social and ethical space in which other men and youths could have romantic and physical relationships.^[1]

Though this possibility has not received much attention in Christianity and Johannine studies, recent scholarship in gender studies has built upon the lengthy historical tradition of seeing their feelings for each other as passionate.^[2].

Contents 1 "Beloved disciple" 2 Historical references 3 Gender studies scholarship 4 Reception 5 See also 6 Notes

Main article: Disciple whom Jesus loved

One of the factors leading to the assumption that Jesus and John loved each other is the phrase the disciple whom Jesus loved or Beloved Disciple, which is used several times in the Gospel of John, but in none of the other accounts of Jesus.^[4] In John's gospel, it is the Beloved Disciple who asks Jesus during the Last Supper who it is that will betray him. Later at the crucifixion, Jesus tells his mother "Woman, here is your son"; that he indicates the Beloved Disciple is the common interpretation. To the Beloved Disciple he says, "Here is your mother."

In art, the Beloved Disciple is portrayed as a beardless youth – the figure of the Student – but often mistaken for a woman. He is usually shown in major scenes from the Gospel of John, especially the crucifixion and the Last Supper. Many artists have given different interpretations of John 13:23–25, in which the beloved disciple is resting his head against Jesus' chest.

Since the Beloved Disciple does not appear in any of the other New Testament gospels, it has been traditionally seen as a self-reference to John the Evangelist, and this remains the mainstream identification. An issue is the identification of the Evangelist with John the Apostle; that is, whether the apostle is the same man as the evangelist.

Saint Aelred of Rievaulx referred to the relationship of Jesus and John as a "marriage".^[5] The view that the two were lovers, considered a blasphemy, evolved during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries; it has been claimed that it was held by Francesco Calcagno, who was investigated on that account by the Venetian Inquisition in 1550. Christopher Marlowe was accused of it in 1593, as was Manuel Figueiredo in a Lisbon Inquisition trial of 1618, as well as many others.^[6]

James I of England may have been relying on a pre-existing tradition when he defended his homosexual relationship with the young George, Earl of Buckingham: "I wish to speak in my own behalf and not to have it thought to be a defect, for Jesus Christ did the same, and therefore I cannot be blamed. Christ had his son John, and I have my George."^[7]

Others who have given voice to this interpretation of the relationship between Jesus and John have been Denis Diderot, and Jeremy Bentham.^[8]

The theme has been perennial, having recently been raised from within the Christian establishment by Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, who has discussed the possible homoerotic inclinations of Jesus in his relationship with John in a sermon in 2005.^[9]

According to Robert Goss, assistant professor of comparative religion at Webster University in St. Louis, MO, in analyzing the interaction between Jesus and John, "What's being portrayed here is a pederastic relationship between an older man and a younger man. A Greek reader would understand."^[10]

Many view this homosexual reading of the scriptures as an intentional misreading.^[11] In Greek, the original language of the book of John, there are four words for love - agape (spiritual, unconditional love), eros (erotic love), philia (love between friends) and storge (familial love.) All of the references to "the disciple whom Jesus loved" use the word "agape."^[12] Some argue that, had the text intended to note an erotic love between Jesus and John, it would have used the word “eros”. Others have argued, however, that these Greek terms do not comprise hard and fast boundaries between these forms of love.^{[citation needed]}

Many theologians point to Jesus’ stated support of the marriage bond in the book of Matthew.^[13]

Robert Frakes of Clarion University views the homosexual interpretation as unlikely given that Roman custom rejected homosexuality after the official acceptance of Christianity by Constantine I, whereas it had been accepted before. In the History News Network he wrote: "As his [Constantine] sons came of age in an increasingly Christian society, they and many of their advisors would have grown up with Biblical strictures. Thus, the pronouncements of the Book of Leviticus (18. 22, 20. 13) against male homosexuality as an abomination punishable by death in God’s eyes would logically have influenced writers of imperial law. Such strictures were reinforced in the New Testament (Romans 1. 24-27). So, it would appear that the growing influence of the Bible in an increasingly Christian Roman empire led emperors to condemn homosexual unions."^[14]

• Jesus Christ's sexuality
• The Bible and homosexuality