Messiah of Israel (e.g., van Unnik 1959; Robinson 1959–1960; Carson 1987).
This position is based on a number of points, including the precise word-
ing of the Gospel’s statement of purpose in John 20:30–31 and the identi-
fication of the “Greeks” in John 12:20 as Greek-speaking Jews (van Unnik
1959, 408; Robinson 1959–1960, 121; Kossen 1970; cf. the counterargu-
ment in R.E. Brown 1966, 1:314, 466).
Both of these positions, and their many variations, are supported by
intricate arguments regarding the sources and composition history of the
Gospel of John, the nuances of particular terms, the larger background of
Jewish sectarianism, and a host of other factors, which are far removed from
Stark’s sociological approach. Nevertheless, Stark’s principles may provide
another vantage point from which to consider the demography and history
of the Johannine community.
The Gospel of John is the primary witness regarding the Johannine
community towards the end of the first century CE. The letters of John are
used in the reconstruction of the community’s internal conflicts at the very
end of the first century (R.E. Brown 1979, 94–144; Culpepper 1998, 251–53).
What follows is an attempt to read the Gospel of John through the lenses
provided by Stark. The purpose is twofold: to assess the strengths and
weaknesses of Stark’s arguments regarding the mission to the Jews, and
to consider the Gospel of John in the light of Stark’s sociological principles.
For the purposes of this exercise, we shall make two methodological
moves that are pragmatic (insofar as they allow a brief and relatively non-
technical treatment of the topic), if not unassailable. First, we shall adopt
the approach advocated by J. Louis Martyn (1979), which is to view the
Gospel of John not only as a story of Jesus, expressing the viewpoint of a
particular evangelist, but also as the story (if not the historical record) of
the Johannine community itself (cf. Reinhartz 1998a; also 1998b). Second,
we shall assume that meaningful, if incomplete, conclusions can be drawn
on the basis of the Gospel of John in its final form, that is, without resolv-
ing the thorny issues of its sources and composition history.
Social Networks
The cornerstone of Stark’s theory of the rise of Christianity is the principle
that religious groups, cults, and sects spread through existing networks. The
power of the message per se (including the Christology of the Gospel of
John) is less significant than the social connections between believers and
other members of the various familial and other social networks of which
believers are a part. As Stephen Wilson points out (chapter 3), it is likely
that at least some converts came to Christianity through personal curios-
ity and inner impulse. This does not exclude, however, the possibility that
Rodney Stark and “The Mission to the Jews” 201