Analyzing Professions of Faith in the Fourth Gospel: is Everyone Who Believes Saved?

Abstract

This study will examine the different formulae used in the Fourth Gospel to see if they are the key indicator to whether a character being described has adequate or inadequate belief in Jesus. First, the Greek verb for believe in connection to prepositions will be examined. The two main categories are believing in Jesus and believing the correct content about Jesus. Verb tenses and moods in connection to the Greek verb for believe will also be studied. All of this examination concludes that the most important factor is the portrayal of the character in the narrative context. It is not the nuance of the Greek that is most important, but how characters are actually portrayed by the author of the Fourth Gospel. Johannine belief will be defined and two examples of application to characters in the Fourth Gospel will be given.

Keywords

• belief
• gospel of john
• samaritans
• nathaniel
• nicodemus