Description: John's gospel does not record "Thomas's doubt," as later generations of Christians have branded the story. Rather, John presents Thomas's faith. In this work, Robert H. Smith approaches Thomas as one who believes in the reality of incarnation: God has a body. Too often, Smith argues, Christians read John's gospel for its lyrical discourses. The resulting portrait of Jesus is a "cross-less Christ," a portrait that contributes powerfully to Christian triumphalism. In contrast, Smith finds that the evangelist always has the cross in view. Smith reads John "backwards," through the...