What was from the beginning (I John 1:1): the priority of the Johannine epistles and the Johannine community

This thesis aims to address two principal questions: What is the relative chronology of the Johannine literature? And, how does this affect our understanding of the Johannine community and the origins of Christianity? -- It is argued herein that the Epistles of John were written before the final form of the Gospel of John. Evidence of the communal background of the texts is examined in an effort to glean some knowledge of those who stand behind these documents. Arguments in favour of the priority of the Epistles are presented, arguments which cumulatively accentuate the more natural progression of placing the epistolary writings first. -- The assertion that the Epistles hold chronological priority over the Gospel leads us to a different reconstruction of the Johannine community from that given in conventional scholarly circles, one which sees the origins of the written Gospel as outside the accepted Christian tradition. In reconstructing the Johannine community's history through an examination of the writings of Job, this thesis places the community within the wider historical and sociological context of the origins of Christianity, and concludes that the sources of the modern Christian faith - as played out in the microcosm of the Johannine fellowship - are indeed diverse.