Perhaps the dominant evidence of Christian concerns throughout the novel is its juxtaposition of Old and New Testament teachings. The teachings of the Old Testament and the New Testament are strikingly different. The former preaches discipline and submission to a wrathful God the Father; the latter teaches an appreciation of God as an all-loving Father who has endowed his children with the ability to love him and one another. The Old Testament prescribes punishment, meted out severely by patriarchal authority, as just retribution for sin. In Baldwin’s novel, Gabriel hypocritically assumes this duty, parading his piety and promising God’s wrath on Judgment Day for sinners. Analogously, Gabriel maintains strict authority in his home, dictating his family’s thoughts and actions and enforcing them with corporal punishment.

The battle between good and evil is another Christian idea prevalent in Baldwin’s novel. Gabriel’s Christian ideology—and therefore John’s, too, initially—precludes ambiguity. Walking on the street, John sees the devil’s handiwork everywhere: “the marks of Satan could be found in the faces of the people . . . the roar of the damned filled Broadway.” Initially, John is propelled toward salvation simply because he cannot stand the alternative, which can only be evil. Again, the orientation is toward the Old Testament emphasis on justice over mercy and forgiveness.

John’s uncertain relationship with his stepfather correlates with his ambivalence toward God the Father. In rearing John, Gabriel’s overemphasis on the patriarchal teachings of the Old Testament makes John, an illegitimate son, question his worthiness to be saved by God “the Father.” Deuteronomy (23:2), for example, denies illegitimate children entry into the church. Hosea (5:7) and Hebrews (12:7-9) describe illegitimacy as a desolate condition. The New Testament Jesus, who had no earthly father, should be a positive Christian example for John, but Gabriel’s omission of New Testament teachings leaves John without the knowledge required for Christian salvation.

At the end of the novel, John begins to enter a true Christian experience with a greater appreciation for the New Testament teachings. John says to his affectionate mentor Elisha, “No matter what happens to me . . . you remember—please remember—I was saved. I was there,” referring to his moment of salvation. John wants Elisha, and others, to know that his heart has changed because that intimate knowledge creates a communion of Christian believers. Gabriel, on the other hand, discounts such a communion. He says bitterly to Florence, “I done answered . . . already before my God. I ain’t got to answer now, in front of you.” At the novel’s end, John keeps his back to Gabriel in the shadows, but he’s facing the sun and the people-filled streets of Harlem.