Historical Jesus

From SkepticWiki

Contents 1 Definition 2 Discussion 2.1 Jesus the Wisdom Sage 2.2 Jesus the Prophet of Social Change 2.3 Jesus the Apocalyptic Prophet 3 Related Topics 4 References and Suggested Reading 4.1 Books and Articles 4.2 Online material

[edit] Definition

Historical Jesus refers to Jesus of Nazareth as he was in actual history, whatever that may have been. This historical Jesus may not have much in common with the portrayals of Jesus in the New Testament, and indeed, there is often a contrast made between the "Historical Jesus" and the "Christ of Faith."

[edit] Discussion

The various errors of the New Testament show that the Gospels cannot be completely trusted, so their portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth could easily be inaccurate. What then can securely be known about the historical Jesus? E.P. Sanders, on page 11 of his book Jesus and Judaism, provides this list of almost indisputable facts:

1. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
2. Jesus was a Galilean who preached and [purportedly] healed.
3. Jesus called disciples and spoke of their being twelve.
4. Jesus confined his activity to Israel.
5. Jesus engaged in a controversy about the temple [in Jerusalem].
6. Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem by the Roman authorities.
7. After his death Jesus' followers continued as an identifiable movement.
8. At least some Jews persecuted at least parts of the new movement (Gal. 1.13,22; Phil. 3.6), and it appears that this persecution endured at least to a time near the end of Paul's career (II Cor. 11.24; Gal. 5.11; 6.12; cf. Matt 23.34; 10.17).

Beyond this bare minimum, scholars have proposed many theories about what Jesus of Nazareth may have been like.

[edit] Jesus the Wisdom Sage

[edit] Jesus the Prophet of Social Change

[edit] Jesus the Apocalyptic Prophet

[edit] Related Topics

• Existence Of Jesus
• Religion and Philosophy

[edit] References and Suggested Reading

[edit] Books and Articles

• A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus by John P. Meier.
• The Historical Figure of Jesus by E. P. Sanders.
• The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide by Gerd Theissen and Annette Merz.

[edit] Online material

• The New Testament Gateway's section on the Historical Jesus
• XTalk academic e-list
• Dr. James F. McGrath's outline for an academic course on Jesus
• Mahlon H. Smith's page on the Historical Jesus
• Jesus, a historical reconstruction by Bernard D. Muller (argues that Jesus, a lower class Galilean, unintentionally provided the spark for the development of Christianity)