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'''''I come to Wikipedia to learn not to be converted''''' |
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The '''historicity of Jesus''' is the question whether Jesus existed in actuality as a historical figure (rather than being myth, legend or fiction), and whether any of the major events in his life as portrayed in the gospels can be confirmed by historical evidence as having actually happened. The historical analysis techniques used by Biblical scholars have been questioned,<ref name=Allison59>{{cite book | last1 = Allison | first1 = Dale | title = The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus | publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing | page = 59 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=WzOfssjUsIIC&pg=PA59&dq=dale+allison+We+wield+our+criteria+to+get+what+we+want#v=onepage&q&f=false | accessdate = Jan 9, 2011 | quote = We wield our criteria to get what we want. | isbn = 978-0-8028-6262-4 | date = February 2009}}</ref><ref name="Meier2009">{{Cite book|author=John P. Meier|title=A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Law and Love|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=igMXmZ055ooC&pg=PA6|accessdate=27 August 2010|date=26 May 2009|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-14096-5|pages=6–}}</ref><ref name=MarshQ>Clive Marsh, "Diverse Agendas at Work in the Jesus Quest" in ''Handbook for the Study of the Historical Jesus'' by Tom Holmen and Stanley E. Porter (Jan 12, 2011) ISBN 9004163727 pages 986-1002</ref> and according to [[James D. G. Dunn]] it is not possible "to construct (from the available data) a Jesus who will be the real Jesus."<ref name=Dunn125>''Jesus Remembered'' Volume 1, by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN 0-8028-3931-2 pp. 125-126: "the historical Jesus is properly speaking a nineteenth- and twentieth-century construction using the data supplied by the [[Synoptic Gospels|Synoptic]] tradition, ''not'' Jesus back then," (the Jesus of Nazareth who walked the hills of Galilee), "and ''not'' a figure in history whom we can realistically use to critique the portrayal of Jesus in the Synoptic tradition." </ref><ref name=Meir21>Meir, ''Marginal Jew'', 1:21-25</ref><ref name=Merrigan77>T. Merrigan, ''The Historical Jesus in the Pluralist Theology of Religions,'' in ''The Myriad Christ: Plurality and the Quest for Unity in Contemporary Christology'' (ed. T. Merrigan and J. Haers). Princeton-Prague Symposium on Jesus Research, & Charlesworth, J. H. ''Jesus research: New methodologies and perceptions : the second Princeton-Prague Symposium on Jesus Research, Princeton 2007,'' p. 77-78: "Dunn points out as well that 'the Enlightenment Ideal of historical objectivity also projected a false goal onto the quest for the historical Jesus,' which implied that there was a 'historical Jesus,' objectively verifiable, 'who will be different from the dogmatic Christ and the Jesus of the Gospels and who will enable us to criticize the dogmatic Christ and the Jesus of the Gospels.' (''Jesus Remembered'', p. 125)."</ref> |
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However, virtually all scholars of various disciplines who have commented on the subject consider Jesus to have existed, although biblical scholars differ about the beliefs and teachings of Jesus as well as the accuracy of the parts of his life that have been recorded in the Gospels.<ref name=fox>{{cite book|last=Fox|first=Robin Lane|title=The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian|year=2005|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0465024971|page=48}}</ref><ref name=nobbs>{{cite web|last1=Dickson|first1=John|title=Best of 2012: The irreligious assault on the historicity of Jesus|url=http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2012/12/24/3660194.htm|website=Abc.net.au|accessdate=17 June 2014}}</ref><ref name=Ehrman285>While discussing the "striking" fact that "we don't have any Roman records, of any kind, that attest to the existence of Jesus," Ehrman dismisses claims that this means Jesus never existed, saying, "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees, based on clear and certain evidence." B. Ehrman, 2011 ''Forged : writing in the name of God'' ISBN 978-0-06-207863-6. page 285</ref><ref>[[Robert M. Price]] (a former fundamentalist apologist turned atheist who says the existence of Jesus cannot be ruled out, but is less probable than non-existence) agrees that this perspective runs against the views of the majority of scholars: Robert M. Price "Jesus at the Vanishing Point" in ''The Historical Jesus: Five Views'' edited by James K. Beilby & Paul Rhodes Eddy, 2009 InterVarsity, ISBN 028106329X page 61</ref><ref name="Grantmajority">[[Michael Grant (author)|Michael Grant]] (a [[classicist]]) states that "In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." in ''Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels'' by Michael Grant 2004 ISBN 1898799881 page 200</ref><ref name=Burridge34>[[Richard A. Burridge]] states: "There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that any more." in ''Jesus Now and Then'' by Richard A. Burridge and Graham Gould (Apr 1, 2004) ISBN 0802809774 page 34</ref><ref name=JDunn339>''Jesus Remembered'' by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN 0-8028-3931-2 page 339 states of baptism and crucifixion that these "two facts in the life of Jesus command almost universal assent".</ref><ref name=Hertzog1>''Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus'' by William R. Herzog (4 Jul 2005) ISBN 0664225284 pages 1-6</ref><ref name="autogenerated145">{{cite book |author=Crossan, John Dominic |title=Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography |isbn=0-06-061662-8 |year=1995 |publisher=HarperOne |quote=That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be, since both Josephus and Tacitus ... agree with the Christian accounts on at least that basic fact. |page=145}}</ref><ref name=MAPowell168 >''Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee'' by Mark Allan Powell 1998 ISBN 0-664-25703-8 pages 168–173</ref> |
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''Readers might find the information they seek on this topic at one or more of the following related articles: |
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*[[Christ Myth Theory]]: The '''Christ myth theory''' (also known as the '''Jesus myth theory''', '''Jesus mythicism''' or simply '''mythicism''') is the proposition that [[Jesus of Nazareth]] never existed, or if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of [[Christianity]] and the accounts in the [[gospels]].<ref>[[Bart Ehrman]], ''Did Jesus Exist?'' Harper Collins, 2012, p. 12, ""In simpler terms, the historical Jesus did not exist. Or if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity." further quoting as authoritative the fuller definition provided by [[Earl Doherty]] in ''Jesus: Neither God Nor Man.'' Age of Reason, 2009, pp. vii-viii: it is "the theory that no historical Jesus worthy of the name existed, that Christianity began with a belief in a spiritual, mythical figure, that the Gospels are essentially allegory and fiction, and that no single identifiable person lay at the root of the Galilean preaching tradition."</ref> This theory has little scholarly support. |
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*[[Historical background of the New Testament]]: Most scholars who study the [[Historical Jesus]] and [[Early Christianity]] believe that the [[Canonical Gospels]] and life of [[Jesus]] must be viewed as firmly placed within his historical and cultural context, rather than purely in terms of Christian [[orthodoxy]].<ref>Fredriksen, Paula (1988). ''From Jesus to Christ'' ISBN 0-300-04864-5 pp. ix-xii</ref><ref>Sanders, E.P. (1987). ''Jesus and Judaism'', Fortress Press ISBN 0-8006-2061-5 pp. 1-9</ref> They look at the "forces" such as the [[Oral Gospel tradition]] which were in play regarding the Jewish culture at that time, and the tensions, trends, and changes in the region under the [[Hellenistic Judaism|influence of Hellenism]] and the [[Iudaea Province|Roman occupation]]. |
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*[[Historical Jesus]]: '''Historical Jesus''' refers to scholarly reconstructions of the life of [[Jesus]],<ref name=AmyJill1>[[Amy-Jill Levine]] in the ''The Historical Jesus in Context'' edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. 2006 Princeton Univ Press ISBN 978-0-691-00992-6 pages 1-2</ref><ref name=Bart411>''Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium'' by Bart D. Ehrman (Sep 23, 1999) ISBN 0195124731 Oxford Univ Press pages ix-xi</ref><ref>''Jesus Remembered'' Volume 1, by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN 0-8028-3931-2 pp. 125-127</ref> based on critical methods including [[biblical criticism|critical]] analysis of gospel texts as the [[primary source]] for his biography, along with consideration of the [[Cultural and historical background of Jesus|historical and cultural context]] in which he lived.<ref name=AmyJill1>[[Amy-Jill Levine]] in the ''The Historical Jesus in Context'' edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. 2006 Princeton Univ Press ISBN 978-0-691-00992-6 pages 1-2</ref><ref name=Bart411>''Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium'' by Bart D. Ehrman (Sep 23, 1999) ISBN 0195124731 Oxford Univ Press pages ix-xi</ref><ref>[[Bart D. Ehrman|Ehrman, Bart]]. ''The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-515462-2, chapters 13, 15</ref> |
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*[[Historical reliability of the Gospels]]: The '''historical reliability of the Gospels''' refers to the reliability and historic character of the [[Canonical Gospels|four New Testament gospels]] as historical documents. Although some claim that all four [[Gospel#Canonical gospels|canonical gospels]] meet the five criteria for historical reliability,<ref name = "Sanders">Sanders, E. P. The historical figure of Jesus. Penguin, 1993.</ref> others say that little in the gospels is considered to be historically reliable.<ref>The Myth about Jesus, Allvar Ellegard 1992,</ref><ref>Craig Evans, "Life-of-Jesus Research and the Eclipse of Mythology," Theological Studies 54 (1993) p. 5,</ref><ref name="Charles H. Talbert pg 42">Charles H. Talbert, What Is a Gospel? The Genre of Canonical Gospels pg 42 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977).</ref><ref name="Jesus 1995">“The Historical Figure of Jesus," Sanders, E.P., Penguin Books: London, 1995, p., 3.</ref><ref name="ReferenceC">Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word (Vol. II): Meditations on the Gospel According to St. Matthew – Dr Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, Introduction</ref><ref name="religion-online.org">Grant, Robert M., "A Historical Introduction to the New Testament" (Harper and Row, 1963) http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1116&C=1230</ref> |
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*[[Jesus Christ in comparative mythology]]: The study of '''Jesus Christ in comparative mythology''' is the examination of the narratives of the life of Jesus in the [[Canonical gospel|Christian gospel]]s, [[Christian traditions|traditions]] and [[theology]], as it relates to [[Christian mythology]] and other religions. Various authors have drawn a number of parallels between the [[Christian views of Jesus]] and other religious or mythical domains.<ref name=sandmel >{{cite journal|first=S|last=Sandmel|title=Parallelomania|journal=[[Journal of Biblical Literature]]|volume=81|issue=1|year=1962|doi=10.2307/3264821|pages=1–13|ref=harv|jstor=3264821}}</ref> These include [[Greco-Roman mysteries]], ancient [[Egyptian mythology|Egyptian myths]] and more general analogies involving [[Cross-cultural studies|cross-cultural]] patterns of [[dying god|dying and rising god]]s in the context of [[Christ myth theory]].<ref name=Campbell362>Campbell, Joseph (2003) ''The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology'' Vol. 3 ISBN 978-0-14-019441-8 pg 362</ref> |
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*[[Quest for the historical Jesus]]: The '''quest for the historical Jesus''' refers to academic efforts to provide a [[historical Jesus|historical portrait of Jesus]].<ref name=AlanP13>''Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee'' by [[Mark Allan Powell]] (1 Jan 1999) ISBN 0664257038 pages 13-15</ref> Since the 18th century, three separate scholarly quests for the historical Jesus have taken place.<ref name=BenQ9>''The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth by Ben Witherington (May 8, 1997) ISBN 0830815449 pages 9-13</ref><ref name=DThiessen6>''The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria'' by Gerd Theissen and Dagmar Winter (Aug 30, 2002) ISBN 0664225373 pages 1-6</ref><ref name=AlanP19>''Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee'' by Mark Allan Powell (1 Jan 1999) ISBN 0664257038 pages 19-23</ref> |
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*[[Sources for the historicity of Jesus]]: The '''sources for the historicity of Jesus''' are mainly Christian sources, such as the New Testament books in the Christian Bible. These include detailed stories about Jesus but scholars differ on the historicity of specific episodes described in the Biblical accounts of Jesus.<ref name=MAPowell168 >''Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee'' by Mark Allan Powell 1998 ISBN 0-664-25703-8 page 181</ref> There are three non-Christian sources used to study and establish the historicity of Jesus - two mentions in the work of the Jewish historian [[Josephus on Jesus|Josephus]], and one mention by the Roman historian [[Tacitus on Christ|Tacitus]].<ref name="Camber121">''The Cambridge Companion to Jesus'' by Markus N. A. Bockmuehl 2001 ISBN 0521796784 pages 121-125</ref><ref name=Chil460>''Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research'' by Bruce Chilton, Craig A. Evans 1998 ISBN 9004111425 pages 460-470</ref> The authenticity of all three mentions is disputed to a degree. |
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==References== |
==References== |
Revision as of 13:27, 6 October 2014
I come to Wikipedia to learn not to be converted