Historical Jesus - Wikipedia

Historical Jesus - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Historical_Jesus
Historical Jesus
Historical Jesus is the reconstruction of the life and teachings of Jesus by critical
historical methods, in contrast to Christological definitions (the Christ of Christianity) and
other Christian accounts of Jesus (the Christ of faith).[1] It also considers the historical and
cultural contexts in which Jesus lived.[2][3][4]
Virtually all reputable scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed.[5][6][7][note 1]

Reconstructions of the historical Jesus are based on the Pauline epistles and the Gospels,
while several non-Biblical sources also bear witness to the historical existence of Jesus.
Since the 18th century, three separate scholarly quests for the historical Jesus have taken
place, each with distinct characteristics and developing new and different research criteria.
[9][10]
Scholars differ about the beliefs and teachings of Jesus as well as the accuracy of the biblical
accounts, and the only two events subject to "almost universal assent" are that Jesus was
baptized by John the Baptist and was crucified by the order of the Roman Prefect Pontius
Pilate.[11][12][13][14] Historical Jesus scholars typically contend that he was a Galilean Jew
and living in a time of messianic and apocalyptic expectations.[15][16] Some scholars credit
the apocalyptic declarations of the gospels to him, while others portray his "Kingdom of
God" as a moral one, and not apocalyptic in nature.[17]
The portraits of Jesus that have been constructed in these processes have often differed
from each other, and from the image portrayed in the gospel accounts.[18] These portraits
include that of Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, charismatic healer, Cynic philosopher,
Jewish messiah, prophet of social change,[19][20] and rabbi;[21][22] but there is little scholarly
agreement on a single portrait, nor the methods needed to construct it.[18][23][24] There are,
however, overlapping attributes among the various portraits, and scholars who differ on
some attributes may agree on others.[19][20][25]
Contents
Historical existence
Sources
New Testament sources
Synoptic Gospels
Pauline epistles
Non-biblical sources
Thallos
Josephus and Tacitus
Talmud
Mara bar Serapion
Critical-historical research
Historical reliability of the Gospels
Quest for the historical Jesus
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Historical Jesus - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Jesus
First quest
Period of no quest
Second quest
Third quest
Demise of authenticity
Methods
Textual, source and form-criticism
Criteria of authenticity
Criticism
Consensual knowledge about Jesus
Baptism and crucifixion
Baptism
Crucifixion
Other possibly historical elements
Portraits of the historical Jesus
Mainstream views
Apocalyptic prophet
Charismatic healer
Cynic philosopher
Jewish Messiah
Prophet of social change
Rabbi
Non-mainstream views
Christ myth theory
Mainstream view and criticism
See also
Notes
References
Sources
External links
Historical existence
Most scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed.[5][26][27] Historian Michael Grant asserts
that if conventional standards of historical textual criticism are applied to the New
Testament, "we can no more reject Jesus' existence than we can reject the existence of a
mass of pagan personages whose reality as historical figures is never questioned."[28][29]
There is no indication that writers in antiquity who opposed Christianity questioned the
existence of Jesus.[30][31]
Sources
There is no physical or archaeological evidence for Jesus; all existing sources are
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documentary. The sources for the historical Jesus are

mainly Christian writings, such as the gospels and
the purported letters of the apostles. All extant
sources that mention Jesus were written after his
death. The New Testament represents sources that
have become canonical for Christianity, and there are
many apocryphal texts that are examples of the wide
variety of writings in the first centuries AD that are
related to Jesus.[32] The authenticity and reliability
of these sources have been questioned by many
scholars, and few events mentioned in the gospels are
universally accepted.[33]
New Testament sources
Synoptic Gospels
Judea Province during the 1st century
The Synoptic Gospels are the primary sources of
historical information about Jesus and of the
religious movement he founded.[15][34][35][note 2]
These religious gospels–the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of
Mark, and the Gospel of Luke–recount the life, ministry,
crucifixion and resurrection of a Jew named Jesus who spoke
Aramaic and wore tzitzit.[37][38] There are different hypotheses
regarding the origin of the texts because the gospels of the New
Testament were written in Greek for Greek-speaking
communities,[39] and were later translated into Syriac, Latin,
and Coptic.[40] The fourth gospel, the Gospel of John, differs
greatly from the Synoptic Gospels. Historians often study the
historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles when studying
the reliability of the gospels, as the Book of Acts was seemingly
written by the same author as the Gospel of Luke.[41]
An 11th-century Byzantine
Pauline epistles manuscript containing the
opening of the Gospel of
Only seven of the fourteen Pauline epistles are considered by Luke
scholarly consensus to be genuine; these are dated to between
AD 50 and 60 (i.e., approximately twenty to thirty years after
the generally accepted time period for the death of Jesus), and are the earliest surviving
Christian texts that include information about Jesus.[42] Although Paul the Apostle provides
relatively little biographical information about Jesus[43] and states that he never knew Jesus
personally, he does make it clear that he considers Jesus to have been a real person[note 3]
and a Jew.[note 4][44][45][46][47] Moreover, he claims to have met with James, the brother of
Jesus.[48][note 5]
Non-biblical sources
In addition to biblical sources, there are a number of mentions of Jesus in non-Christian
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sources that have been used in the historical analyses of the existence of Jesus.[50]
Thallos
Biblical scholar Frederick Fyvie Bruce says the earliest mention of Jesus outside the New
Testament occurs around 55 CE from a historian named Thallos. Thallos' history, like the
vast majority of ancient literature, has been lost but not before it was quoted by Sextus
Julius Africanus (ca.160-ca.240 CE), a Christian writer, in his History of the World
(ca.220). This book likewise was lost, but not before one of its citations of Thallos was taken
up by the Byzantine historian Georgius Syncellus in his Chronicle (ca.800). There is no
means by which certainty can be established concerning this or any of the other lost
references, partial references, and questionable references that mention some aspect of
Jesus' life or death, but in evaluating evidence, it is appropriate to note they exist.
[51]:29–33[52]:20–23
Josephus and Tacitus
There are two passages in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, and one from the
Roman historian Tacitus, that are generally considered good evidence.[50][53]
Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews, written around 93–94 AD, includes two references to the
biblical Jesus Christ in Books 18 and 20. The general scholarly view is that while the longer
passage, known as the Testimonium Flavianum, is most likely not authentic in its entirety,
it is broadly agreed upon that it originally consisted of an authentic nucleus, which was then
subject to Christian interpolation.[54][55] Of the other mention in Josephus, Josephus
scholar Louis H. Feldman has stated that "few have doubted the genuineness" of Josephus'
reference to Jesus in Antiquities 20, 9, 1 ("the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose
name was James"). Paul references meeting and interacting with James, Jesus' brother, and
since this agreement between the different sources supports Josephus' statement, the
statement is only disputed by a small number of scholars.[56][57][58][59]
Roman historian Tacitus referred to Christus and his execution by Pontius Pilate in his
Annals (written c. AD 116), book 15, chapter 44.[60] Robert E. Van Voorst states that the very
negative tone of Tacitus' comments on Christians makes the passage extremely unlikely to
have been forged by a Christian scribe[52] and Boyd and Eddy state that the Tacitus
reference is now widely accepted as an independent confirmation of Jesus's crucifixion.[61]
Talmud
Other considerations outside Christendom include the possible mentions of Jesus in the
Talmud. The Talmud speaks in some detail of the conduct of criminal cases of Israel whose
texts were gathered together from 200–500 CE. Bart Ehrman says this material is too late to
be of much use. Ehrman explains that "Jesus is never mentioned in the oldest part of the
Talmud, the Mishnah, but appears only in the later commentaries of the Gemara."[36]:67–69
Jesus is not mentioned by name, but there is a subtle attack on the virgin birth that refers to
the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier "Panthera" (Ehrman says, "In Greek the word for
virgin is parthenos"), and a reference to Jesus' miracles as "black magic" learned when he
lived in Egypt (as a toddler). Ehrman writes that few contemporary scholars treat this as
historical.[36]:67[62]
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Mara bar Serapion
There is only one classical writer who refers positively to Jesus and that is Mara bar
Serapion, a Syriac Stoic, who wrote a letter to his son, who was also named Serapion, from a
Roman prison. He speaks of Jesus as ‘the wise king’ and compares his death at the hand of
the Jews to that of Socrates at the hands of the Athenians. He links the death of the ‘wise
king’ to the Jews being driven from their kingdom. He also states that the ‘wise king’ lives on
because of the “new laws he laid down.” The dating of the letter is disputed but was probably
soon after 73 AD.[63]
Critical-historical research
Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a
branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the
world behind the text".[64] The primary goal of historical criticism is to discover the text's
primitive or original meaning in its original historical context and its literal sense. Historical
criticism began in the 17th century and gained popular recognition in the 19th and 20th
centuries.
Historical reliability of the Gospels
The historical reliability of the gospels refers to the reliability and historic character of the
four New Testament gospels as historical documents. Little in the four canonical gospels is
considered to be historically reliable.[65][66][67][68][69]
Historians subject the gospels to critical analysis by differentiating authentic, reliable

information from possible inventions, exaggerations, and alterations.[15] Since there are
more textual variants in the New Testament (200–400 thousand) than it has letters (c. 140
thousand),[70] scholars use textual criticism to determine which gospel variants could
theoretically be taken as 'original'. To answer this question, scholars have to ask who wrote
the gospels, when they wrote them, what was their objective in writing them,[71] what
sources the authors used, how reliable these sources were, and how far removed in time the
sources were from the stories they narrate, or if they were altered later. Scholars may also
look into the internal evidence of the documents, to see if, for example, a document has
misquoted texts from the Hebrew Tanakh, has made incorrect claims about geography, if
the author appears to have hidden information, or if the author has fabricated a
prophecy.[72] Finally, scholars turn to external sources, including the testimony of early
church leaders, to writers outside the church, primarily Jewish and Greco-Roman
historians, who would have been more likely to have criticized the church, and to
archaeological evidence.
Quest for the historical Jesus
Since the 18th century, three scholarly quests for the historical Jesus have taken place, each
with distinct characteristics and based on different research criteria, which were often
developed during each specific phase.[9][73][10] These quests are distinguished from pre-
Enlightenment approaches because they rely on the historical-critical method to study
biblical narratives. While textual analysis of biblical sources had taken place for centuries,
these quests introduced new methods and specific techniques in the attempt to establish the
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historical validity of their conclusions.[74]
First quest
The scholarly effort to reconstruct an "authentic" historical

picture of Jesus was a product of the Enlightenment
skepticism of the late eighteenth century.[18] :1 Bible scholar
Gerd Theissen explains "It was concerned with presenting a
historically true life of Jesus that functioned theologically as a
critical force over against [established Roman Catholic]
Christology."[18]:1 The first scholar to separate the historical
Jesus from the theological Jesus in this way was philosopher,
writer, classicist, Hebraist and Enlightenment free thinker Hermann Samuel Reimarus
Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694–1768). [75] Copies of (1694–1768) studied the
Reimarus' writings were discovered by G. E. Lessing historical Jesus.
(1729–1781) in the library at Wolfenbüttel where Lessing was
the librarian. Reimarus had left permission for his work to be
published after his death, and Lessing did so between 1774 and 1778, publishing them as Die
Fragmente eines unbekannten Autors (The Fragments of an Unknown Author). Over time,
they came to be known as the Wolfenbüttel Fragments after the library where Lessing
worked. Reimarus distinguished between what Jesus taught and how he is portrayed in the
New Testament. According to Reimarus, Jesus was a political Messiah who failed at creating
political change and was executed. His disciples then stole the body and invented the story
of the resurrection for personal gain.[75][76]:46–48 Reimarus' controversial work prompted a
response from "the father of historical critical research" Johann Semler in 1779,
Beantwortung der Fragmente eines Ungenannten (Answering the Fragments of an
Unknown).[77]:43–45;355–359 Semler refuted Reimarus' arguments, but it was of little
consequence. Reimarus' writings had already made lasting changes by making it clear
criticism could exist independently of theology and faith, and by founding historical Jesus
studies within that non-sectarian view.[78]:346–350[76]:48
Period of no quest
The enthusiasm shown during the first quest diminished after Albert Schweitzer's critique of
1906 in which he pointed out various shortcomings in the approaches used at the time. After
Schweitzer's Von Reimarus zu Wrede was translated and published in English as The Quest
of the historical Jesus in 1910, the book's title provided the label for the field of study for
eighty years.[79]:779-
Second quest
The second quest began in 1953 and introduced a number of new techniques, but faded
away in the 1970s.[80]
Third quest
In the 1980s a number of scholars gradually began to introduce new research ideas,[9][81]
initiating a third quest characterized by the latest research approaches.[80][82] One of the
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modern aspects of the third quest has been the role of

archaeology; James Charlesworth states that modern scholars
now want to use archaeological discoveries that clarify the
nature of life in Galilee and Judea during the time of Jesus.[83]
A further characteristic of the third quest has been the
interdisciplinary and global nature of its scholarship.[84] While
the first two quests were mostly carried out by European
Protestant theologians, a modern aspect of the third quest is
the worldwide influx of scholars from multiple disciplines.[84]
More recently, historicists have focused their attention on the
historical writings associated with the era in which Jesus
lived[85][86] or on the evidence concerning his family.[87][88]
[89][90]
By the end of the twentieth century, scholar Tom Holmén Albert Schweitzer, whose
writes that Enlightenment skepticism had given way to a more book coined the term Quest
"trustful attitude toward the historical reliability of the sources for the historical Jesus
[...] [Currently] the conviction of Sanders, (we know quite a lot
about Jesus) characterizes the majority of contemporary
studies."[91]:43 Reflecting this shift, the phrase "quest for the historical Jesus" has largely
been replaced by life of Jesus research.[92]:33
Demise of authenticity
Since the late 1900s, concerns have been growing about the usefulness of the criteria of
authenticity.[93] According to Le Donne, the usage of such criteria is a form of "positivist
historiography."[94] According to Chris Keith, a historical Jesus is "ultimately unattainable,
but can be hypothesized on the basis of the interpretations of the early Christians, and as
part of a larger process of accounting for how and why early Christians came to view Jesus
in the ways that they did." According to Keith, "these two models are methodologically and
epistemologically incompatible," calling into question the methods and aim of the first
model.[95]
Methods
Textual, source and form-criticism
The first quest, which started in 1778, was almost entirely based on biblical criticism. This
took the form of textual and source criticism originally, which were supplemented with form
criticism in 1919, and redaction criticism in 1948.[74] Form criticism began as an attempt to
trace the history of the biblical material during the oral period before it was written in its
current form, and may be seen as starting where textual criticism ends.[96] Form criticism
views Gospel writers as editors, not authors. Redaction criticism may be viewed as the child
of source criticism and form criticism.[97] and views the Gospel writers as authors and early
theologians and tries to understand how the redactor(s) has (have) molded the narrative to
express their own perspectives.[97]
Criteria of authenticity
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When form criticism questioned the historical reliability of the Gospels, scholars began
looking for other criteria. Taken from other areas of study such as source criticism, the
"criteria of authenticity" emerged gradually, becoming a distinct branch of methodology
associated with life of Jesus research.[91]:43–54 The criteria are a variety of rules used to
determine if some event or person is more or less likely to be historical. These criteria are
primarily, though not exclusively, used to assess the sayings and actions of Jesus.
[98]:193–199[99]:3–33
In view of the skepticism produced in the mid-twentieth century by form criticism

concerning the historical reliability of the gospels, the burden shifted in historical Jesus
studies from attempting to identify an authentic life of Jesus to attempting to prove
authenticity. The criteria developed within this framework, therefore, are tools that provide
arguments solely for authenticity, not inauthenticity.[91]:43 In 1901, the application of
criteria of authenticity began with dissimilarity. It was often applied unevenly with a
preconceived goal.[18]:1[91]:40–45 In the early decades of the twentieth century, F.C. Burkitt
and B.H. Streeter provided the foundation for multiple attestation. The Second Quest
introduced the criterion of embarrassment.[74] By the 1950s, coherence was also included.
By 1987, D.Polkow lists 25 separate criteria being used by scholars to test for historical
authenticity including the criterion of "historical plausibility".[74][98]:193–199
Criticism
A number of scholars have criticized the various approaches used in the study of the
historical Jesus—on one hand, for the lack of rigor in research methods; on the other, for
being driven by "specific agendas" that interpret ancient sources to fit specific goals.[100]
[101][102] By the 21st century, the "maximalist" approaches of the 19th century, which
accepted all the gospels, and the "minimalist" trends of the early 20th century, which totally
rejected them, were abandoned and scholars began to focus on what is historically probable
and plausible about Jesus.[103][104][105]
Consensual knowledge about Jesus
Baptism and crucifixion
There is widespread disagreement among scholars on

the details of the life of Jesus mentioned in the gospel
narratives, and on the meaning of his teachings.[14]
Scholars differ on the historicity of specific episodes
described in the biblical accounts of Jesus,[14][18] but
almost all modern scholars consider his baptism and
crucifixion to be historical facts.[11][106]
Baptism The Pilate Stone from Caesarea

Maritima, now at the Israel Museum
The existence of John the Baptist within the same time
frame as Jesus, and his eventual execution by Herod
Antipas is attested to by 1st-century historian Josephus and the overwhelming majority of
modern scholars view Josephus' accounts of the activities of John the Baptist as authentic.
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[107][108]One of the arguments in favor of the historicity of the Baptism of Jesus by John is
the criterion of embarrassment, i.e. that it is a story which the early Christian Church would
have never wanted to invent.[109][110][111] Another argument used in favour of the historicity
of the baptism is that multiple accounts refer to it, usually called the criterion of multiple
attestation.[112] Technically, multiple attestation does not guarantee authenticity, but only
determines antiquity.[113] However, for most scholars, together with the criterion of
embarrassment it lends credibility to the baptism of Jesus by John being a historical event.
[112][114][115][116]
Crucifixion
John P. Meier views the crucifixion of Jesus as historical fact and states that, based on the
criterion of embarrassment, Christians would not have invented the painful death of their
leader.[117] Meier states that a number of other criteria — the criterion of multiple
attestation (i.e., confirmation by more than one source), the criterion of coherence (i.e., that
it fits with other historical elements) and the criterion of rejection (i.e., that it is not
disputed by ancient sources) — help establish the crucifixion of Jesus as a historical
event.[117] Eddy and Boyd state that it is now firmly established that there is non-Christian
confirmation of the crucifixion of Jesus – referring to the mentions in Josephus and
Tacitus.[61]
Most scholars in the third quest for the historical Jesus consider the crucifixion
indisputable,[13][117][118][119] as do Bart Ehrman,[119] John Dominic Crossan[13] and James
Dunn.[11] Although scholars agree on the historicity of the crucifixion, they differ on the
reason and context for it, e.g. both E. P. Sanders and Paula Fredriksen support the
historicity of the crucifixion, but contend that Jesus did not foretell his own crucifixion, and
that his prediction of the crucifixion is a Christian story.[120] Geza Vermes also views the
crucifixion as a historical event but believes this was due to Jesus’ challenging of Roman
authority.[120]
Other possibly historical elements
In addition to the two historical elements of baptism and crucifixion, scholars attribute
varying levels of certainty to various other aspects of the life of Jesus, although there is no
universal agreement among scholars on these items:[121][note 6]
Jesus called disciples: John P. Meier sees the calling of disciples a natural consequence
of the information available about Jesus.[121][12][125] N. T. Wright accepts that there were
twelve disciples, but holds that the list of their names cannot be determined with
certainty. John Dominic Crossan disagrees, stating that Jesus did not call disciples and
had an "open to all" egalitarian approach, imposed no hierarchy and preached to all in
equal terms.[12]
Jesus caused a controversy at the Temple.[121][12][125]
Jesus was a Galilean Jew who was born between 7 and 2 BC and died 30–36 AD.[126]
[127][128]
Jesus lived only in Galilee and Judea:[129][130][131] Most scholars reject that there is any
evidence that an adult Jesus traveled or studied outside Galilee and Judea.[132][133][134]
In The Historical Jesus in Recent Research edited by James D. G. Dunn and Scot
McKnight 2006 ISBN 1-57506-100-7-page 303 Marcus Borg states that the suggestions
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that an adult Jesus traveled to Egypt or India are "without historical foundation"[135][136]
The Talmud refers to "Jesus the Nazarene" several times and scholars such as Andreas
Kostenberger and Robert Van Voorst hold that some of these references are to Jesus.
[137][138] Nazareth is not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian gospels
portray it as an insignificant village, John 1:46 asking "Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth?"[139] Craig S. Keener states that it is rarely disputed that Jesus was from
Nazareth, an obscure small village not worthy of invention.[139][140] Gerd Theissen
concurs with that conclusion.[141]
Jesus spoke Aramaic and that he may have also spoken Hebrew and Greek.[142][143]
[144][145] The languages spoken in Galilee and Judea during the 1st century include the
Semitic Aramaic and Hebrew languages as well as Greek, with Aramaic being the
predominant language.[142][143] Most scholars agree that during the early part of the 1st
century, Aramaic was the mother tongue of virtually all women in Galilee and Judea.
After his death his disciples continued, and some of his disciples were persecuted.
[121][12]
Some scholars have proposed further additional historical possibilities such as:
An approximate chronology of Jesus can be estimated from non-Christian sources, and

confirmed by correlating them with New Testament accounts.[126][146]
Claims about the appearance or ethnicity of Jesus are mostly subjective, based on
cultural stereotypes and societal trends rather than on scientific analysis.[147][148][149]
The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist can be dated approximately from Josephus'
references (Antiquities 18.5.2) to a date before AD 28–35.[107][150][151][152][153]
The main topic of his teaching was the Kingdom of God, and he presented this teaching
in parables that were surprising and sometimes confounding.[154]
Jesus taught an ethic of forgiveness, as expressed in aphorisms such as "turn the other
cheek" or "go the extra mile."[154]
The date of the crucifixion of Jesus was earlier than 36 AD, based on the dates of the
prefecture of Pontius Pilate who was governor of Roman Judea from 26 AD until 36
AD.[155][156][157]
Portraits of the historical Jesus

Scholars involved in the third quest for the historical Jesus
have constructed a variety of portraits and profiles for Jesus.
[19][20][158] However, there is little scholarly agreement on the
portraits, or the methods used in constructing them.[18]
[23][24][159] The portraits of Jesus that have been constructed in
the quest for the historical Jesus have often differed from each
other, and from the image portrayed in the gospel accounts.[18]
These portraits include that of Jesus as an apocalyptic
prophet, charismatic healer, Cynic philosopher, Jewish
Messiah and prophet of social change,[19][20] but there is little Marcus Borg
scholarly agreement on a single portrait, or the methods
needed to construct it.[18][23][24] There are, however,
overlapping attributes among the various portraits, and scholars who differ on some
attributes may agree on others.[19][20][25]
Contemporary scholarship, representing the "third quest," places Jesus firmly in the Jewish
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tradition. Jesus was a Jewish preacher who taught that he was the path to salvation,
everlasting life, and the Kingdom of God.[17] A primary criterion used to discern historical
details in the "third quest" is that of plausibility, relative to Jesus' Jewish context and to his
influence on Christianity. Contemporary scholars of the "third quest" include E. P. Sanders,
Geza Vermes, Gerd Theissen, Christoph Burchard, and John Dominic Crossan. In contrast
to the Schweitzerian view, certain North American scholars, such as Burton Mack, advocate
for a non-eschatological Jesus, one who is more of a Cynic sage than an apocalyptic
preacher.[160]
Mainstream views
Despite the significant differences among scholars on what constitutes a suitable portrait for
Jesus, the mainstream views supported by a number of scholars may be grouped together
based on certain distinct, primary themes.[19][20] These portraits often include overlapping
elements, and there are also differences among the followers of each portrait. The
subsections below present the main portraits that are supported by multiple mainstream
scholars.[19][20]
Apocalyptic prophet
The apocalyptic prophet view primarily emphasizes Jesus

preparing his fellow Jews for the End times.[161] The works of
E.P. Sanders and Maurice Casey place Jesus within the context
of Jewish eschatological tradition.[162][163]:169–204[164]:199–235
Bart Ehrman aligns himself with the century-old view of Albert
Schweitzer that Jesus expected an apocalypse during his own
generation, and he bases some of his views on the argument
that the earliest gospel sources (for which he assumes Markan
priority) and the First Epistle to the Thessalonians, chapters 4
and 5, probably written by the end of AD 52, present Jesus as
far more apocalyptic than other Christian sources produced
towards the end of the 1st century, contending that the
apocalyptic messages were progressively toned down.[165] Dale Bart Ehrman
Allison does not see Jesus as advocating specific timetables for
the End Times, but sees him as preaching his own doctrine of
"apocalyptic eschatology" derived from post-exilitic Jewish teachings,[166] sees the
apocalyptic teachings of Jesus as a form of asceticism.[25]
Charismatic healer
The charismatic healer portrait positions Jesus as a pious and holy man in the view of Geza
Vermes, whose profile draws on the Talmudic representations of Jewish figures such as
Hanina ben Dosa and Honi the Circle Drawer and presents Jesus as a Hasid.[167] Marcus
Borg views Jesus as a charismatic "man of the spirit", a mystic or visionary who acts as a
conduit for the "Spirit of God". Borg sees this as a well-defined religious personality type,
whose actions often involve healing.[168] Borg sees Jesus as a non-eschatological figure who
did not intend to start a new religion, but his message set him at odds with the Jewish
powers of his time based on the "politics of holiness".[25] Both Sanders and Casey agree that
Jesus was also a charismatic healer in addition to an apocalyptic prophet.
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[163]:132–168[164]:237–279
Cynic philosopher
In the Cynic philosopher profile, Jesus is presented as a

Cynic, a traveling sage and philosopher preaching a
cynical and radical message of change to abolish the
existing hierarchical structure of the society of his
time.[25][169] In John Dominic Crossan's view Jesus was
crucified not for religious reasons but because his social
teachings challenged the seat of power held by the
Jewish authorities.[169] Burton Mack also holds that
John Dominic Crossan
Jesus was a Cynic whose teachings were so different
from those of his time that they shocked the audience
and forced them to think, but Mack views his death as
accidental and not due to his challenge to Jewish authority.[25]
Jewish Messiah
The Jewish Messiah portrait of N. T. Wright places Jesus within the Jewish context of "exile
and return", a notion he uses to build on his view of the 1st-century concept of hope.[25]
Wright believes that Jesus was the Messiah and argues that the Resurrection of Jesus was a
physical and historical event.[169] Wright's portrait of Jesus is closer to the traditional
Christian views than many other scholars, and when he departs from the Christian tradition,
his views are still close to them.[169] Like Wright, Markus Bockmuehl and Peter Stuhlmacher
support the view that Jesus came to announce the end of the Jewish spiritual exile and
usher in a new messianic era in which God would improve this world through the faith of his
people.[170]
Prophet of social change
The prophet of social change portrait positions Jesus primarily as someone who challenged
the traditional social structures of his time.[171] Gerd Theissen sees three main elements to
the activities of Jesus as he effected social change, his positioning as the Son of man, the
core group of disciples that followed him, and his localized supporters as he journeyed
through Galillee and Judea. Richard A. Horsely goes further and presents Jesus as a more
radical reformer who initiated a grassroots movement.[171] David Kaylor’s ideas are close to
those of Horsely, but have a more religious focus and base the actions of Jesus on covenant
theology and his desire for justice.[171] Elisabeth Fiorenza has presented a feminist
perspective which sees Jesus as a social reformer whose actions such as the acceptance of
women followers resulted in the liberation of some women of his time.[169][172] For S. G. F.
Brandon Jesus was a political revolutionary who challenged the existing socio-political
structures of his time.[173]
Rabbi
The rabbi portrait advances the idea that Jesus was simply a rabbi who sought to reform
certain ideas within Judaism. This idea can be traced to the late nineteenth century, when
12 of 29 25/04/2020, 13:14
various liberal Jews sought to emphasize the Jewish nature of Jesus and saw him as
something of a proto-Reform Jew.[174] Perhaps the most prominent of these was Rabbi Emil
G. Hirsch, who in The Doctrine of Jesus wrote:
We quote the rabbis of the Talmud; shall we then, not also quote the rabbi of
Bethlehem? Shall not he in whom there burned, if it burned in any one, the spirit
and the light of Judaism, be reclaimed by the synagogue?[175]
Bruce Chilton, in his book Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography, painted Jesus as a devout
student of John the Baptist who came to see it as his mission to restore the Temple to purity,
and purge the Romans and the corrupt priests from its midst.[176] Jaroslav Pelikan, in The
Illustrated Jesus Through the Centuries stated:
Alongside Immanuel, "God with us"--the Hebrew title given to the child in the
prophecy of Isaiah (7:14) and applied by Matthew (1:23) to Jesus, but not used to
address him except in such apostrophes as the medieval antiphon Veni, Veni,
Immanuel that forms the epigraph to this chapter--four Aramaic words appear
as titles for Jesus: Rabbi, or teacher; Amen, or prophet; Messias, or Christ; and
Mar, or Lord. The most neutral and least controversial of these words is
probably Rabbi, along with the related Rabbouni. Except for two passages, the
Gospels apply the Aramaic word only to Jesus; and if we conclude that the title
"teacher" or "master" (didaskalos in Greek) was intended as a translation of that
Aramaic name, it seems safe to say that it was as Rabbi that Jesus was known
and addressed.[21]
Professor Andreas J. Köstenberger in Jesus as Rabbi in the Fourth Gospel also reached the
conclusion that Jesus was seen by his contemporaries as a rabbi.[22]
Non-mainstream views
Other portraits have been presented by individual scholars:
Ben Witherington supports the "Wisdom Sage" view, and states that Jesus is best
understood as a teacher of wisdom who saw himself as the embodiment or incarnation
of God's Wisdom.[169][172]
John P. Meier's portrait of Jesus as the Marginal Jew is built on the view that Jesus
knowingly marginalized himself in a number of ways, first by abandoning his profession
as a carpenter and becoming a preacher with no means of support, then arguing against
the teachings and traditions of the time while he had no formal rabbinic training.[25][169]
Robert Eisenman proposed that James the Just was the Teacher of Righteousness
mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and that the image of Jesus of the gospels was
constructed by the Apostle Paul as pro-Roman propaganda.[177]
Alvar Ellegård proposes that while the early Pauline communities did grow from Essene
communities revering a historical founder, the Essene Teacher of Righteousness, Paul
had very little historical knowledge of the Teacher, while the description of Jesus in the
gospels is entirely fictional.[178]
Hyam Maccoby proposed that Jesus was a Pharisee, that the positions ascribed to the
13 of 29 25/04/2020, 13:14
Pharisees in the Gospels are very different from

what we know of them, and in fact their opinions
were very similar to those ascribed to Jesus.[179]
Harvey Falk also sees Jesus as proto-Pharisee or
Essene.[180]
Morton Smith views Jesus as a magician, a view
based on the presentation of Jesus in later Jewish
sources.[181]
Leo Tolstoy saw Jesus as championing Christian
anarchism (although Tolstoy never actually used the Two Dead Sea Scrolls in the cave
term "Christian anarchism"; reviews of his book they were found, before being
following its publication in 1894 coined the removed by archaeologists.
term.) [182]
It has been suggested by psychiatrists Oskar

Panizza,[183][184][185] George de Loosten,[186] William Hirsch,[187] William Sargant,[188]
Anthony Storr,[189][190][191] Raj Persaud,[192] psychologist Charles Binet-Sanglé[193] and
others that Jesus had a mental disorder or psychiatric condition.[194] This was supported
inter alia by the Church of England,[195] based on the fact that the Gospel of Mark (Mark
3:21) reports that When his family heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said,
″He is out of his mind.″[196] Psychologist Władysław Witwicki states that Jesus had
difficulties communicating with the outside world and suffered from multiple personality
disorder, which made him a schizothymic or even schizophrenic type.[197][198] In
1998–2000 Polish author Leszek Nowak (born 1962) from Poznań authored a study in
which, based on his own history of delusions of mission and overvalued ideas, and
information communicated in the Gospels, made an attempt at reconstructing Jesus’
psyche[199] with the view of the apocalyptic prophet.[161]
Christ myth theory

The Christ myth theory 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.[200] In the 21st century, there have been a number of books and documentaries on
this subject. For example, Earl Doherty has written that Jesus may have been a real person,
but that the biblical accounts of him are almost entirely fictional.[201]:12[202][203][204] Many
proponents use a three-fold argument first developed in the 19th century: that the New
Testament has no historical value, that there are no non-Christian references to Jesus Christ
from the first century, and that Christianity had pagan and/or mythical roots.[205]
Mainstream view and criticism
Since the 1970s, various scholars such as Joachim Jeremias, E. P. Sanders and Gerd
Thiessen have traced elements of Christianity to diversity in First-century Judaism and
discarded nineteenth century views that Jesus was based on previous pagan deities.[206]
Mentions of Jesus in extra-biblical texts do exist and are supported as genuine by the
majority of historians.[5] Historical scholars see differences between the content of the
Jewish Messianic prophecies and the life of Jesus, undermining views Jesus was invented as
a Jewish Midrash or Peshar.[207]:344–351 The presence of details of Jesus' life in Paul, and
the differences between letters and Gospels, are sufficient for most scholars to dismiss
mythicist claims concerning Paul.[207]:208–233[208] New Testament scholar Gerd Theissan
says "there is broad scholarly consensus that we can best find access to the historical Jesus
14 of 29 25/04/2020, 13:14
through the Synoptic tradition."[209]:25 And Ehrman adds "To dismiss the Gospels from the
historical record is neither fair nor scholarly."[5]:73 If Jesus did not exist, "the origin of the
faith of the early Christians remains a perplexing mystery."[207]:233 Eddy and Boyd say the
best history can assert is probability, yet the probability of Jesus having existed is so high,
Ehrman says "virtually all historians and scholars have concluded Jesus did exist as a
historical figure."[201]:12,21[210]
Contemporary scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed, and biblical scholars and
classical historians view the theories of his nonexistence as effectively refuted.[5][7]
[211][212][213] Historian James Dunn writes: "Today nearly all historians, whether Christians
or not, accept that Jesus existed".[214] In a 2011 review of the state of modern scholarship,
Bart Ehrman (a secular agnostic) wrote: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent
scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees."[36]:15–22 Robert M. Price (an
atheist who denies the existence of Jesus) agrees that this perspective runs against the views
of the majority of scholars.[215] Michael Grant (a classicist and historian) 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."[7] 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
anymore."[216][207]:24–26
See also
Biblical archaeology
Biblical manuscript
Census of Quirinius, a census of Judaea taken by Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, Roman
governor of Syria, upon the imposition of direct Roman rule in 6 AD.
Criterion of dissimilarity
Criticism of the Bible
Gospel harmony
Historical background of the New Testament
Historicity of the Bible
Jesus in comparative mythology
Life of Jesus in the New Testament
Mental health of Jesus
New Testament places associated with Jesus
Race and appearance of Jesus
Scholarly interpretation of Gospel-elements
Timeline of Christianity
The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors
Notes
1. 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 anymore."[8]
2. Ehrman says, "There is historical information about Jesus in the Gospels."[36]:14
15 of 29 25/04/2020, 13:14
3. In Galatians 4:4, Paul states that Jesus was "born of a woman."

4. In Romans 1:3, Paul states that Jesus was "born under the law."
5. That Jesus had a brother named James is corroborated by Josephus.[49]
6. Additional elements:
* Bible scholars James Beilby and Paul Eddy write that consensus is "elusive but not
entirely absent".[122] According to Beilby and Eddy, "Jesus was a first century Jew, who
was baptized by John, went about teaching and preaching, had followers, was believed
to be a miracle worker and exorcist, went to Jerusalem where there was an "incident",
was subsequently arrested, convicted and crucified."[123]
* Amy-Jill Levine has stated that "there is a consensus of sorts on the basic outline of
Jesus' life. Most scholars agree that Jesus was baptised by John, debated with fellow
Jews on how best to live according to God’s will, engaged in healings and exorcisms,
taught in parables, gathered male and female followers in Galilee, went to Jerusalem,
and was crucified by Roman soldiers during the governorship of Pontius Pilate (26–36
CE)."[124]
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100. Allison, Dale (2009). The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus (https://books.goog
le.com/?id=WzOfssjUsIIC&pg=PA59&dq=dale+allison+We+wield+our+criteria+to+get+w
hat+we+want#v=onepage). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 59.
ISBN 978-0-8028-6262-4. Retrieved Jan 9, 2011. "We wield our criteria to get what we
want."
101. John P. Meier (2009). A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Law and Love (ht
tps://books.google.com/?id=igMXmZ055ooC&pg=PA6). Yale University Press. pp. 6–.
ISBN 978-0-300-14096-5. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
102. 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 (2011) ISBN 9004163727
pp. 986–1002
103. John P. Meier "Criteria: How do we decide what comes from Jesus?" in The Historical
Jesus in Recent Research by James D. G. Dunn and Scot McKnight (Jul 15, 2006)
ISBN 1575061007 p. 124 "Since in the quest for the historical Jesus almost anything is
possible, the function of the criteria is to pass from the merely possible to the really
probable, to inspect various probabilities, and to decide which candidate is most
probable. Ordinarily the criteria can not hope to do more."
104. The Historical Jesus of the Gospels by Craig S. Keener (13 Apr 2012)
ISBN 0802868886 p. 163
105. Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship by Marcus J. Borg (1 Aug 1994) ISBN 1563380943
pp. 4–6
106. Jesus of Nazareth by Paul Verhoeven (Apr 6, 2010) ISBN 1583229051 p. 39
107. Craig Evans, 2006 "Josephus on John the Baptist" in The Historical Jesus in Context
edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. Princeton Univ Press ISBN 978-0-691-00992-6 pp.
55–58
108. The new complete works of Josephus by Flavius Josephus, William Whiston, Paul L.
Maier ISBN 0-8254-2924-2 pp. 662–663
109. Jesus as a figure in history: how modern historians view the man from Galilee by Mark
Allan Powell 1998 ISBN 0-664-25703-8 p. 47
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110. Who Is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G. Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425 pp.
31–32
111. Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching by
Maurice Casey 2010 ISBN 0-567-64517-7 p. 35
112. John the Baptist: prophet of purity for a new age by Catherine M. Murphy 2003
ISBN 0-8146-5933-0 pp. 29–30
113. Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies by Craig A. Evans 2001
ISBN 0-391-04118-5 p. 15
114. An introduction to the New Testament and the origins of Christianity by Delbert Royce
Burkett 2002 ISBN 0-521-00720-8 pp. 247–248
115. Who is Jesus? by Thomas P. Rausch 2003 ISBN 978-0-8146-5078-3 p. 36
116. The relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth: A Critical Study by
Daniel S. Dapaah 2005 ISBN 0-7618-3109-6 p. 91
117. John P. Meier "How do we decide what comes from Jesus" in The Historical Jesus in
Recent Research by James D. G. Dunn and Scot McKnight 2006 ISBN 1-57506-100-7
pp. 126–128, 132–136
118. Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by Craig L. Blomberg 2009
ISBN 0-8054-4482-3 pp. 211–214
119. A Brief Introduction to the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman 2008 ISBN 0-19-536934-3
p. 136
120. A Century of Theological and Religious Studies in Britain, 1902–2002 by Ernest
Nicholson 2004 ISBN 0-19-726305-4 pp. 125–126
121. Authenticating the Activities of Jesus by Bruce Chilton and Craig A. Evans 2002
ISBN 0391041649 pages 3-7
122. Beilby & Eddy 2009, p. 47.
123. Beilby & Eddy 2009, p. 48-49.
124. Amy-Jill Levine in The Historical Jesus in Context edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. 2006
Princeton Univ Press ISBN 978-0-691-00992-6 p. 4
Allan Powell (Nov 1, 1998) ISBN 0664257038 page 117
126. Paul L. Maier "The Date of the Nativity and Chronology of Jesus" in Chronos, kairos,
Christos by Jerry Vardaman, Edwin M. Yamauchi 1989 ISBN 0-931464-50-1 pp.
113–129
Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 p. 114
128. Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; p.3
129. Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, I. Howard Marshall, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
(InterVarsity Press, 1992), page 442
130. The Historical Jesus in Recent Research edited by James D. G. Dunn and Scot
McKnight 2006 ISBN 1-57506-100-7 page 303
131. Who Is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G. Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425
pages 28-29
132. In The Historical Jesus in Recent Research edited by James D. G. Dunn and Scot
McKnight 2006 ISBN 1-57506-100-7 p. 303 Marcus Borg states that the suggestions
that an adult Jesus traveled to Egypt or India are "without historical foundation"
22 of 29 25/04/2020, 13:14
133. In Who Is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G. Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425
pp. 28–29 John Dominic Crossan states that none of the theories presented to fill the
15–18-year gap between the early life of Jesus and the start of his ministry have been
supported by modern scholarship.
Ancient Evidence. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 p. 17
135. InWho Is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G. Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425
pages 28-29 John Dominic Crossan states that none of the theories presented to fill the
15-18-year gap between the early life of Jesus and the start of [his ministry have been
supported by modern scholarship.
Ancient Evidence. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9-page 17
137. Kostenberger, Andreas J.; Kellum, L. Scott; Quarles, Charles L. (2009). The Cradle, the
Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament ISBN 0-8054-4365-7.
pages 107-109
138. Van Voorst, Robert E. (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the
Ancient Evidence Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 pages
177-118
139. The Life and Ministry of Jesus by Douglas Redford 2007 ISBN 0-7847-1900-4-page 32
140. The Historical Jesus of the Gospels by Craig S. Keener 2012 ISBN 0802868886 page
182
141. Theissen, Gerd; Merz, Annette (1998). The historical Jesus : a comprehensive guide
ISBN 0-8006-3122-6. page 165 states: "Our conclusion must be that Jesus came from
Nazareth."
142. James Barr, Which language did Jesus speak, Bulletin of the John Rylands University
Library of Manchester, 1970; 53(1) pp. 9–29 [1] (https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/
uk-ac-man-scw:1m2973)
143. Handbook to exegesis of the New Testament by Stanley E. Porter 1997
ISBN 90-04-09921-2 pp. 110–112
144. Jesus in history and myth by R. Joseph Hoffmann 1986 ISBN 0-87975-332-3-page 98
145. James Barr's review article Which language did Jesus speak (referenced above) states
that Aramaic has the widest support among scholars.
146. The Lion and the Lamb by Andreas J. Kostenberger, L. Scott Kellum and Charles L
Quarles (Jul 15, 2012) ISBN 1433677083 p. 40
147. The forging of races: race and scripture in the Protestant Atlantic world by Colin Kidd
2006 ISBN 0-521-79324-6 p. 18
148. Jesus: the complete guide by Leslie Houlden 2006 082648011X pp. 63–100
149. The likeness of the king: a prehistory of portraiture in late medieval France by Stephen
Perkinson 2009 ISBN 0-226-65879-1 p. 30
150. Herodias: at home in that fox's den by Florence Morgan Gillman 2003
ISBN 0-8146-5108-9 pp. 25–30
151. Herod Antipas by Harold W. Hoehner 1983 ISBN 0-310-42251-5 pp. 125–127
152. Christianity and the Roman Empire: background texts by Ralph Martin Novak 2001
ISBN 1-56338-347-0 pp. 302–303
153. Hoehner, Harold W (1978). Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ. Zondervan.
pp. 29–37. ISBN 978-0-310-26211-4.
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154. Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. The Five Gospels.
HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. Introduction, pp. 1–30.
155. Pontius Pilate: portraits of a Roman governor by Warren Carter 2003
ISBN 0-8146-5113-5 pp. 44–45
156. The history of the Jews in the Greco-Roman world by Peter Schäfer 2003
ISBN 0-415-30585-3 p. 108
157. Backgrounds of early Christianity by Everett Ferguson 2003 ISBN 0-8028-2221-5 p. 416
158. Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus by William R. Herzog (Jul
4, 2005) ISBN 0664225284 page 8
159. The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth by Ben Witherington (May
8, 1997) ISBN 0830815449 page 197
160. Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide.
Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition). Chapter 1. The quest of
the historical Jesus. pp. 1–15.
161. Analysis of fragments of the New Testament books for Jesus as apocalyptic prophet:
Leszek Nowak, "A great mistake and disappointment of early Christianity" (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20160523101437/http://www.opracowanie.eu/pomylka_2.htm) at Internet
Archive (Polish)
8, 1997) ISBN 0830815449 page 136
163. Sanders, E. P. (1993). The Historical Figure of Jesus. London, England, New York City,
New York, Ringwood, Australia, Toronto, Ontario, and Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin
Books. ISBN 978-0-14-014499-4.
164. Casey, Maurice (2010). Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His
Life and Teaching (https://books.google.com/?id=lXK0auknD0YC&pg=PA194&dq=Mar
y+Magdalene+supported+Jesus%27s+ministry#v=onepage). New York City, New York
and London, England: T & T Clark. ISBN 978-0-567-64517-3.
165. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium by Bart D. Ehrman (Sep 23, 1999)
ISBN 0195124731 Oxford University Press pp.
166. Dale Allison, Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History 2010,
ISBN 0801035856 page 32
167. Ben Witherington, The Jesus quest: the third search for the Jew of Nazareth. p.108;
Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels, Minneapolis,
Fortress Press 1973.
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Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 pp. 117–125
170. Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by Dr Craig L Blomberg (1 Aug
2009) ISBN 0805444823 page 213
8, 1997) ISBN 0830815449 page 137-138
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173. Brandon, S.G.F. (1988), "The Trial of Jesus of Nazareth"
174. Moffic, Evan (March 3, 2016). "Was Jesus a Reform Rabbi?" (https://m.huffpost.com/us/
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175. Hoffman, Matthew (2007). From Rebel to Rabbi: Reclaiming Jesus and the Making of
Modern Jewish Culture. Stanford University Press. p. 57.
176. Chilton, Bruce (2002), "Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography"
177. James the Brother of Jesus, Penguin, 1997-98, pp. 51-153 and 647-816.
178. Ellegård, Alvar. "Theologians as historians" (http://www.sciecom.org/ojs/index.php/scand
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182. William Thomas Stead, ed. (1894). The review of reviews, Volume 9, 1894, p.306 (http
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186. de Loosten, George (1905). Jesus Christus vom Standpunkte des Psychiaters = Jesus
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192. Persaud, Raj (27 April 1993). "Health: A madman can look a lot like a messiah: There is
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The Independent. Retrieved 2018-10-25. "Two thousand years ago Jesus received a
crown of thorns. Today the Messianic have electro-convulsive therapy."
193. Binet-Sanglé, Charles (1908–1915). La folie de Jésus = The Madness of Jesus (in
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of Psychotic Disorders in Religious History Considered". Journal of Neuropsychiatry and
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196. New English Translation
197. Citlak, Amadeusz (2015). "Psychobiography of Jesus Christ in view of Władysław
Witwicki's theory of cratism". Journal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social
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198. Karina Jarzyńska (racjonalista.pl), "Jezus jako egocentryczny schizotymik" (http://www.r
acjonalista.pl/kk.php/s,5828) (Polish)
199. Leszek Nowak, Prywatna Witryna Internetowa Leszka Nowaka (https://web.archive.org/
web/20160514125307/http://www.opracowanie.eu/index_2.htm) at Internet Archive
(Polish)
200. Bart Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist? Harper Collins, 2012, p. 12, "Earl Doherty defines the
view...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 representative 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."
201. Did Jesus exist?, Bart Ehrman, 2012, Chapter 1
202. Richard Dawkins (2007-08-01). The God Delusion. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-4303-1230-7.
203. God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 2007, Chapter 8
204. "The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David" Thomas L. Thompson
Basic Book Perseus Books' 2005
205. "Jesus Outside the New Testament" Robert E. Van Voorst, 2000, pp=8–9
206. James F. McGrath, James F. McGrath. "Fringe view: The world of Jesus mythicism..." (ht
tps://www.christiancentury.org/article/2011-10/fringe-view) The Christian Century.
Christian Century. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
207. Eddy, Paul Rhodes; Boyd, Gregory A. (2007). The Jesus Legend: A Case for the
Historical Reliability of the Synoptic. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic.
ISBN 978-0-8010-3114-4.
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208. Sykes, Stephen W. (2007). "Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus". Sacrifice and
Redemption. Cambridge University Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-521-04460-8.
209. Theissen, Gerd; Merz, Annette (1996). The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide (h
ttps://books.google.com/?id=GZsPnwEACAAJ). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress
Press. ISBN 978-0-8006-3122-2.
210. Van Voorst 2000, p. 16
211. Burridge & 34.
212. Robert E. Van Voorst Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient
Evidence Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 p. 16 states: "biblical
scholars and classical historians regard theories of non-existence of Jesus as effectively
refuted"
213. James D. G. Dunn "Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus" in Sacrifice and
Redemption edited by S. W. Sykes (Dec 3, 2007) Cambridge University Press
ISBN 052104460X pp. 35–36 states that the theories of non-existence of Jesus are "a
thoroughly dead thesis"
214. The Gospels and Jesus by Graham Stanton, 1989 ISBN 0192132415 Oxford University
Press, p. 145:
215. 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 p.
61
216. Burridge 2004, p. 34.
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External links
"Jesus Christ" (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303091/Jesus-Christ).
Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2009. The first section, on Jesus' life and ministry
Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus (https://web.archive.org/web/201612200954
03/http://www.brill.com/journal-study-historical-jesus)
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Historical Jesus - Wikipedia

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Historical Jesus - Wikipedia

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Historical Jesus - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

Virtually all reputable scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed.[5][6][7][note 1]

documentary. The sources for the historical Jesus are

New Testament sources

In addition to biblical sources, there are a number of mentions of Jesus in non-Christian

Josephus and Tacitus

Mara bar Serapion

Historical reliability of the Gospels

Historians subject the gospels to critical analysis by differentiating authentic, reliable

Quest for the historical Jesus

historical validity of their conclusions.[74]

The scholarly effort to reconstruct an "authentic" historical

modern aspects of the third quest has been the role of

Textual, source and form-criticism

In view of the skepticism produced in the mid-twentieth century by form criticism

Consensual knowledge about Jesus

Baptism and crucifixion

There is widespread disagreement among scholars on

Baptism The Pilate Stone from Caesarea

Other possibly historical elements

An approximate chronology of Jesus can be estimated from non-Christian sources, and

Portraits of the historical Jesus

The apocalyptic prophet view primarily emphasizes Jesus

In the Cynic philosopher profile, Jesus is presented as a

Prophet of social change

Other portraits have been presented by individual scholars:

Pharisees in the Gospels are very different from

It has been suggested by psychiatrists Oskar

Christ myth theory

Mainstream view and criticism

3. In Galatians 4:4, Paul states that Jesus was "born of a woman."

11. Jesus Remembered by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN 0-8028-3931-2 p, 339 states of

The Historical Jesus in Recent Research, Eisenbrauns

v. 1, The Roots of the Problem and the Person, 1991, ISBN 0-385-26425-9

O'Collins, G. Jesus: A Portrait. Darton, Longman and Todd: 2008.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Historical_Jesus&oldid=952934454"

This page was last edited on 24 April 2020, at 20:55 (UTC).

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