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Historians subject the gospels to critical analysis, attempting to differentiate rather authentic, reliable information from possible inventions, exaggerations, and alterations.<ref name = "Sanders">Sanders, E. P. ''The historical figure of Jesus''. Penguin, 1993.</ref> Since there are more [[textual variants in the New Testament]] (200–400 thousand) than it has [[Letter (alphabet)|letters]] (c. 140 thousand),<ref>[[Bart D. Ehrman]]: ''[[Misquoting Jesus|Misquoting Jesus – The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why]]'', p. 90 [http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/jma/nts-mss_5_arlandson.pdf (review)].</ref> scholars use [[textual criticism]] to determine which gospel variants could theoretically be taken as 'original'. To answer this question, scholars have to ask [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels#Authorship and date|who wrote the gospels]], when they wrote them, what was their objective in writing them,<ref name="Rhodes-Eddy08">Paul Rhodes Eddy & Gregory A. Boyd, ''The Jesus Legend:A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition.'' (2008, Baker Academic).309-262.</ref> 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 can also look into the [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels#Historical reliability of the Gospels|internal evidence]] of the documents, to see if, for example, the document is misquoting texts from the Hebrew [[Tanakh]], is making claims about geography that were incorrect, if the author appears to be hiding information, or if the author has made up a certain prophecy.<ref name="nazorene">The [[Gospel of Matthew]] claims, the [[Nazarene (title)|title Nazarene]] for Jesus was derived from the prophecy "He will be called a Nazorean" ({{bibleref2|Matthew|2:22–23|NRSV}}), despite the lack of any [[Old Testament]] source.</ref> Finally, scholars turn to external sources, including the [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels#Preserved by the church|testimony of early church leaders]], writers [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels#Outside of the church|outside the church]] (mainly Jewish and Greco-Roman historians) who would have been more likely to have criticized the church, and to archaeological evidence.
Historians subject the gospels to critical analysis, attempting to differentiate rather authentic, reliable information from possible inventions, exaggerations, and alterations.<ref name = "Sanders">Sanders, E. P. ''The historical figure of Jesus''. Penguin, 1993.</ref> Since there are more [[textual variants in the New Testament]] (200–400 thousand) than it has [[Letter (alphabet)|letters]] (c. 140 thousand),<ref>[[Bart D. Ehrman]]: ''[[Misquoting Jesus|Misquoting Jesus – The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why]]'', p. 90 [http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/jma/nts-mss_5_arlandson.pdf (review)].</ref> scholars use [[textual criticism]] to determine which gospel variants could theoretically be taken as 'original'. To answer this question, scholars have to ask [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels#Authorship and date|who wrote the gospels]], when they wrote them, what was their objective in writing them,<ref name="Rhodes-Eddy08">Paul Rhodes Eddy & Gregory A. Boyd, ''The Jesus Legend:A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition.'' (2008, Baker Academic).309-262.</ref> 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 can also look into the [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels#Historical reliability of the Gospels|internal evidence]] of the documents, to see if, for example, the document is misquoting texts from the Hebrew [[Tanakh]], is making claims about geography that were incorrect, if the author appears to be hiding information, or if the author has made up a certain prophecy.<ref name="nazorene">The [[Gospel of Matthew]] claims, the [[Nazarene (title)|title Nazarene]] for Jesus was derived from the prophecy "He will be called a Nazorean" ({{bibleref2|Matthew|2:22–23|NRSV}}), despite the lack of any [[Old Testament]] source.</ref> Finally, scholars turn to external sources, including the [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels#Preserved by the church|testimony of early church leaders]], writers [[Historicity of the canonical Gospels#Outside of the church|outside the church]] (mainly Jewish and Greco-Roman historians) who would have been more likely to have criticized the church, and to archaeological evidence.


==Events widely accepted as historical ==
==Events generally accepted as historical ==
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Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed, and most [[biblical scholar]]s and [[Classical antiquity|classical historians]] see the theories of his non-existence as effectively refuted.<ref name=Ehrman285/><ref name="Grantmajority"/><ref name=Burridge34/>{{refn|group=nb|[[Robert E. Van Voorst]], referring to G.A. Wells: "The nonhistoricity thesis has always been controversial, and it has consistently failed to convince scholars of many disciplines and religious creeds... Biblical scholars and classical historians now regard it as effectively refuted".<ref name=voorst16>{{cite book|author=Robert E. Van Voorst|title=Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lwzliMSRGGkC|year=2000|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-4368-5}}</ref>}}<ref name=DunnPaul35>[[James D. G. Dunn]] (1974) ''Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus'' in ''Reconciliation and Hope. New Testament Essays on Atonement and Eschatology Presented to L.L. Morris on his 60th Birthday.'' Robert Banks, ed., Carlisle: The Paternoster Press, pp. 125–141, Citing G.A. Wells (''The Jesus of the Early Christians'' (1971)): "Perhaps we should also mention that at the other end of the spectrum Paul’s apparent lack of knowledge of the historical Jesus has been made the major plank in an attempt to revive the nevertheless thoroughly dead thesis that the Jesus of the Gospels was a mythical figure." An almost identical quotation is included in Dunn, James DG (1998) ''The Christ and the Spirit: Collected Essays of James D.G. Dunn, Volume 1'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., p. 191, and Sykes, S. (1991) ''Sacrifice and redemption: Durham essays in theology.'' Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press. p. 35-36.</ref> There is no evidence today that the existence of Jesus was ever denied in antiquity by those who opposed Christianity.<ref name=Rahner730>''Encyclopedia of theology: a concise Sacramentum mundi'' by Karl Rahner 2004 ISBN 0-86012-006-6 pp. 730–731: "The few non-Christian sources [e.g. Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, and Josephus] merely confirm that in antiquity it never occurred to any one, even the bitterest enemies of Christianity, to doubt the existence of Jesus"</ref><ref name=voorst15 >Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). ''Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence''. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9-page 15: Referring to G.A. Wells (''The Jesus of the Early Christians'' (1971)): "Fourth, Wells cannot explain to the satisfaction of historians why, if Christians invented the historical Jesus around the year 100, no pagans and Jews who opposed Christianity denied Jesus' historicity or even questioned it." (Van Voorst refutes his own point in footnote 35, citing Justin's [[Dialogue with Trypho]], Chapter 8)</ref> [[Geoffrey Blainey]] notes that "a few scholars argue that Jesus... did not even exist," and that they "rightly point out that contemporary references to him were extremely rare."<ref>Geoffrey Blainey; ''[[A Short History of Christianity]]''; Viking; 2011; p.xix-xx</ref> 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.<ref name=MAPowell168 />


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{{Main|Historical Jesus}}
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{{main|Quest for the historical Jesus}}
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{{Main|Christ myth theory}}

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Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed, and most [[biblical scholar]]s and [[Classical antiquity|classical historians]] see the theories of his non-existence as effectively refuted.<ref name=Ehrman285/><ref name="Grantmajority"/><ref name=Burridge34/>{{refn|group=nb|[[Robert E. Van Voorst]], referring to G.A. Wells: "The nonhistoricity thesis has always been controversial, and it has consistently failed to convince scholars of many disciplines and religious creeds... Biblical scholars and classical historians now regard it as effectively refuted".<ref name=voorst16>{{cite book|author=Robert E. Van Voorst|title=Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lwzliMSRGGkC|year=2000|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-4368-5}}</ref>}}<ref name=DunnPaul35>[[James D. G. Dunn]] (1974) ''Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus'' in ''Reconciliation and Hope. New Testament Essays on Atonement and Eschatology Presented to L.L. Morris on his 60th Birthday.'' Robert Banks, ed., Carlisle: The Paternoster Press, pp. 125–141, Citing G.A. Wells (''The Jesus of the Early Christians'' (1971)): "Perhaps we should also mention that at the other end of the spectrum Paul’s apparent lack of knowledge of the historical Jesus has been made the major plank in an attempt to revive the nevertheless thoroughly dead thesis that the Jesus of the Gospels was a mythical figure." An almost identical quotation is included in Dunn, James DG (1998) ''The Christ and the Spirit: Collected Essays of James D.G. Dunn, Volume 1'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., p. 191, and Sykes, S. (1991) ''Sacrifice and redemption: Durham essays in theology.'' Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press. p. 35-36.</ref> There is no evidence today that the existence of Jesus was ever denied in antiquity by those who opposed Christianity.<ref name=Rahner730>''Encyclopedia of theology: a concise Sacramentum mundi'' by Karl Rahner 2004 ISBN 0-86012-006-6 pp. 730–731: "The few non-Christian sources [e.g. Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, and Josephus] merely confirm that in antiquity it never occurred to any one, even the bitterest enemies of Christianity, to doubt the existence of Jesus"</ref><ref name=voorst15 >Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). ''Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence''. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9-page 15: Referring to G.A. Wells (''The Jesus of the Early Christians'' (1971)): "Fourth, Wells cannot explain to the satisfaction of historians why, if Christians invented the historical Jesus around the year 100, no pagans and Jews who opposed Christianity denied Jesus' historicity or even questioned it." (Van Voorst refutes his own point in footnote 35, citing Justin's [[Dialogue with Trypho]], Chapter 8)</ref> [[Geoffrey Blainey]] notes that "a few scholars argue that Jesus... did not even exist," and that they "rightly point out that contemporary references to him were extremely rare."<ref>Geoffrey Blainey; ''[[A Short History of Christianity]]''; Viking; 2011; p.xix-xx</ref> There is however widespread disagreement among scholars on the details of the life of Jesus mentioned in the gospel narratives, and on the meaning of his teachings,<ref name=MAPowell168 /> and the only two events subject to "almost universal assent" are that [[Baptism of Jesus|Jesus was baptized]] by [[John the Baptist]] and [[Crucifixion of Jesus|was crucified]] by the order of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate.<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&nbsp;... agree with the Christian accounts on at least that basic fact. |page=145}}</ref><ref name="MAPowell168" />
[[File:Sapsaphas Madaba.jpg|thumb|Part of the ancient [[Madaba Map]] showing two possible baptism locations]]
[[File:Sapsaphas Madaba.jpg|thumb|Part of the ancient [[Madaba Map]] showing two possible baptism locations]]
[[File:Bronzino-Christ-Nice.jpg|thumb|[[Bronzino]]'s depiction of the Crucifixion with 3 nails, no ropes, and a ''hypopodium'' standing support, c. 1545.]]
[[File:Bronzino-Christ-Nice.jpg|thumb|[[Bronzino]]'s depiction of the Crucifixion with 3 nails, no ropes, and a ''hypopodium'' standing support, c. 1545.]]
According to New Testament scholar [[James Dunn (theologian)|James Dunn]], nearly all modern scholars consider the [[baptism of Jesus]] and [[Crucifixion of Jesus|his crucifixion]] to be historically certain.<ref name=JDunn339/> He states that these "two facts in the life of Jesus command almost universal assent" and "rank so high on the 'almost impossible to doubt or deny' scale of historical 'facts' they are obvious starting points for an attempt to clarify the what and why of Jesus' mission." that they are often the starting points for the study of the historical Jesus.<ref name=JDunn339>''Jesus Remembered'' by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN 0-8028-3931-2-page 339</ref>


[[Bart D. Ehrman]] states that the existence of Jesus and his crucifixion by the Romans is attested to by a wide range of sources including Josephus and Tacitus.<ref>''The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings'' by [[Bart D. Ehrman]] 1999 ISBN 0-19-512639-4-page 248</ref>{{request quotation|date=September 2014}} [[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.<ref name=JMeier126>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 pages 126–128</ref> Meier states that a number of other criteria, e.g. 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.<ref name=JMeier132>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 pages 132–136</ref>{{failed verification|date=September 2014}} Biblical scholar [[John Dominic Crossan]], highly skeptical with regard to the Gospel accounts of miracles, wrote in 1995 "[t]hat (Jesus) 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.<ref>Crossan, John Dominic (1995). Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. HarperOne. ISBN 0-06-061662-8 page 145</ref>
According to New Testament scholar [[James Dunn (theologian)|James Dunn]], nearly all modern scholars consider the [[baptism of Jesus]] and [[Crucifixion of Jesus|his crucifixion]] to be historically certain.<ref name=JDunn339/> He states that these "two facts in the life of Jesus command almost universal assent" and "rank so high on the 'almost impossible to doubt or deny' scale of historical 'facts' they are obvious starting points for an attempt to clarify the what and why of Jesus' mission." that they are often the starting points for the study of the historical Jesus.<ref name=JDunn339>''Jesus Remembered'' by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN 0-8028-3931-2-page 339</ref> [[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.<ref name=JMeier126>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 pages 126–128</ref>
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One of the arguments in favor of the historicity of the baptism of Jesus by [[John the Baptist]] is that it is a story which the [[early Christianity|early Christian Church]] would have never wanted to invent, typically referred to as the [[criterion of embarrassment]] in historical analysis.<ref name="Powell47" /><ref name=Whois31 >''Who Is Jesus?'' by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G. Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425 pages 31–32</ref><ref name="Casey35">''Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching'' by Maurice Casey 2010 ISBN 0-567-64517-7 page 35</ref> Based on this criterion, given that John baptised for the remission of [[sin]]s, and Jesus was viewed as without sin, the invention of this story would have served no purpose, and would have been an embarrassment given that it positioned John above Jesus.<ref name="Powell47">''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 47</ref><ref name="Casey35" /><ref>''The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide'' by Gerd Theissen, Annette Merz 1998 ISBN 0-8006-3122-6 page 207</ref>


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[[Amy-Jill Levine]] has summarized the situation by stating that "there is a consensus of sorts on the basic outline of Jesus' life" in that most scholars agree that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and over a period of one to three years debated Jewish authorities on the subject of God, gathered followers, and was crucified by [[Roman governor|Roman prefect]] Pontius Pilate who officiated 26–36 AD.<ref name=AmyJill4>{{cite book|author1=Amy-Jill Levine|author2=Dale C. Allison Jr.|author3=John Dominic Crossan|title=The Historical Jesus in Context|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wMbEyeDSQQgC|date=16 October 2006|publisher=Princeton University Press|pages= 4|isbn=0-691-00992-9}}</ref> There is much in dispute as to his previous life, childhood, family and place of residence, of which the [[canonical gospels]] are almost completely silent. <ref>Eisenmann, Robert, (2001), "James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls"</ref><ref>Butz, Jeffrey (2005), "The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Traditions of Christianity" (Inner Traditions)</ref><ref>Tabor, James (2012), "Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity" (Simon and Shuster)</ref>
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One of the arguments in favor of the historicity of the baptism of Jesus by [[John the Baptist]] is that it is a story which the [[early Christianity|early Christian Church]] would have never wanted to invent, typically referred to as the [[criterion of embarrassment]] in historical analysis.<ref name="Powell47" /><ref name=Whois31 >''Who Is Jesus?'' by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G. Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425 pages 31–32</ref><ref name="Casey35">''Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching'' by Maurice Casey 2010 ISBN 0-567-64517-7 page 35</ref> Based on this criterion, given that John baptised for the remission of [[sin]]s, and Jesus was viewed as without sin, the invention of this story would have served no purpose, and would have been an embarrassment given that it positioned John above Jesus.<ref name="Powell47">''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 47</ref><ref name="Casey35" /><ref>''The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide'' by Gerd Theissen, Annette Merz 1998 ISBN 0-8006-3122-6 page 207</ref> The Gospel of Matthew attempts to offset this problem by having John feel unworthy to baptise Jesus and Jesus giving him permission to do so in {{bibleref2|Matthew|3:14–15|NIV|Matthew 3:14–15}}.<ref name=Murphy29 >''John the Baptist: prophet of purity for a new age'' by Catherine M. Murphy 2003 ISBN 0-8146-5933-0 pages 29–30</ref>


Scholars attribute varying levels of certainty to other episodes. Some assume that there are eight elements about Jesus and his followers that can be viewed as historical facts, namely:<ref name=Hertzog1/><ref name=Evans37/>
Ancient historian [[Robin Lane Fox]] states "Jesus was born in Galilee".<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> Co-director of Ancient Cultures Research Centre at [[Macquarie University]], Sydney, Australia [[Alanna Nobbs]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Professor Alana Nobbs|url=http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/faculties_and_departments/faculty_of_arts/department_of_ancient_history/staff/professor_alanna_nobbs/|website=Mq.edu.au|publisher=Macquarie University|accessdate=17 June 2014}}</ref> has stated "While historical and theological debates remain about the actions and significance of this figure, his fame as a teacher, and his crucifixion under the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, may be described as historically certain."<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>

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[[Amy-Jill Levine]] has summarized the situation by stating that "there is a consensus of sorts on the basic outline of Jesus' life" in that most scholars agree that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and over a period of one to three years debated Jewish authorities on the subject of God, gathered followers, and was crucified by [[Roman governor|Roman prefect]] Pontius Pilate who officiated 26–36 AD.<ref name=AmyJill4>{{cite book|author1=Amy-Jill Levine|author2=Dale C. Allison Jr.|author3=John Dominic Crossan|title=The Historical Jesus in Context|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wMbEyeDSQQgC|date=16 October 2006|publisher=Princeton University Press|pages= 4|isbn=0-691-00992-9}}</ref> There is much in dispute as to his previous life, childhood, family and place of residence, of which the [[canonical gospels]] are almost completely silent. This silence is a problematic fact in explaining the historiography of Jesus. It has been suggested that it was the result of a conflict between the [[Nazarene (sect)|Nazarene]] Jewish followers of Jesus, led by his brother [[James the Less|James]], and the nascent Gentilic Christians led by the [[Saint Paul|Apostle Paul]].<ref>Eisenmann, Robert, (2001), "James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls"</ref><ref>Butz, Jeffrey (2005), "The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Traditions of Christianity" (Inner Traditions)</ref><ref>Tabor, James (2012), "Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity" (Simon and Shuster)</ref>

Scholars attribute varying levels of certainty to other episodes. [[E.P. Sanders]] and [[Craig A. Evans]] independently state that there are two other incidents in the life of Jesus that can be considered historical: that Jesus [[Twelve apostles|called disciples]], and that he caused a [[Cleansing of the Temple|controversy at the Temple]].<ref name=Evans37>''Authenticating the Activities of Jesus'' by Bruce Chilton and Craig A. Evans 2002 ISBN 0391041649 pages 3–7</ref>{{failed verification|date=September 2014}} This extended view assumes that there are eight elements about Jesus and his followers that can be viewed as historical facts—four episodes in the life of Jesus and four about him and his followers, namely:<ref name=Hertzog1/><ref name=Evans37/>


* Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. He called disciples. He had a controversy at the Temple. Jesus was crucified by the Romans near Jerusalem.<ref name=Hertzog1/><ref name=Evans37/>
* Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. He called disciples. He had a controversy at the Temple. Jesus was crucified by the Romans near Jerusalem.<ref name=Hertzog1/><ref name=Evans37/>
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The [[Mishnah]] ({{circa}} 200) [[Historicity of Jesus#The Talmud|may refer to Jesus]] and reflect the early Jewish traditions of portraying Jesus as a sorcerer or magician.<ref name=Bammel393/><ref name=Leslie693>In ''Jesus: The Complete Guide'' edited by J. L. Houlden (8 Feb 2006) ISBN 082648011X pages 693–694</ref><ref name=PeterS141>''Jesus in the Talmud'' by Peter Schäfer (24 Aug 2009) ISBN 0691143188 page 141 and 9</ref><ref name=Blom280>''Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey'' by Craig L. Blomberg (1 Aug 2009) ISBN 0805444823 page 280</ref> Other references to Jesus and his execution exist in the [[Talmud]], but they aim to discredit his actions, not deny his existence.<ref name=Bammel393>''Jesus and the Politics of his Day'' by E. Bammel and C. F. D. Moule (30 Aug 1985) ISBN 0521313449 page 393</ref><ref name=Kellum107 >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</ref>
The [[Mishnah]] ({{circa}} 200) [[Historicity of Jesus#The Talmud|may refer to Jesus]] and reflect the early Jewish traditions of portraying Jesus as a sorcerer or magician.<ref name=Bammel393/><ref name=Leslie693>In ''Jesus: The Complete Guide'' edited by J. L. Houlden (8 Feb 2006) ISBN 082648011X pages 693–694</ref><ref name=PeterS141>''Jesus in the Talmud'' by Peter Schäfer (24 Aug 2009) ISBN 0691143188 page 141 and 9</ref><ref name=Blom280>''Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey'' by Craig L. Blomberg (1 Aug 2009) ISBN 0805444823 page 280</ref> Other references to Jesus and his execution exist in the [[Talmud]], but they aim to discredit his actions, not deny his existence.<ref name=Bammel393>''Jesus and the Politics of his Day'' by E. Bammel and C. F. D. Moule (30 Aug 1985) ISBN 0521313449 page 393</ref><ref name=Kellum107 >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</ref>


Since the 18th century, three separate scholarly [[Quest for the historical Jesus|quests for the historical Jesus]] have taken place, each with distinct characteristics and based on different research criteria, which were often developed during that phase.<ref name=BenQ9/><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> The portraits of Jesus that have been constructed in these processes have often differed from each other, and from the dogmatic image portrayed in the gospel accounts.<ref name=GerdD5/><ref name=Ehrman285>
==Historical Jesus==
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{{Main|Historical Jesus}}

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Currently modern scholarly research on the historical Jesus focuses on what is historically probable, or plausible about Jesus.<ref>''John, Jesus, and History'' Volume 1 by Paul N. Anderson, Felix Just and Tom Thatcher (14 Nov 2007) ISBN 1589832930 page 131</ref><ref>[[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 (15 Jul 2006) ISBN 1575061007 page 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."</ref> More recently historicists have focused their attention on the historical writings associated with the period in which Jesus lived<ref>Mason, Steve (2002), "Josephus and the New Testament" (Baker Academic)</ref><ref>Tabor, James (2012)"Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity" (Simon & Schuster)</ref> or on the evidence concerning his family.<ref>Eisenman, Robert (1998), "James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls" (Watkins)</ref><ref>Butz, Jeffrey "The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity" (Inner Traditions)</ref><ref>Tabor, James (2007), "The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity"</ref>


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Currently modern scholarly research on the historical Jesus focuses on what is historically probable, or plausible about Jesus.<ref>''John, Jesus, and History'' Volume 1 by Paul N. Anderson, Felix Just and Tom Thatcher (14 Nov 2007) ISBN 1589832930 page 131</ref><ref>[[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 (15 Jul 2006) ISBN 1575061007 page 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."</ref>
[[File:CompositeJesus.JPG|thumb|220px||In the 21st century, the third [[quest for the historical Jesus]] witnessed a fragmentation of the scholarly [[Portrait (literature)|portraits]] of Jesus after which no unified picture of Jesus could be attained at all.<ref name=GerdD5>''The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria'' by Gerd Theissen and Dagmar Winter (Aug 30, 2002) ISBN 0664225373 page 5</ref><ref name=Charlesworth2>''Jesus Research: An International Perspective (Princeton-Prague Symposia Series on the Historical Jesus)'' by James H. Charlesworth and Petr Pokorny (Sep 15, 2009) ISBN 0802863531 pages 1–2</ref>]]
[[File:CompositeJesus.JPG|thumb|220px||In the 21st century, the third [[quest for the historical Jesus]] witnessed a fragmentation of the scholarly [[Portrait (literature)|portraits]] of Jesus after which no unified picture of Jesus could be attained at all.<ref name=GerdD5>''The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria'' by Gerd Theissen and Dagmar Winter (Aug 30, 2002) ISBN 0664225373 page 5</ref><ref name=Charlesworth2>''Jesus Research: An International Perspective (Princeton-Prague Symposia Series on the Historical Jesus)'' by James H. Charlesworth and Petr Pokorny (Sep 15, 2009) ISBN 0802863531 pages 1–2</ref>]]


⚫
The mainstream profiles in the third quest may be grouped together based on their primary theme as ''apocalyptic prophet'', ''charismatic healer'', ''Cynic philosopher'', ''Jewish Messiah'' and ''prophet of social change'',<ref name=Cradel124>''The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament'' by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 pages 124–125</ref><ref name=CambHist23>''The Cambridge History of Christianity'', Volume 1 by Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young (Feb 20, 2006) ISBN 0521812399 page 23</ref><ref name=CambHist23/> but there is little scholarly agreement on a single portrait, or the methods needed to construct it.<ref name=GerdD5/><ref name=Charlesworth2/><ref name=Porter74>''Images of Christ'' (Academic Paperback) by Stanley E. Porter, Michael A. Hayes and David Tombs (Dec 19, 2004) ISBN 0567044602 [[T&T Clark]] page 74</ref><ref>''The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth'' by Ben Witherington (May 8, 1997) ISBN 0830815449 page 197</ref> There are, however, overlapping attributes among the portraits, and scholars who differ on some attributes may agree on others.<ref name=Cradel124/><ref name=CambHist23/><ref name=familiar20>''Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth'' by Michael James McClymond (Mar 22, 2004) ISBN 0802826806 pages 16–22</ref>
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> These reconstructions accept that Jesus existed,<ref name=Ehrman285>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" B. Ehrman, 2011 ''Forged : writing in the name of God'' ISBN 978-0-06-207863-6. page 285</ref><ref>[[Robert M. Price]] (an atheist who denies the existence of Jesus) 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 Micjhael 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> although scholars differ about the beliefs and teachings of Jesus as well as the accuracy of the accounts of his life, and the only two events subject to "almost universal assent" are that [[Baptism of Jesus|Jesus was baptized]] by [[John the Baptist]] and [[Crucifixion of Jesus|was crucified]] by the order of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate.<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&nbsp;... agree with the Christian accounts on at least that basic fact. |page=145}}</ref><ref name="MAPowell168" />


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Since the 18th century, three separate scholarly [[Quest for the historical Jesus|quests for the historical Jesus]] have taken place, each with distinct characteristics and based on different research criteria, which were often developed during that phase.<ref name=BenQ9/><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> The portraits of Jesus that have been constructed in these processes have often differed from each other, and from the dogmatic image portrayed in the gospel accounts.<ref name=GerdD5/><ref name=Ehrman285>In a 2011 review of the state of modern scholarship, [[Bart Ehrman]] (who is a secular agnostic) wrote: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees" B. Ehrman, 2011 ''Forged : writing in the name of God'' ISBN 978-0-06-207863-6. page 285</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>"Historical Jesus, Quest of the." ''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. pp 775</ref> The mainstream profiles in the third quest may be grouped together based on their primary theme as ''apocalyptic prophet'', ''charismatic healer'', ''Cynic philosopher'', ''Jewish Messiah'' and ''prophet of social change'',<ref name=Cradel124>''The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament'' by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 pages 124–125</ref><ref name=CambHist23>''The Cambridge History of Christianity'', Volume 1 by Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young (Feb 20, 2006) ISBN 0521812399 page 23</ref><ref name=CambHist23/> but there is little scholarly agreement on a single portrait, or the methods needed to construct it.<ref name=GerdD5/><ref name=Charlesworth2/><ref name=Porter74>''Images of Christ'' (Academic Paperback) by Stanley E. Porter, Michael A. Hayes and David Tombs (Dec 19, 2004) ISBN 0567044602 [[T&T Clark]] page 74</ref><ref>''The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth'' by Ben Witherington (May 8, 1997) ISBN 0830815449 page 197</ref> There are, however, overlapping attributes among the portraits, and scholars who differ on some attributes may agree on others.<ref name=Cradel124/><ref name=CambHist23/><ref name=familiar20>''Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth'' by Michael James McClymond (Mar 22, 2004) ISBN 0802826806 pages 16–22</ref>

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.<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=Akenson539>{{cite book | last1 = Akenson | first1 = Donald | title = Surpassing wonder: the invention of the Bible and the Talmuds | publisher = University of Chicago Press | year = 1998 | pages = 539–555 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=40E8am9SlwgC&pg=538&dq=%22appeals+to+consensus%22#v=onepage&q=%22appeals%20to%20consensus%22&f=false | accessdate = Jan 8, 2011 | quote = ...&nbsp;The point I shall argue below is that, the agreed evidentiary practices of the historians of Yeshua, despite their best efforts, have not been those of sound historical practice&nbsp;... | isbn = 978-0-226-01073-1}}</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> These agendas range from those that strive to confirm the [[Jesus in Christianity|Christian view of Jesus]], or to discredit Christianity, or to interpret the life and teachings of Jesus with the hope of causing social change.<ref name=MarshQ/><ref name=MarshBIJ>Clive Marsh "Quests of the Historical Jesus in New Historicist Perspective" in ''[[Biblical Interpretation (journal)|Biblical Interpretation Journal]]'' Volume 5, Number 4, 1997 , pp. 403–437(35)</ref>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.<ref name=Keener163>''The Historical Jesus of the Gospels'' by Craig S. Keener (13 Apr 2012) ISBN 0802868886 page 163</ref><ref name=Borg4>''Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship'' by Marcus J. Borg (1 Aug 1994) ISBN 1563380943 pages 4–6</ref><ref name=Meier124>[[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 page 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."</ref>

=== Quest for the historical Jesus ===
[[File:Bautismo de Cristo por Navarrete el Mudo.jpg|thumb|180px|The [[criterion of embarrassment]] developed during the second quest was applied to the [[Baptism of Jesus]].]]
[[File:Bautismo de Cristo por Navarrete el Mudo.jpg|thumb|180px|The [[criterion of embarrassment]] developed during the second quest was applied to the [[Baptism of Jesus]].]]
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{{main|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, each with distinct characteristics and based on different research criteria, which were often developed during each specific phase.<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> These quests are distinguished from earlier approaches because they rely on the [[historical method]] to study biblical narratives. While [[Biblical criticism|textual analysis of biblical sources]] had taken place for centuries, these quests introduced new methods and specific techniques to establish the historical validity of their conclusions.<ref name=criteria100>''Criteria for Authenticity in Historical-Jesus Research'' by Stanley E. Porter 2004 ISBN 0567043606 pages 100–120</ref>

The enthusiasm shown during the first quest diminished after the 1906 criticism of [[Albert Schweitzer]], who pointed out various shortcomings in the approaches used at the time. The second quest began in 1953 and introduced a number of new techniques, but reached a plateau in the 1970s.<ref name=voorst2/> In the 1980s a number of scholars gradually began to introduce new research ideas,<ref name=BenQ9/><ref name=Symbol41>''The Symbolic Jesus: Historical Scholarship, Judaism and the Construction of Contemporary Identity'' by William Arnal (Jan 15, 2005) ISBN 1845530071 pages 41–43</ref> initiating a third quest characterized by the latest research approaches.<ref name=voorst2>[[Robert E. Van Voorst]] ''Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence'' Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 pages 2–6</ref><ref name=criteria28>''Criteria for Authenticity in Historical-Jesus Research'' by Stanley E. Porter 2004 ISBN 0567043606 pages 28–29</ref>


While there is widespread scholarly agreement on the existence of Jesus,<ref name=Ehrman285/><ref name="Grantmajority"/> and a basic consensus on the general outline of his life,<ref name=AmyJill4 /> the portraits of Jesus constructed in the quests have often differed from each other, and from the image portrayed in the gospel accounts.<ref name=GerdD5/><ref name=Charlesworth2/> There are overlapping attributes among the portraits, and while pairs of scholars may agree on some attributes, those same scholars may differ on other attributes, and there is no single portrait of the historical Jesus that satisfies most scholars.<ref name=Cradel124/><ref name=familiar20/><ref>[[Amy-Jill Levine]] in the ''The Historical Jesus in Context'' edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. 2006 Princeton University Press ISBN 978-0-691-00992-6 pages 1: "no single picture of Jesus has convinced all, or even most scholars"</ref>
While there is widespread scholarly agreement on the existence of Jesus,<ref name=Ehrman285/><ref name="Grantmajority"/> and a basic consensus on the general outline of his life,<ref name=AmyJill4 /> the portraits of Jesus constructed in the quests have often differed from each other, and from the image portrayed in the gospel accounts.<ref name=GerdD5/><ref name=Charlesworth2/> There are overlapping attributes among the portraits, and while pairs of scholars may agree on some attributes, those same scholars may differ on other attributes, and there is no single portrait of the historical Jesus that satisfies most scholars.<ref name=Cradel124/><ref name=familiar20/><ref>[[Amy-Jill Levine]] in the ''The Historical Jesus in Context'' edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. 2006 Princeton University Press ISBN 978-0-691-00992-6 pages 1: "no single picture of Jesus has convinced all, or even most scholars"</ref>


==Christ myth theory==
[[File:Noel Coypel The Resurrection of Christ.jpg|130px|thumb|''The Resurrection of Christ'' by [[Noel Coypel]] (1700)—Some myth theorists see this as a case of a [[dying-and-rising god]].]]
[[File:Noel Coypel The Resurrection of Christ.jpg|130px|thumb|''The Resurrection of Christ'' by [[Noel Coypel]] (1700)—Some myth theorists see this as a case of a [[dying-and-rising god]].]]
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{{Main|Christ myth theory}}
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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]].<ref>[[Bart Ehrman]], ''Did Jesus Exist?'' Harper Collins, 2012, p. 12, describes the "Jesus mythicism" view as follows: "In simpler terms, the historical Jesus did not exist. Or if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity." Ehrman further quotes 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> Many proponents use a three-fold argument first developed in the 19th century that the [[New Testament]] has no historical value, there are no non-Christian references to Jesus Christ from the first century, and that Christianity had pagan and/or mythical roots.''<ref>"Jesus Outside the New Testament" Robert E. Van Voorst, 2000, p=8-9</ref>


⚫
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]].<ref>[[Bart Ehrman]], ''Did Jesus Exist?'' Harper Collins, 2012, p. 12, describes the "Jesus mythicism" view as follows: "In simpler terms, the historical Jesus did not exist. Or if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity." Ehrman further quotes 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 very little support among scholars.
In [[#21st Century|recent years]], there have been a number of [[#Books|books]] and [[#Documentaries|documentaries]] on this subject. Some "mythicists" concede the possibility that Jesus may have been a real person, but that the biblical accounts of him are almost entirely fictional.<ref>{{Cite book|author=[[Richard Dawkins]]|title=[[The God Delusion]]|page=122|isbn=1-4303-1230-0}}</ref><ref>[[God is Not Great]], [[Christopher Hitchens]], 2007, Chapter 8</ref><ref>"The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David" [[Thomas L. Thompson]] Basic Book Perseus Books' 2005</ref> Others believe in a spiritual Christ, but that he never lived.<ref>[[The Pagan Christ]], Tom Harpur, 2004</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==

Revision as of 18:00, 20 January 2015

Part of a series on
Jesus
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Background
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Perspectives on Jesus
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The historicity of Jesus concerns whether Jesus of Nazareth existed as a historical figure, whether the episodes portrayed in the gospels can be confirmed as historical events as opposed to myth, legend, or fiction, and the weighing of the evidence relating to his life.[1][page needed][2]: 168–173  The historicity of Jesus is distinct from the related study of the historical Jesus, which refers to scholarly reconstructions of the life of Jesus based primarily on critical analysis of the gospel texts.[3][4][5]

Since the 18th century scholars have attempted to reconstruct the life of the historical Jesus, developing historical-critical methods for analysing the available texts. The only sources are documentary; in conjunction with Biblical texts such as the Pauline Letters and the synoptic Gospels, three passages in non-Christian works have been used to support the historicity of Jesus: two in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, and one from the Roman historian Tacitus. Although the authenticity of all three has been questioned, and one is generally accepted as having been altered by Christians, most scholars believe they are at least partially authentic.

There is near unanimity among scholars that Jesus existed historically,[6][7][nb 1][nb 2][nb 3][nb 4] although biblical scholars differ about the beliefs and teachings of Jesus as well as the accuracy of the details of his life that have been described in the Gospels.[nb 5][12][nb 6][2]: 168–173  While scholars have sometimes criticized Jesus scholarship for religious bias and lack of methodological soundness,[nb 7] with very few exceptions, such critics do support the historicity of Jesus, and reject the theory that Jesus never existed, known as the Christ myth theory.[15][nb 8][17][18][19] Certain scholars, particularly in Europe, have recently made the case that while there are a number of plausible "Jesuses" that could have existed, there can be no certainty as to which Jesus was the historical Jesus, and that there should also be more scholarly research and debate on this topic.[20][21]

Historicity

Historicity is the historical actuality[22] or historical authenticity[23] of a person or event, as opposed to being a myth, legend, or fiction.[nb 9] Historicity is self analysis inspired by attempts to understand the potential of the past and better understand and conceive surprising events.[25] Historicity focuses on the truth value of knowledge claims about the past (denoting historical actuality, authenticity, and factuality.) The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status.[26][27]

Questions regarding historicity concern not just the issue of "what really happened," but also the issue of how modern observers can come to know "what really happened."[28] This second issue is closely tied to historical research practices and methodologies for analyzing the reliability of primary sources and other evidence.[29][30]

Non-Christian sources used to study and establish the historicity of Jesus include Jewish sources such as Josephus, and Roman sources such as Tacitus. The sources are compared to Christian sources such as the Pauline Letters and the Synoptic Gospels, and are usually independent of each other (e.g. Jewish sources do not draw upon Roman sources), and similarities and differences between them are used in the authentication process.[31][32]

Main sources

Main articles: Sources for the historicity of Jesus, Josephus on Jesus, and Tacitus on Christ
Judea Province during the first century.

The sources for the historicity of Jesus are mainly Christian sources, such as the gospels and the purported letters of the apostles. The authenticity and reliability of these sources has been questioned by many scholars, and few events mentioned in the gospels are universally accepted.[2]: 181 

There are three mentions of Jesus in non-Christian sources which have been used in historical analyses of the existence of Jesus,[33] two mentions in the works of 1st-century Roman historian Josephus and one mention in the works of the 2nd-century Roman historian Tacitus.[33][34]

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 or forgery.[35][36] 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 and it is only disputed by a small number of scholars.[37][38][39][40]

Roman historian Tacitus referred to Christus and his execution by Pontius Pilate in his Annals (written ca. AD 116), book 15, chapter 44.[41] The very negative tone of Tacitus' comments on Christians make the passage extremely unlikely to have been forged by a Christian scribe[42] and the Tacitus reference is now widely accepted as an independent confirmation of Christ's crucifixion,[43] although some scholars question the authenticity of the passage on various different grounds.[42][44][45][46][47][48][48][49][50]

Classical historian Michael Grant wrote that:

If we apply to the New Testament, as we should, the same sort of criteria as we should apply to other ancient writings containing historical material, 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.[51]

Historical reliability of the Gospels

An 11th-century Byzantine manuscript containing the opening of the Gospel of Luke.
Main article: 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. Some scholars state that little in the four canonical gospels is considered to be historically reliable.[52][53][54][55][56]

Almost all scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed,[57][58][59][60] but scholars differ on the historicity of specific episodes described in the Biblical accounts of Jesus,[2]: 181  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.[61][12][62] Elements whose historical authenticity is disputed include the two accounts of the Nativity of Jesus, the miraculous events including the resurrection, and certain details about the crucifixion.[63][64][65][66][67][68]

According to the majority viewpoint, the Synoptic Gospels are the primary sources of historical information about Jesus and of the religious movement he founded, if the gospels are considered to be historically reliable.[69][70][71] These religious gospels—the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, and the Gospel of Luke—written in the Greek language, recount the life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of a Jew named Jesus, who spoke Aramaic. There are different hypotheses regarding the origin of the texts, for the gospels of the New Testament were written in Greek for Greek-speaking communities,[72] that were later translated into Syriac, Latin and Coptic.[73]

The fourth gospel, the Gospel of John, differs greatly from the first three 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.

Historians subject the gospels to critical analysis, attempting to differentiate rather authentic, reliable information from possible inventions, exaggerations, and alterations.[69] Since there are more textual variants in the New Testament (200–400 thousand) than it has letters (c. 140 thousand),[74] 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,[75] 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 can also look into the internal evidence of the documents, to see if, for example, the document is misquoting texts from the Hebrew Tanakh, is making claims about geography that were incorrect, if the author appears to be hiding information, or if the author has made up a certain prophecy.[76] Finally, scholars turn to external sources, including the testimony of early church leaders, writers outside the church (mainly Jewish and Greco-Roman historians) who would have been more likely to have criticized the church, and to archaeological evidence.

Events generally accepted as historical

Main article: Historical Jesus
Main article: Quest for the historical Jesus
Main article: Christ myth theory

Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed, and most biblical scholars and classical historians see the theories of his non-existence as effectively refuted.[57][59][60][nb 10][77] There is no evidence today that the existence of Jesus was ever denied in antiquity by those who opposed Christianity.[78][79] Geoffrey Blainey notes that "a few scholars argue that Jesus... did not even exist," and that they "rightly point out that contemporary references to him were extremely rare."[80] There is however widespread disagreement among scholars on the details of the life of Jesus mentioned in the gospel narratives, and on the meaning of his teachings,[2] 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.[61][12][62][2]

Part of the ancient Madaba Map showing two possible baptism locations
Bronzino's depiction of the Crucifixion with 3 nails, no ropes, and a hypopodium standing support, c. 1545.

According to New Testament scholar James Dunn, nearly all modern scholars consider the baptism of Jesus and his crucifixion to be historically certain.[61] He states that these "two facts in the life of Jesus command almost universal assent" and "rank so high on the 'almost impossible to doubt or deny' scale of historical 'facts' they are obvious starting points for an attempt to clarify the what and why of Jesus' mission." that they are often the starting points for the study of the historical Jesus.[61] 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.[81] One of the arguments in favor of the historicity of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is that it is a story which the early Christian Church would have never wanted to invent, typically referred to as the criterion of embarrassment in historical analysis.[82][83][84] Based on this criterion, given that John baptised for the remission of sins, and Jesus was viewed as without sin, the invention of this story would have served no purpose, and would have been an embarrassment given that it positioned John above Jesus.[82][84][85]

Amy-Jill Levine has summarized the situation by stating that "there is a consensus of sorts on the basic outline of Jesus' life" in that most scholars agree that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and over a period of one to three years debated Jewish authorities on the subject of God, gathered followers, and was crucified by Roman prefect Pontius Pilate who officiated 26–36 AD.[86] There is much in dispute as to his previous life, childhood, family and place of residence, of which the canonical gospels are almost completely silent. [87][88][89]

Scholars attribute varying levels of certainty to other episodes. Some assume that there are eight elements about Jesus and his followers that can be viewed as historical facts, namely:[12][90]

  • Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. He called disciples. He had a controversy at the Temple. Jesus was crucified by the Romans near Jerusalem.[12][90]
  • Jesus was a Galilean. His activities were confined to Galilee and Judea. After his death his disciples continued. Some of his disciples were persecuted.[12][90]

Scholarly agreement on this extended list is not universal.[12][90][91]

The Mishnah (c. 200) may refer to Jesus and reflect the early Jewish traditions of portraying Jesus as a sorcerer or magician.[92][93][94][95] Other references to Jesus and his execution exist in the Talmud, but they aim to discredit his actions, not deny his existence.[92][96]

Since the 18th century, three separate scholarly quests for the historical Jesus have taken place, each with distinct characteristics and based on different research criteria, which were often developed during that phase.[97][98] The portraits of Jesus that have been constructed in these processes have often differed from each other, and from the dogmatic image portrayed in the gospel accounts.[99]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).[100]

In the 21st century, the third quest for the historical Jesus witnessed a fragmentation of the scholarly portraits of Jesus after which no unified picture of Jesus could be attained at all.[99][101]

The mainstream profiles in the third quest may be grouped together based on their primary theme as apocalyptic prophet, charismatic healer, Cynic philosopher, Jewish Messiah and prophet of social change,[102][103][103] but there is little scholarly agreement on a single portrait, or the methods needed to construct it.[99][101][104][105] There are, however, overlapping attributes among the portraits, and scholars who differ on some attributes may agree on others.[102][103][106]

The criterion of embarrassment developed during the second quest was applied to the Baptism of Jesus.

While there is widespread scholarly agreement on the existence of Jesus,[57][59] and a basic consensus on the general outline of his life,[86] the portraits of Jesus constructed in the quests have often differed from each other, and from the image portrayed in the gospel accounts.[99][101] There are overlapping attributes among the portraits, and while pairs of scholars may agree on some attributes, those same scholars may differ on other attributes, and there is no single portrait of the historical Jesus that satisfies most scholars.[102][106][107]

The Resurrection of Christ by Noel Coypel (1700)—Some myth theorists see this as a case of a dying-and-rising god.

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.[108] This theory has very little support among scholars.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 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.".[8]
  2. ^ 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.[9]
  3. ^ 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.".[10]
  4. ^ "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.".[11]
  5. ^ Of "baptism and crucifixion", these "two facts in the life of Jesus command almost universal assent".[5]
  6. ^ 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.[13]
  7. ^ ..."The point I shall argue below is that, the agreed evidentiary practices of the historians of Yeshua, despite their best efforts, have not been those of sound historical practice".[14]
  8. ^ "[F]arfetched theories that Jesus' existence was a Christian invention are highly implausible.".[16]
  9. ^ It is contingent on the original historicity for something to be transformed to historical actuality.[24]
  10. ^ Robert E. Van Voorst, referring to G.A. Wells: "The nonhistoricity thesis has always been controversial, and it has consistently failed to convince scholars of many disciplines and religious creeds... Biblical scholars and classical historians now regard it as effectively refuted".[15]

References

  1. ^ Bart D. Ehrman (20 March 2012). Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-208994-6.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Mark Allan Powell (1998). Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-25703-3.
  3. ^ Amy-Jill Levine; Dale C. Allison Jr.; John Dominic Crossan (16 October 2006). The Historical Jesus in Context. Princeton University Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-691-00992-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  4. ^ Bart D. Ehrman (1999). Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium. Oxford University Press. pp. ix–xi. ISBN 978-0-19-512473-6.
  5. ^ a b James D. G. Dunn (2003). Jesus Remembered. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 125–127. ISBN 978-0-8028-3931-2. Cite error: The named reference "Dunn2003" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference fox was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference nobbs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Bart D. Ehrman (22 March 2011). Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are. HarperCollins. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-06-207863-6.
  9. ^ James Douglas Grant Dunn (1 February 2010). The Historical Jesus: Five Views. SPCK Publishing. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-281-06329-1.
  10. ^ Michael Grant (January 2004). Jesus. Orion. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-898799-88-7.
  11. ^ Richard A. Burridge; Graham Gould (2004). Jesus Now and Then. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8028-0977-3.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g William R. Herzog (2005). Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22528-5. Cite error: The named reference "Hertzog1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  13. ^ John Dominic Crossan (1994). Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. HarperCollins. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-06-061662-5.
  14. ^ Donald H. Akenson (29 September 2001). Surpassing Wonder: The Invention of the Bible and the Talmuds. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-01073-1.
  15. ^ a b Robert E. Van Voorst (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8028-4368-5.
  16. ^ Markus Bockmuehl (8 November 2001). The Cambridge Companion to Jesus. Cambridge University Press. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-0-521-79678-1.
  17. ^ Mark Allan Powell (1998). Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-664-25703-3.
  18. ^ James L. Houlden (2003). Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture: Entries A - J. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-856-3.
  19. ^ Robert E. Van Voorst (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-8028-4368-5.
  20. ^ Thomas L. Thompson; Thomas S. Verenna (2013). 'Is This Not the Carpenter?': The Question of the Historicity of the Figure of Jesus. Acumen Publishing, Limited. ISBN 978-1-84465-729-2.
  21. ^ Davies' article Does Jesus Exist? at bibleinterp.com
  22. ^ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/historicity
  23. ^ http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/historicity
  24. ^ Shirley Lim; Larry E. Smith; Wimal Dissanayake (1999). Transnational Asia Pacific: Gender, Culture, and the Public Sphere. University of Illinois Press. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-0-252-06809-6.
  25. ^ Dr Barry Sandywell (1 October 2012). Dictionary of Visual Discourse: A Dialectical Lexicon of Terms. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 326–. ISBN 978-1-4094-8662-6.
  26. ^ Wandersee, J. H. (1992), The historicality of cognition: Implications for science education research. J. Res. Sci. Teach., 29: 423–434. doi: 10.1002/tea.3660290409
  27. ^ Harre, R., & Moghaddam, F.M. (2006). Historicity, social psychology, and change. In Rockmore, T. & Margolis, J. (Eds.), History, historicity, and science (pp. 94–120). London: Ashgate Publishing Limited., [1]
  28. ^ William J. Hamblin, professor of history at Brigham Young University. Two part article on historicity, [2] and [3]
  29. ^ Hall, J. (2007). Historicity and Sociohistorical Research. In W. Outhwaite, & S. Turner (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Social Science Methodology. (pp. 82–102). London, England: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781848607958.n5
  30. ^ Hall, J. (2007). History, methodologies, and the study of religion. In J. Beckford, & N. Demerath (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of the sociology of religion. (pp. 167–189). London: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781848607965.n9
  31. ^ The Cambridge Companion to Jesus by Markus N. A. Bockmuehl 2001 ISBN 0521796784 pages 121-125
  32. ^ Bruce David Chilton; Craig Alan Evans (1998). Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research. BRILL. pp. 460–470. ISBN 90-04-11142-5.
  33. ^ a b Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by Craig L. Blomberg 2009 ISBN 0-8054-4482-3 pages 431–436
  34. ^ Van Voorst (2000) pp. 39–53
  35. ^ Schreckenberg, Heinz; Kurt Schubert (1992). Jewish Traditions in Early Christian Literature. ISBN 90-232-2653-4.
  36. ^ Kostenberger, Andreas J.; L. Scott Kellum; Charles L. Quarles (2009). The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament. ISBN 0-8054-4365-7.
  37. ^ The new complete works of Josephus by Flavius Josephus, William Whiston, Paul L. Maier ISBN 0-8254-2924-2 pages 662–663
  38. ^ Josephus XX by Louis H. Feldman 1965, ISBN 0674995023 page 496
  39. ^ Van Voorst, Robert E. (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence ISBN 0-8028-4368-9. page 83
  40. ^ Flavius Josephus; Maier, Paul L. (December 1995). Josephus, the essential works: a condensation of Jewish antiquities and The Jewish war ISBN 978-0-8254-3260-6 pages 284–285
  41. ^ P.E. Easterling, E. J. Kenney (general editors), The Cambridge History of Latin Literature, page 892 (Cambridge University Press, 1982, reprinted 1996). ISBN 0-521-21043-7
  42. ^ a b Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000. p 39- 53
  43. ^ Eddy, Paul; Boyd, Gregory (2007). The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition Baker Academic, ISBN 0-8010-3114-1 page 127
  44. ^ F.F. Bruce,Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974) p. 23
  45. ^ Theissen, Gerd; Merz, Annette (1998). The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-8006-3122-2. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  46. ^ Martin, Michael. The Case Against Christianity. p. pg 50–51. {{cite book}}: |page= has extra text (help)
  47. ^ The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century: 1900–1950, By Walter P. Weaver, pg 53, pg 57, at http://books.google.co.za/books?id=1CZbuFBdAMUC&pg=PA45&dq=historicity+of+jesus&hl=en&sa=X&ei=o-_8U5-yEtTH7AbBpoCoAg&ved=0CEoQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=tacitus&f=false
  48. ^ a b Secret of Regeneration, By Hilton Hotema, pg 100, at http://books.google.co.za/books?id=jCaopp3R5B0C&pg=PA100&dq=interpolations+in+tacitus&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CRf-U9-VGZCe7AbxrIDQCA&ved=0CCAQ6AEwATge#v=onepage&q=interpolations%20in%20tacitus&f=false
  49. ^ Jesus, University Books, New York, 1956, p.13
  50. ^ France, RT (1986). Evidence for Jesus (Jesus Library). Trafalgar Square Publishing. pp. 19–20. ISBN 0-340-38172-8.
  51. ^ Michael Grant (1977), Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels
  52. ^ Craig Evans, "Life-of-Jesus Research and the Eclipse of Mythology," Theological Studies 54 (1993) p. 5,
  53. ^ Charles H. Talbert, What Is a Gospel? The Genre of Canonical Gospels pg 42 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977).
  54. ^ “The Historical Figure of Jesus," Sanders, E.P., Penguin Books: London, 1995, p., 3.
  55. ^ Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word (Vol. II): Meditations on the Gospel According to St. Matthew – Dr Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, Introduction
  56. ^ 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
  57. ^ a b c 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" B. Ehrman, 2011 Forged : writing in the name of God ISBN 978-0-06-207863-6. page 285
  58. ^ Robert M. Price (an atheist) who denies the existence of Jesus 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 0830838686 page 61
  59. ^ a b c 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 by Michael Grant 2004 ISBN 1898799881 page 200
  60. ^ a b 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
  61. ^ a b c d 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". Cite error: The named reference "JDunn339" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  62. ^ a b Crossan, John Dominic (1995). Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. HarperOne. p. 145. ISBN 0-06-061662-8. 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. Cite error: The named reference "autogenerated145" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  63. ^ Who is Jesus? Answers to your questions about the historical Jesus, by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G. Watts (Westminster John Knox Press 1999), page 108
  64. ^ James G. D. Dunn, Jesus Remembered, (Eerdmans, 2003) page 779-781.
  65. ^ Rev. John Edmunds, 1855 The seven sayings of Christ on the cross Thomas Hatchford Publishers, London, page 26
  66. ^ Stagg, Evelyn and Frank. Woman in the World of Jesus. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978 ISBN 0-664-24195-6
  67. ^ Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Empty Tomb, Appearances & Ascension" p. 449-495.
  68. ^ Bruce M. Metzger's Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament: Luke 24:51 is missing in some important early witnesses, Acts 1 varies between the Alexandrian and Western versions.
  69. ^ a b Sanders, E. P. The historical figure of Jesus. Penguin, 1993.
  70. ^ "The Synoptic Gospels, then, are the primary sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus" "Jesus Christ." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 27 November 2010 [4].
  71. ^ Vermes, Geza. The authentic gospel of Jesus. London, Penguin Books. 2004.
  72. ^ Mark Allan Powell (editor), The New Testament Today, page 50 (Westminster John Knox Press, 1999). ISBN 0-664-25824-7
  73. ^ Stanley E, Porter (editor), Handbook to Exegisis of the New Testament, page 68 (Leiden, 1997). ISBN 90-04-09921-2
  74. ^ Bart D. Ehrman: Misquoting Jesus – The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, p. 90 (review).
  75. ^ Paul Rhodes Eddy & Gregory A. Boyd, The Jesus Legend:A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition. (2008, Baker Academic).309-262.
  76. ^ The Gospel of Matthew claims, the title Nazarene for Jesus was derived from the prophecy "He will be called a Nazorean" (Matthew 2:22–23), despite the lack of any Old Testament source.
  77. ^ James D. G. Dunn (1974) Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus in Reconciliation and Hope. New Testament Essays on Atonement and Eschatology Presented to L.L. Morris on his 60th Birthday. Robert Banks, ed., Carlisle: The Paternoster Press, pp. 125–141, Citing G.A. Wells (The Jesus of the Early Christians (1971)): "Perhaps we should also mention that at the other end of the spectrum Paul’s apparent lack of knowledge of the historical Jesus has been made the major plank in an attempt to revive the nevertheless thoroughly dead thesis that the Jesus of the Gospels was a mythical figure." An almost identical quotation is included in Dunn, James DG (1998) The Christ and the Spirit: Collected Essays of James D.G. Dunn, Volume 1, Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., p. 191, and Sykes, S. (1991) Sacrifice and redemption: Durham essays in theology. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press. p. 35-36.
  78. ^ Encyclopedia of theology: a concise Sacramentum mundi by Karl Rahner 2004 ISBN 0-86012-006-6 pp. 730–731: "The few non-Christian sources [e.g. Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, and Josephus] merely confirm that in antiquity it never occurred to any one, even the bitterest enemies of Christianity, to doubt the existence of Jesus"
  79. ^ Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9-page 15: Referring to G.A. Wells (The Jesus of the Early Christians (1971)): "Fourth, Wells cannot explain to the satisfaction of historians why, if Christians invented the historical Jesus around the year 100, no pagans and Jews who opposed Christianity denied Jesus' historicity or even questioned it." (Van Voorst refutes his own point in footnote 35, citing Justin's Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 8)
  80. ^ Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; p.xix-xx
  81. ^ 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 pages 126–128
  82. ^ a b 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 47
  83. ^ Who Is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G. Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425 pages 31–32
  84. ^ a b Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching by Maurice Casey 2010 ISBN 0-567-64517-7 page 35
  85. ^ The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide by Gerd Theissen, Annette Merz 1998 ISBN 0-8006-3122-6 page 207
  86. ^ a b Amy-Jill Levine; Dale C. Allison Jr.; John Dominic Crossan (16 October 2006). The Historical Jesus in Context. Princeton University Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-691-00992-9.
  87. ^ Eisenmann, Robert, (2001), "James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls"
  88. ^ Butz, Jeffrey (2005), "The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Traditions of Christianity" (Inner Traditions)
  89. ^ Tabor, James (2012), "Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity" (Simon and Shuster)
  90. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Evans37 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  91. ^ Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee by Mark Allan Powell (1 Nov 1998) ISBN 0664257038 page 117
  92. ^ a b Jesus and the Politics of his Day by E. Bammel and C. F. D. Moule (30 Aug 1985) ISBN 0521313449 page 393
  93. ^ In Jesus: The Complete Guide edited by J. L. Houlden (8 Feb 2006) ISBN 082648011X pages 693–694
  94. ^ Jesus in the Talmud by Peter Schäfer (24 Aug 2009) ISBN 0691143188 page 141 and 9
  95. ^ Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by Craig L. Blomberg (1 Aug 2009) ISBN 0805444823 page 280
  96. ^ 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
  97. ^ Cite error: The named reference BenQ9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  98. ^ 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
  99. ^ a b c d The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria by Gerd Theissen and Dagmar Winter (Aug 30, 2002) ISBN 0664225373 page 5
  100. ^ 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 (15 Jul 2006) ISBN 1575061007 page 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."
  101. ^ a b c Jesus Research: An International Perspective (Princeton-Prague Symposia Series on the Historical Jesus) by James H. Charlesworth and Petr Pokorny (Sep 15, 2009) ISBN 0802863531 pages 1–2
  102. ^ a b c The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 pages 124–125
  103. ^ a b c The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1 by Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young (Feb 20, 2006) ISBN 0521812399 page 23
  104. ^ Images of Christ (Academic Paperback) by Stanley E. Porter, Michael A. Hayes and David Tombs (Dec 19, 2004) ISBN 0567044602 T&T Clark page 74
  105. ^ The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth by Ben Witherington (May 8, 1997) ISBN 0830815449 page 197
  106. ^ a b Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth by Michael James McClymond (Mar 22, 2004) ISBN 0802826806 pages 16–22
  107. ^ Amy-Jill Levine in the The Historical Jesus in Context edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. 2006 Princeton University Press ISBN 978-0-691-00992-6 pages 1: "no single picture of Jesus has convinced all, or even most scholars"
  108. ^ Bart Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist? Harper Collins, 2012, p. 12, describes the "Jesus mythicism" view as follows: "In simpler terms, the historical Jesus did not exist. Or if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity." Ehrman further quotes 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.'"

Sources

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(1991), v. 1, The Roots of the Problem and the Person, ISBN 0-385-26425-9
(1994), v. 2, Mentor, Message, and Miracles, ISBN 0-385-46992-6
(2001), v. 3, Companions and Competitors, ISBN 0-385-46993-4
(2009), v. 4, Law and Love, ISBN 978-0-300-14096-5
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  • New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, New Revised Standard Version. (1991) New York, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-528356-2
  • Price, Robert M. (2000). Deconstructing Jesus. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-57392-758-9.
  • Price, Robert M. (2003). The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable is the Gospel Tradition?. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-59102-121-9.
  • Wells, George A. (1988). The Historical Evidence for Jesus. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-429-X
  • Wells, George A. (1998). The Jesus Myth. ISBN 0-8126-9392-2
  • Wells, George A. (2004). Can We Trust the New Testament?: Thoughts on the Reliability of Early Christian Testimony. ISBN 0-8126-9567-4
  • Wilson, Ian (2000). Jesus: The Evidence (1st ed.). Regnery Publishing.
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