Jesus is revered by Christians as lord and savior, by Muslims as the second greatest prophet, by Hindus as a reincarnation of Vishnu, and by some Buddhists as a bodhisattva. This shouldn’t be surprising since Islam is viewed by its adherents as a reformation of Christianity, it’s easy for a polytheist to incorporate a new popular god into their pantheon, and a lot of Jesus’ teachings mirror those of the Buddha.
None of this, however, is evidence of a historical Jesus. Nobody doubts that there were Christians in the late first century CE and few even doubt that Paul the Apostle was historical. Christians definitely believed that Jesus was historical by the time Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists would have had to figure out what to do with that character.
We’ve been looking at whether or not Jesus was historical, but does any of this matter? Yes and no.
It won’t matter to the kind of Christian who believes in a literal recent creation, since to them the Bible is all the authority needed, even when arguing against proven scientific fact. However, it does matter since Christianity at it’s core is based on a single event. If that event didn’t happen, then Christianity is bunk.
We should all be on a constant search for truth. We must always be examining the evidence, evaluating it, weighing it, and following where it leads. The evidence for a historical Jesus is virtually non-existent and the evidence against it is admittedly pretty weak, but definitely strong enough to merit a skeptical attitude.
There were many apocalyptic Jewish teachers in the first century BCE and first century CE. It is quite likely that one of these may have inspired the Jesus character, but it is probable that just as much inspiration came from Horus, Osiris, Moses, Elijah, and Alexander the Great.
The real question is, was Jesus of Nazareth, as described in the Gospels, a historical figure? I feel comfortable answering that, beyond a reasonable doubt, he is not.
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http://www.allaboutreligion.org/jesus-seminar.htm
The link above is to an interesting article about a group called The Jesus Seminar. You may have heard of it before, but basically they are trying to dissect Mythology from History through reading the bible. An interesting thing that they came up with is that the only surviving and real historical part of the lord's prayer is "Our father".
It is interesting, yet it seems that it doesn't really matter. Even if there was a peasant named Jesus before, it doesn't negate that there were countless other "holy people" that claim to be the holiest.
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I heard about the Jesus Seminar from professors when I was in college who thought it was a bunch of worthless anti-Christian rambling and from skeptics who think it's a weak attempt at trying to bridge the gap. To be honest, I haven't looked directly at their materials, but I have studied textual criticism enough and heard enough mythicist arguments that I am convinced that what ever historical kernel might be there has been obscured by centuries of orthodox tampering of the text.
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http://www.allaboutreligion.org/jesus-seminar.htm
The link above is to an interesting article about a group called The Jesus Seminar. You may have heard of it before, but basically they are trying to dissect Mythology from History through reading the bible. An interesting thing that they came up with is that the only surviving and real historical part of the lord's prayer is "Our father".
It is interesting, yet it seems that it doesn't really matter. Even if there was a peasant named Jesus before, it doesn't negate that there were countless other "holy people" that claim to be the holiest.
Permalink
http://www.allaboutreligion.org/jesus-seminar.htm
The link above is to an interesting article about a group called The Jesus Seminar. You may have heard of it before, but basically they are trying to dissect Mythology from History through reading the bible. An interesting thing that they came up with is that the only surviving and real historical part of the lord's prayer is "Our father".
It is interesting, yet it seems that it doesn't really matter. Even if there was a peasant named Jesus before, it doesn't negate that there were countless other "holy people" that claim to be the holiest.
Permalink
I heard about the Jesus Seminar from professors when I was in college who thought it was a bunch of worthless anti-Christian rambling and from skeptics who think it's a weak attempt at trying to bridge the gap. To be honest, I haven't looked directly at their materials, but I have studied textual criticism enough and heard enough mythicist arguments that I am convinced that what ever historical kernel might be there has been obscured by centuries of orthodox tampering of the text.
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