When we say that most scholars believe in Jesus as a real person , ask for real credentials . Who are these?
Someone has a list of those?
Someone has a list of scholars who believe in Jesus as a real person in history?
by TJ Curioso 40 Replies latest watchtower bible
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slimboyfat
It would be easier to name the ones that don't, they are a much smaller group.
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Phizzy
I think most scholars in the appropriate fields err on the side of Jesus being an historical figure. That does not mean it is easy to get to the Historical Jesus.
Just as there may well have been a "Robin Hood" , the myth and legend clouds the historical figure.
With Jesus , we have a similar problem, and a similar quantity of myth and legend. The Gospels and other writings may well contain some words that he actually spoke, and some deeds that he actually performed, but we cannot know which is which.
The search for the Historical Jesus will be one that never ends I guess.
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mind blown
this is a small list of historians who do believe:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus_on_Christ
The Roman historian and senator Tacitus referred to Christ, his execution by Pontius Pilate and the existence of early Christians in Rome in his final work, Annals (written ca. 116 AD), book 15, chapter 44. The Annals survive only in parts, with only Books 1-4 and 12-15 intact. [ 1 ]
The context of the passage is the six-day Great Fire of Rome that burned much of the city in 64 AD during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero. [ 2 ] The passage is one of the earliest non-Christian references to the origin of Christianity, the execution of Christ described in the Canonical gospels, and the presence and persecution of Christians in 1st-century Rome. [ 3 ] [ 4 ]
Scholars generally consider Tacitus's reference to the execution of Jesus by Pontius Pilate to be both authentic, and of historical value as an independent Roman source, [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] although the authenticity of the Annals has been challenged and disputed, with authors like John Wilson Ross noting that the Annals were not mentioned in antiquity. [ 8 ] [ 9 ]
The passage is also of historical value in establishing three separate facts about Rome around 60 AD, namely that there was a sizable number of Christians in Rome at the time, that it was possible to distinguish between Christians and Jews in Rome and that at the time pagans made a connection between Christianity in Rome and its origin in Judea. [ 10 ] [ 11 ]
The earliest surviving manuscript of the Annals dates from the ninth century, known as the "first Medicean" (technically referred to as M or M1). [ 12 ]
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Leolaia
Yeah, its a much, much smaller list who believe he didn't exist. The default opinion in scholarship is that he, like Alexander the Great and Mohammad, existed but like these two people must be discerned carefully from the religiously accepted legend surrounding the lives of these men. Most of these scholars on the historical Jesus debate and argue between various reconstructed portraits of the "real" Jesus of history. A minority of these scholars who believe Jesus existed conclude that no such reconstruction is possible with the available evidence.
I don't know if a list exists but one could easily compile one based on various scholars' published works. That would not be representative however of all the other scholars who don't specialize in the question of the historical Jesus but who also presume that Jesus existed.
Anyway, if you wanted to start such a list, you might as well put Bart Ehrman at the top of the list. Even someone like G. A. Wells (who technically isn't a biblical scholar) has some notion of a historical figure at the core of the traditions.
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Rob Crompton
I am not aware of any serious biblical scholars who do not believe that there was a real historical person about whom the stories are told. There is wide variation in what is believed about the extent to which the stories reflect the historical Jesus. For a Jewish perspective on Rabbi Jesus I would recommend Hyam Maccoby's book, Jesus the Pharisee, which does a splendid job of relating Jesus to the Rabbis ofhis day. Another writer who is definitely worth reading is Leon Zitzer. Zitzer is not a member of the academic establishment - and hisfrustration and anger with biblical scholars shows throughout his work (self-published) His book, True Jew, is a must-read. My own view is that Zitzer probably gets pretty close to what actually happened.
A word of caution, though - if you read either of these writers be prepared to drastically change your mind about what you believe!
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Midget-Sasquatch
You can find a small selection of authors/professors and their particular views on Jesus here:
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html
Just a starter but like someone mentioned before, the proportion of those who consider Jesus to be completely mythical is small.
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Band on the Run
I have no list. The "Historical Jesus" has been a passion since college when I took several courses. My research paper addressed the topic. Since then, I try to keep current on a lay basis. It is the rare Jesus scholar who does not believe that an actual human lived during that time period. The main issues address whether or not he had messianic consciousness, whether he was only a teacher. Basically, the Christological debate. What the earliest church believed is another hot topic. The "son of man" usage is very important.
N.T. Wright
Marcus Borg
Ehrman (sp?)
Robinson
Crossan
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undercover
When we say that most scholars believe in Jesus as a real person , ask for real credentials . Who are these?
It would be easier to name the ones that don't, they are a much smaller group.
Okay...how about this question:
What about a list of scholars who believe that a god-man or son of god man, who was born of a virgin birth, performed miracles and raised the dead and who was himself raised from the dead, is a real historical being?
I bet that list is even smaller...
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Bella15
Just something that came into my mind ... have you ever read the Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus? It is an awesome read for a seekers ...