Historical Jesus

about two to three years prior to his death. He preached

the salvation, cleansing from sins, and the Kingdom of
God, using parables with startling imagery, and was said
to be a teacher and a faith healer.[17] Some scholars credit
the apocalyptic declarations of the Gospels to him, while
others portray his Kingdom of God as a moral one, and
not apocalyptic in nature.[18] He sent his apostles out to
heal and to preach the Kingdom of God.[19] Later, he traveled to Jerusalem in Judea, where he caused a disturbance
at the Temple.[15] It was the time of Passover, when political and religious tensions were high in Jerusalem.[15]
The Gospels say that the temple guards (believed to be
Sadducees) arrested him and turned him over to Pontius
Pilate for execution. The movement he had started survived his death and was carried on by his brother James
the Just and the apostles who proclaimed the resurrection
of Jesus.[20] It developed into Early Christianity (see also
List of events in early Christianity).
Since the 18th century, three separate scholarly quests for
the historical Jesus have taken place, each with distinct
characteristics and developing new and dierent research
criteria.[21][22] The portraits of Jesus that have been constructed in these processes have often diered from each
other, and from the dogmatic image portrayed in the
gospel accounts.[1] These portraits include that of Jesus as
an apocalyptic prophet, charismatic healer, Cynic philoso[23][24]
In the 21st century, the third quest for the historical Jesus wit- pher, Jewish Messiah and prophet of social change,
nessed a fragmentation of the scholarly portraits of Jesus after but there is little scholarly agreement on a single portrait,
which no unied picture of Jesus could be attained at all.[1][2]
or the methods needed to construct it.[1][2][25] There are,
however, overlapping attributes among the various portraits, and scholars who dier on some attributes may
The term "historical Jesus" refers to attempts to re- agree on others.[23][24][26]
construct the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth by
critical historical methods", in contrast to Christologi- A number of scholars have criticized the various apcal denitions ('the dogmatic Christ') and other Christian proaches used in the study of the historical Jesuson one
accounts of Jesus ('the Christ of faith')".[3] It also con- hand for the lack of rigor in research methods, on the
that interpret
siders the historical and cultural context in which Jesus other for being driven by specic agendas
[27][28][29]
[4][5][6]
By the 21st
ancient
sources
to
t
specic
goals.
lived.
century the maximalist approaches of the 19th century
Virtually all scholars who write on the subject accept that which accepted all the gospels and the minimalist trends
Jesus existed,[7][8][9][10] although scholars dier about the of the early 20th century which totally rejected them were
beliefs and teachings of Jesus as well as the accuracy of abandoned and scholars began to focus on what is historthe accounts of his life, and the only two events sub- ically probable and plausible about Jesus. [30][31][32]
ject to almost universal assent are that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and was crucied by the order
of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate.[11][12][13][14] Historical Jesus scholars typically contend that he was a
Galilean Jew living in a time of messianic and apocalyptic
expectations.[15][16] Jesus was baptized by John the Bap1 Historical elements
tist, whose example he may have followed, and after John
was executed, began his own preaching in Galilee for only
1

1.1

Existence

Most contemporary scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed, and most biblical scholars and classical historians see the theories of his nonexistence as eectively
refuted.[7][9][10][33][34][35] We have no indication that writers in antiquity who opposed Christianity questioned the
existence of Jesus.[36][37] 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.[14] Scholars dier on the historicity of specic episodes described in the biblical accounts of Jesus,[14] and historians tend to look upon supernatural or miraculous claims about Jesus as questions
of faith, rather than historical fact.[38]
1.1.1

Evidence of Jesus

HISTORICAL ELEMENTS

tion the authenticity of the passage on various dierent

grounds.[49][51][52][53][54][55][55][56][57]
Other considerations outside Christendom are the possible mentions of Jesus in the Talmud. The Talmud speaks
in some detail of the conduct of criminal cases of Israel
and gathered in one place from 200-500 C.E. On the eve
of the Passover Yeshua was hanged. For forty days before
the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried,
He is going forth to be stoned because he has practised
sorcery and enticed Israel to apostacy. The rst date of
the Sanhedrin judiciary council being recorded as functioning is 57 B.C.E.[58]
1.1.2 Myth theory
Main article: Christ myth theory

Main articles: Historical reliability of the Gospels, The Christ myth theory is the proposition that Jesus of
Sources for the historicity of Jesus, Josephus on Jesus Nazareth never existed, or if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity and the acand Tacitus on Christ
counts in the gospels.[59] Many proponents use a threefold argument rst developed in the 19th century: that
There is no physical or archeological evidence for Jesus,
the New Testament has no historical value, that there are
and all the sources we have are documentary. The sources
no non-Christian references to Jesus Christ from the rst
for the historical Jesus are mainly Christian writings, such
century, and that Christianity had pagan and/or mythical
as the gospels and the purported letters of the apostles.
roots.[60]
The authenticity and reliability of these sources has been
questioned by many scholars, and few events mentioned In recent years, there have been a number of books and
documentaries on this subject. Some mythicists say that
in the gospels are universally accepted.[39]
Jesus may have been a real person, but that the biblical
In conjunction with biblical sources, three mentions of
accounts of him are almost entirely ctional.[61][62][63]
Jesus in non-Christian sources have been used in the
historical analyses of the existence of Jesus.[40] These The scholarly consensus is that the Christ myth theory has
are two passages in the writings of the Jewish his- been refuted, and that Jesus indeed existed as a historical
torian Josephus, and one from the Roman historian gure.
Tacitus.[40][41]
Josephus Antiquities of the Jews, written around 9394
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.[42][43] 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.[44][45][46][47]
Roman historian Tacitus referred to Christus and his
execution by Pontius Pilate in his Annals (written ca.
AD 116), book 15, chapter 44.[48] Robert E. Van
Voorst states that the very negative tone of Tacitus
comments on Christians make the passage extremely
unlikely to have been forged by a Christian scribe[49]
and Boyd and Eddy state that the Tacitus reference is
now widely accepted as an independent conrmation
of Christs crucixion,[50] although some scholars ques-

1.2 Two widely accepted historical facts

See also: Baptism of Jesus, Crucixion of Jesus, Sources
for the Historicity of Jesus and Historical reliability of
the Gospels
Almost all modern scholars consider his baptism and
crucixion to be historical facts.[11][64]
John P. Meier views the crucixion 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.[65] Meier states that a number of
other criteria, e.g. the criterion of multiple attestation (i.e.
conrmation by more than one source), the criterion of
coherence (i.e. that it ts with other historical elements)
and the criterion of rejection (i.e. that it is not disputed by
ancient sources) help establish the crucixion of Jesus as
a historical event.[66] Eddy and Boyd state that it is now
rmly established that there is non-Christian conrmation
of the crucixion of Jesus referring to the mentions in

1.4

Portraits of the historical Jesus

3
items.[80] Amy-Jill Levine has stated that there is a consensus of sorts on the basic outline of Jesus life. Most
scholars agree that Jesus was baptised by John, debated
with fellow Jews on how best to live according to Gods
will, engaged in healings and exorcisms, taught in parables, gathered male and female followers in Galilee, went
to Jerusalem, and was crucied by Roman soldiers during the governorship of Pontius Pilate (26-36 CE). But,
to use the old clich, the devil is in the details.[81]
In addition various scholars have proposed that:
Jesus was a Galilean Jew who was born between 7
and 2 BC and died 3036 AD.[82][83][84]

The Pilate Stone from Caesarea Maritima, now at the Israel Museum

Josephus and Tacitus.[50]

Most scholars in the third quest for the historical Jesus
consider the crucixion indisputable,[13][65][67][68] as do
Bart Ehrman,[68] former priest John Dominic Crossan[13]
and theologian James Dunn.[11] Although scholars agree
on the historicity of the crucixion, they dier on the reason and context for it, e.g. both E. P. Sanders and Paula
Fredriksen support the historicity of the crucixion, but
contend that Jesus did not foretell his own crucixion,
and that his prediction of the crucixion is a Christian
story.[69] Geza Vermes also views the crucixion as a historical event but believes this was due to Jesus challenging of Roman authority.[69]

Jesus caused a controversy at the Temple.[12][80][85]

Jesus lived only in Galilee and Judea,[86][87][88]
and never travelled or studied outside Galilee and
Judea.[89][90][91]
Jesus spoke Aramaic and may have also spoken Hebrew and Greek.[92][93][94][95] James D. G. Dunn
states that there is substantial consensus that Jesus gave his teachings in Aramaic,[96] although the
Galilean dialect of Aramaic was clearly distinguishable from the Judean dialect.[97]
An approximate chronology of Jesus can be estimated from non-Christian sources, and conrmed by correlating them with New Testament
accounts.[82][98]

The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist can

The existence of John the Baptist within the same time
be dated approximately from Josephus' references
frame as Jesus, and his eventual execution by Herod
(Antiquities
18.5.2) to a date before AD 28Antipas is attested to by 1st-century historian Josephus
[70][99][100][101][102]
35.
and the overwhelming majority of modern scholars view
Josephus accounts of the activities of John the Baptist
The date of the crucixion of Jesus was earlier than
as authentic.[70][71] One of the arguments in favor of
36 AD, based on the dates of the prefecture of
the historicity of the Baptism of Jesus by John is the
Pontius Pilate who was governor of Roman Judea
criterion of embarrassment, i.e. that it is a story which
from 26 AD until 36 AD.[103][104][105]
the early Christian Church would have never wanted to
invent.[72][73][74] Another argument used in favour of the
Claims about the appearance or ethnicity of Jehistoricity of the baptism is that multiple accounts refer to
sus are mostly subjective, based on cultural stereoit, usually called the criterion of multiple attestation.[75]
types and societal trends rather than on scientic
Technically, multiple attestation does not guarantee auanalysis.[106][107][108]
thenticity, but only determines antiquity.[76] However, for
most scholars, together with the criterion of embarrassment it lends credibility to the baptism of Jesus by John 1.4 Portraits of the historical Jesus
being a historical event.[75][77][78][79]
Main articles: Portraits of the historical Jesus and Quest
for the historical Jesus

1.3

Other possibly historical elements

Main article: Portraits of the historical Jesus

In addition to the two historical elements of baptism and
crucixion, scholars attribute varying levels of certainty
to various other aspects of the life of Jesus, although
there is no universal agreement among scholars on these

Since the 18th century, three separate scholarly quests for

the historical Jesus have taken place, each with distinct
characteristics and developing new and dierent research
criteria.[21][22] The portraits of Jesus that have been constructed in these processes have often diered from each
other, and from the dogmatic image portrayed in the
gospel accounts.[1] These portraits include that of Jesus as

METHODS OF RESEARCH

an apocalyptic prophet, charismatic healer, Cynic philosopher, Jewish Messiah and prophet of social change,[23][24]
but there is little scholarly agreement on a single portrait,
or the methods needed to construct it.[1][2][25] There are,
however, overlapping attributes among the various portraits, and scholars who dier on some attributes may
agree on others.[23][24][26]
Contemporary scholarship, representing the third
quest, places Jesus rmly in the Jewish tradition.[109]
Leading scholars in the third quest include E. P.
Sanders, Geza Vermes, Gerd Theissen, Christoph
Burchard, and John Dominic Crossan.[109] Jesus is seen
as the founder of, in the words of E. P. Sanders, a '"renewal movement within Judaism.[109] This scholarship
suggests a continuity between Jesus life as a wandering
charismatic and the same lifestyle carried forward by
followers after his death.[109] The main criterion used
to discern historical details in the third quest is the
criterion of plausibility, relative to Jesus Jewish context
and to his inuence on Christianity.[109] The main
disagreement in contemporary research is whether Jesus
was apocalyptic.[109] Most scholars conclude that he was
an apocalyptic preacher, like John the Baptist and the
apostle Paul.[109] In contrast, certain prominent North
American scholars, such as Burton Mack and John Dominic Crossan, advocate for a non-eschatological Jesus,
one who is more of a Cynic sage than an apocalyptic
Albert Schweitzer, whose book coined the term Quest for the hispreacher.[109]
torical Jesus

Methods of research

approach views an author as a redactor i.e. someone preparing a report, and tries to understand how the
See also: Quest for the historical Jesus
redactor(s) has molded the narrative to express their own
In the early church, there were already tendencies perspectives.[115]
to portray Jesus as a veriable demonstration of the
extraordinary.[110][111] Since the 18th century, scholars At the end of the rst Quest (c. 1906) the criterion for
multiple attestation was used and was the major addihave taken part in three separate quests for the his[113]
The concept behind multorical Jesus, attempting to reconstruct various portraits tional element up to 1950s.
tiple attestation is simple: as the number of independent
[21][112]
of his life using historical methods.
While textual
in
criticism (or lower criticism) had been practiced for cen- sources that vouch for an event increases, condence
the historical authenticity of the event rises.[113]
turies, a number of approaches to historical analysis and a
number of criteria for evaluating the historicity of events Other criteria were being developed at the same time, e.g.
emerged as of the 18th century, as a series of Quests for double dissimilarity in 1913, least distinctiveness in
the historical Jesus took place. At each stage of develop- 1919 and coherence and consistency in 1921.[113] The
ment, scholars suggested specic forms and methodolo- criterion of double dissimilarity views a reported saying
gies of analysis and specic criteria to be used to deter- or action of Jesus as possibly authentic, if it is dissimilar
from both the Judaism of his time and also from the tradimine historical validity.[113]
of the early Christianity that immediately followed
The rst Quest, which started in 1778, was almost en- tions[116]
him.
The least distinctiveness criterion relies on the
tirely based on biblical criticism. This was supplemented
assumption
that when stories are passed from person to
with form criticism in 1919 and redaction criticism in
person,
the
peripheral,
least distinct elements may be dis[113]
Form criticism began as an attempt to trace the
1948.
torted,
but
the
central
element remains unchanged.[117]
history of the biblical material before it was written down,
and may thus be seen as starting when textual criticism The criterion of coherence and consistency states that
has been
ends.[114] Form criticism looks for patterns within units material can be used only when other material
[113]
identied
as
authentic
to
corroborate
it.
of biblical text and attempts to trace their origin based
on the patterns.[114] Redaction criticism may be viewed The second Quest was launched in 1953, and along with it
as the child of text criticism and form criticism.[115] This the criterion of embarrassment was introduced.[113] This

3.2

Lack of methodological soundness

criterion states that a group is unlikely to invent a story

that would be embarrassing to themselves.[113] The criterion of historical plausibility was introduced in 1997,
after the start of the third Quest in 1988.[113] This principle analyzes the plausibility of an event in two separate components: contextual plausibility and consequential plausibility, i.e. the historical context needs to be suitable, as well as the consequences.[113]

terpret the teachings of Jesus with the hope of causing

social change.[29][129]

A new characteristic of the modern aspects of the

third quest has been the role of archaeology and James
Charlesworth states that few modern scholars now want
to overlook the archaeological discoveries that clarify
the nature of life in Galilee and Judea during the time
of Jesus.[118] A further characteristic of the third quest
has been its interdisciplinary and global nature of the
scholarship.[119] While the rst two quests was mostly
by European Protestant theologians, the third quest
has seen a worldwide inux of scholars from multiple
disciplines.[119]

3.2 Lack of methodological soundness

The New Testament scholar Nicholas Perrin has argued

that since most biblical scholars are Christians, a certain
bias is inevitable, but he does not see this as a major
problem.[130][131]

The historical analysis techniques used by biblical

scholars have been questioned,[27][28][29] and according to James Dunn it is not possible to construct
(from the available data) a Jesus who will be the real
Jesus.[132][133][134]

W.R. Herzog has stated that What we call the historical

Jesus is the composite of the recoverable bits and pieces
of historical information and speculation about him that
we assemble, construct, and reconstruct. For this reason,
More recently historicists have focussed their attention the historical Jesus is, in Meiers words, 'a modern abon the historical writings associated with the period in straction and construct.'"[135]
which Jesus lived[120][121] or on the evidence concerning
Donald Akenson, Professor of Irish Studies in the departhis family.[122][123][124] The redaction of these documents
ment of history at Queens University has argued that,
through early Christian sources till the 3rd or 4th cenwith very few exceptions, the historians attempting to returies has also been a rich source of new information.
construct a biography of the man apart from the mere
facts of his existence and crucixion have not followed
sound historical practices. He has stated that there is an
3 Criticism of Jesus research unhealthy reliance on consensus, for propositions, which
should otherwise be based on primary sources, or rigormethods
ous interpretation. He also identies a peculiar downward
dating creep, and holds that some of the criteria being
A number of scholars have criticised Historical Jesus used are faulty. He says that the overwhelming majorresearch for religious bias and lack of methodological ity of biblical scholars are employed in institutions whose
soundness, and some have argued that modern bibli- roots are in religious beliefs. Because of this, more than
cal scholarship is insuciently critical and sometimes any other group in present day academia, biblical histoamounts to covert apologetics.[125][126]
rians are under immense pressure to theologize their historical work. It is only through considerable individual
heroism, that many biblical historians have managed to
3.1 Theological bias
maintain the scholarly integrity of their work.[136][137]
John Meier, a Catholic priest and a professor of theology
at University of Notre Dame, has stated "... I think a lot
of the confusion comes from the fact that people claim
they are doing a quest for the historical Jesus when de
facto theyre doing theology, albeit a theology that is indeed historically informed ...[127] Meier also wrote that
in the past the quest for the historical Jesus has often
been motivated more by a desire to produce an alternate
Christology than a true historical search.[28]

Dale Allison, a Presbyterian theologian and professor

of New Testament Exegesis and Early Christianity at
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, says, "... We wield our
criteria to get what we want ...[27]

According to James Dunn, "...the 'historical Jesus is

properly speaking a nineteenth- and twentieth-century
construction using the data provided by the Synoptic tradition, not Jesus back then and not a gure in history.[138]
(Emphasis in the original). Dunn further explains that
as data; they are always
[128]
The British Methodist scholar Clive Marsh
has stated the facts are not to be identied
[139]
an
interpretation
of
the
data.
that the construction of the portraits of Jesus as part of
various quests have often been driven by specic agen- Since Albert Schweitzer's book The Quest of the Histordas and that historical components of the relevant bib- ical Jesus, scholars have for long stated that many of the
lical texts are often interpreted to t specic goals.[29] portraits of Jesus are pale reections of the researchers
Marsh lists theological agendas that aim to conrm the themselves.[23][140][141] Albert Schweitzer accused early
divinity of Jesus, anti-ecclesiastical agendas that aim to scholars of religious bias. John Dominic Crossan sumdiscredit Christianity and political agendas that aim to in- marized the recent situation by stating that many authors

5 NOTES

writing about the life of Jesus "... do autobiography and

call it biography.[23][142]

Al Maghtas

3.3

New Testament places associated with Jesus

Scarcity of sources

Bart Ehrman and separately Andreas Kstenberger contend that given the scarcity of historical sources, it is
generally dicult for any scholar to construct a portrait
of Jesus that can be considered historically valid beyond
the basic elements of his life.[143][144] On the other hand,
scholars such as N. T. Wright and Luke Timothy Johnson
argue that the image of Jesus presented in the gospels is
largely accurate, and that dissenting scholars are simply
too cautious about what we can claim to know about the
ancient period.[145]

See also
Academic approach
Biblical archaeology
Biblical criticism
Biblical manuscript
Census of Quirinius, the enrollment of the Roman
provinces of Syria and Judaea for tax purposes taken
in the year 6/7.
Criterion of dissimilarity
Criticism of the Bible
Historical background of the New Testament
Historicity of Jesus
Sources for the historicity of Jesus
Historicity of the Bible
Jesus Seminar
Christian approach
Chronology of Jesus
Detailed Christian timeline
Gospel harmony
Life of Jesus in the New Testament
Ministry of Jesus
Associated sites
non

Bethabara

Qasr el Yahud

5 Notes
[1] The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria by Gerd Theissen and Dagmar Winter (Aug 30, 2002)
ISBN 0664225373 page 5
[2] Jesus Research: An International Perspective (PrincetonPrague Symposia Series on the Historical Jesus) by James
H. Charlesworth and Petr Pokorny (Sep 15, 2009) ISBN
0802863531 pages 1-2
[3] The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church,
edited by Frank Leslie Cross, Elizabeth A. Livingstone,
p 779,
at http://books.google.co.za/
books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA779&dq=
Historical+Jesus,+Quest+of+the.%22+Oxford+
Dictionary+of+the+Christian+Church&hl=en&sa=
X&ei=ZPszVN7tN4XEPbyzgMAO&redir_esc=y#
v=onepage&q=Historical%20Jesus%2C%20Quest%
20of%20the.%22%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%
20the%20Christian%20Church&f=false
[4] 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
[5] Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium by Bart
D. Ehrman (Sep 23, 1999) ISBN 0195124731 Oxford
University Press pp. ix-xi
[6] 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
[7] 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
[8] 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
[9] 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 Historians Review of the Gospels by Michael Grant 2004 ISBN
1898799881 page 200

[10] Richard A. Burridge states: There are those who argue

that Jesus is a gment of the Churchs imagination, that
there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not
know any respectable critical scholar who says that anymore. in Jesus Now and Then by Richard A. Burridge and
Graham Gould (Apr 1, 2004) ISBN 0802809774 page 34
[11] Jesus Remembered by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN 08028-3931-2 page 339 states of baptism and crucixion
that these two facts in the life of Jesus command almost
universal assent.
[12] Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus by William R. Herzog (4 Jul 2005) ISBN 0664225284
pages 1-6
[13] Crossan, John Dominic (1995). Jesus: A Revolutionary
Biography. HarperOne. p. 145. ISBN 0-06-061662-8.
That he was crucied 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.
[14] Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View
the Man from Galilee by Mark Allan Powell 1998 ISBN
0-664-25703-8 pages 168173
[15] Sanders, E. P. The historical gure of Jesus. Penguin,
1993.
[16] John Dickson, Jesus: A Short Life. Lion Hudson 2009, pp.
138-9.
[17] Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus:
a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated
from German (1996 edition). Chapter 10. Jesus as healer:
the miracles of Jesus.
[18] Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus:
a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated
from German (1996 edition)
[19] Crossan, John Dominic. The essential Jesus. Edison:
Castle Books. 1998.
[20] E.P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus. p.280
[21] The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth
by Ben Witherington (May 8, 1997) ISBN 0830815449
pages 9-13
[22] 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
[23] The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to
the New Testament by Andreas J. Kstenberger, L. Scott
Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 pages 124-125

[27] Allison, Dale (February 2009). The Historical Christ and

the Theological Jesus. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p.
59. ISBN 978-0-8028-6262-4. Retrieved Jan 9, 2011.
We wield our criteria to get what we want.
[28] John P. Meier (26 May 2009). A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Law and Love. Yale University
Press. pp. 6. ISBN 978-0-300-14096-5. Retrieved 27
August 2010.
[29] 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
[30] 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.
[31] The Historical Jesus of the Gospels by Craig S. Keener (13
Apr 2012) ISBN 0802868886 page 163
[32] Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship by Marcus J. Borg (1
Aug 1994) ISBN 1563380943 pages 4-6
[33] Robert E. Van Voorst Jesus Outside the New Testament:
An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 page 16 states: biblical scholars and classical historians regard theories of
non-existence of Jesus as eectively refuted
[34] James D. G. Dunn Pauls understanding of the death
of Jesus in Sacrice and Redemption edited by S. W.
Sykes (Dec 3, 2007) Cambridge University Press ISBN
052104460X pages 35-36 states that the theories of nonexistence of Jesus are a thoroughly dead thesis
[35] The Gospels and Jesus by Graham Stanton, 1989 ISBN
0192132415 Oxford University Press, p. 145: Today
nearly all historians, whether Christians or not, accept that
Jesus existed.
[36] Encyclopedia of theology: a concise Sacramentum mundi
by Karl Rahner 2004 ISBN 0-86012-006-6 pages 730731
[37] 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

[24] The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1 by Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young (Feb 20, 2006)
ISBN 0521812399 page 23

[38] What about the resurrection? ... Some people believe it

did, some believe it didn't. ... But if you do believe it, it is
not as a historian Ehrman, B. Jesus, Interrupted, pg 176
HarperOne; 1 Reprint edition (2 February 2010)

[25] 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

[39] Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians

View the Man from Galilee by Mark Allan Powell 1998
ISBN 0-664-25703-8 page 181

[26] Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth

by Michael James McClymond (Mar 22, 2004) ISBN
0802826806 pages 16-22

[40] Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by

Craig L. Blomberg 2009 ISBN 0-8054-4482-3 pages 431436

[41] Van Voorst (2000) pp. 39-53

[42] Schreckenberg, Heinz; Kurt Schubert (1992). Jewish Traditions in Early Christian Literature. ISBN 90-232-26534.
[43] 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.
[44] The new complete works of Josephus by Flavius Josephus,
William Whiston, Paul L. Maier ISBN 0-8254-2924-2
pages 662-663
[45] Josephus XX by Louis H. Feldman 1965, ISBN
0674995023 page 496
[46] Van Voorst, Robert E. (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence ISBN 08028-4368-9. page 83
[47] 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
[48] P.E. Easterling, E. J. Kenney (general editors), The Cambridge History of Latin Literature, page 892 (Cambridge
University Press, 1982, reprinted 1996). ISBN 0-52121043-7
[49] Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus Outside the New Testament:
An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000. p 39- 53
[50] 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
[51] F.F. Bruce,Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New
Testament, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974) p. 23
[52] Theissen, Gerd; Merz, Annette (1998). The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
p. 83. ISBN 978-0-8006-3122-2.
[53] The Case Against Christianity,
By Michael
Martin,
pg 50-51,
at http://books.google.co.
za/books?id=wWkC4dTmK0AC&pg=PA52&
dq=historicity+of+jesus&hl=en&sa=X&ei=o-_
8U5-yEtTH7AbBpoCoAg&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAg#v=
onepage&q=tacitus&f=false
[54] The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century: 19001950, 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
[55] 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
[56] Jesus, University Books, New York, 1956, p.13

5 NOTES

[57] France, RT (1986). Evidence for Jesus (Jesus Library).

Trafalgar Square Publishing. pp. 1920. ISBN 0-34038172-8.
[58] Schachter/H.Freedman, Jacob. Sanhedrin. come-andhear.com. The Soncino Press. Retrieved 22 January
2015.
[59] Bart Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist? Harper Collins, 2012, p.
12, ""In simpler terms, the historical Jesus did not exist .
Or if he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity. further quoting as authoritative the
fuller denition provided by Earl Doherty in Jesus: Neither God Nor Man. Age of Reason, 2009, pp. viiviii: it
is the theory that no historical Jesus worthy of the name
existed, that Christianity began with a belief in a spiritual,
mythical gure, that the Gospels are essentially allegory
and ction, and that no single identiable person lay at the
root of the Galilean preaching tradition.
[60] Jesus Outside the New Testament Robert E. Van Voorst,
2000, p=8-9
[61] Richard Dawkins. The God Delusion. p. 122. ISBN 14303-1230-0.
[62] God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 2007, Chapter 8
[63] The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and
David Thomas L. Thompson Basic Book Perseus Books
2005
[64] Jesus of Nazareth by Paul Verhoeven (Apr 6, 2010) ISBN
1583229051 page 39
[65] 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
[66] 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
[67] Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by
Craig L. Blomberg 2009 ISBN 0-8054-4482-3 pages 211214
[68] A Brief Introduction to the New Testament by Bart D.
Ehrman 2008 ISBN 0-19-536934-3 page 136
[69] A Century of Theological and Religious Studies in
Britain, 1902-2002 by Ernest Nicholson 2004 ISBN 0-19726305-4 pages 125-126
[70] Craig Evans, 2006 Josephus on John the Baptist in The
Historical Jesus in Context edited by Amy-Jill Levine et
al. Princeton Univ Press ISBN 978-0-691-00992-6 pages
55-58
[71] The new complete works of Josephus by Flavius Josephus,
William Whiston, Paul L. Maier ISBN 0-8254-2924-2
pages 662-663
[72] Jesus as a gure in history: how modern historians view
the man from Galilee by Mark Allan Powell 1998 ISBN
0-664-25703-8 page 47

[73] Who Is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G.

Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425 pages 31-32
[74] Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historians Account of
His Life and Teaching by Maurice Casey 2010 ISBN 0567-64517-7 page 35
[75] John the Baptist: prophet of purity for a new age by Catherine M. Murphy 2003 ISBN 0-8146-5933-0 pages 29-30
[76] Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies by
Craig A. Evans 2001 ISBN 0-391-04118-5 page 15
[77] An introduction to the New Testament and the origins of
Christianity by Delbert Royce Burkett 2002 ISBN 0-52100720-8 pages 247-248
[78] Who is Jesus? by Thomas P. Rausch 2003 ISBN 978-08146-5078-3 page 36
[79] The relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus of
Nazareth: A Critical Study by Daniel S. Dapaah 2005
ISBN 0-7618-3109-6 page 91
[80] Authenticating the Activities of Jesus by Bruce Chilton and
Craig A. Evans 2002 ISBN 0391041649 pages 3-7
[81] 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 page 4

[91] Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence. Eerdmans
Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9-page 17
[92] James Barr, Which language did Jesus speak, Bulletin of
the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, 1970;
53(1) pages 929
[93] Handbook to exegesis of the New Testament by Stanley E.
Porter 1997 ISBN 90-04-09921-2 pages 110112
[94] Jesus in history and myth by R. Joseph Homann 1986
ISBN 0-87975-332-3-page 98
[95] James Barr's review article Which language did Jesus
speak (referenced above) states that Aramaic has the
widest support among scholars.
[96] Jesus Remembered by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN 08028-3931-2 pages 313-315
[97] Jewish Encyclopedia:
Galileans: "

Galilee:

Characteristics of

[98] The Lion and the Lamb by Andreas J. Kostenberger, L.

Scott Kellum and Charles L Quarles (Jul 15, 2012) ISBN
1433677083 page 40
[99] Herodias: at home in that foxs den by Florence Morgan
Gillman 2003 ISBN 0-8146-5108-9 pages 25-30

[82] Paul L. Maier The Date of the Nativity and Chronology

of Jesus in Chronos, kairos, Christos by Jerry Vardaman, [100] Herod Antipas by Harold W. Hoehner 1983 ISBN 0-31042251-5 pages 125-127
Edwin M. Yamauchi 1989 ISBN 0-931464-50-1 pages
113-129
[101] Christianity and the Roman Empire: background texts by
Ralph Martin Novak 2001 ISBN 1-56338-347-0 pages
[83] The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to
302-303
the New Testament by Andreas J. Kstenberger, L. Scott
Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 page 114
[102] Hoehner, Harold W (1978). Chronological Aspects of the
[84] Georey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking;
Life of Christ. Zondervan. pp. 2937. ISBN 0-3102011; p.3
26211-9.
[85] Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View [103] Pontius Pilate: portraits of a Roman governor by Warren
the Man from Galilee by Mark Allan Powell (Nov 1, 1998)
Carter 2003 ISBN 0-8146-5113-5 pages 44-45
ISBN 0664257038 page 117
[104] The history of the Jews in the Greco-Roman world by Peter
[86] Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, I. Howard Marshall,
Schfer 2003 ISBN 0-415-30585-3 page 108
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (InterVarsity Press,
[105] Backgrounds of early Christianity by Everett Ferguson
1992), page 442
2003 ISBN 0-8028-2221-5 page 416
[87] The Historical Jesus in Recent Research edited by James D.
G. Dunn and Scot McKnight 2006 ISBN 1-57506-100-7 [106] The forging of races: race and scripture in the Protestant
page 303
Atlantic world by Colin Kidd 2006 ISBN 0-521-79324-6
page 18
[88] Who Is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G.
Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425 pages 28-29
[107] Jesus: the complete guide by Leslie Houlden 2006
082648011X pages 63-100
[89] In The Historical Jesus in Recent Research edited by James
D. G. Dunn and Scot McKnight 2006 ISBN 1-57506-100- [108] The likeness of the king: a prehistory of portraiture in late
7-page 303 Marcus Borg states that the suggestions that an
medieval France by Stephen Perkinson 2009 ISBN 0-226adult Jesus traveled to Egypt or India are without histor65879-1 page 30
ical foundation
[109] Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus:
[90] InWho Is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G.
a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated
Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425 pages 28-29 John Dofrom German (1996 edition). Chapter 1. The quest of the
minic Crossan states that none of the theories presented
historical Jesus. p. 115.
to ll the 15-18-year gap between the early life of Jesus
and the start of his ministry have been supported by mod- [110] Georgi, Dieter (1986). The Opponents of Paul in Second
Corinthians. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress.
ern scholarship.

10

5 NOTES

[111] Georgi, Dieter (1991). Theocracy in Pauls Praxis and [129] Clive Marsh Quests of the Historical Jesus in New HisTheology. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.
toricist Perspective in Biblical Interpretation Journal Volume 5, Number 4, 1997 , pp. 403-437(35)
[112] The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria by Gerd Theissen and Dagmar Winter (Aug 30, 2002) [130] Jesus is His Own Ideology: An Interview with Nick Perrin."My point in the book is to disabuse readers of the
ISBN 0664225373 pages 1-6
notion that Jesus scholars are scientists wearing white lab
[113] Criteria for Authenticity in Historical-Jesus Research by
coats. Like everyone else, they want certain things to be
Stanley E. Porter 2004 ISBN 0567043606 pages 100-120
true about Jesus and equally want certain others not to be
true of him. Im included in this (I really hope that I am
[114] The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology by Alan
right in believing that Jesus is both Messiah and Lord.)
Richardson 1983 ISBN 0664227481 pages 215-216
Will this shape my scholarship? Absolutely. How can it
not? We should be okay with that.
[115] Interpreting the New Testament by Daniel J. Harrington
(Jun 1990) ISBN 0814651240 pages 96-98
[131] McKnight, Scot (4/09/2010). The Jesus We'll Never
Know. Retrieved Jan 15, 2011. One has to wonder if
[116] The Historical Jesus and the Final Judgment Sayings in Q
the driving force behind much historical Jesus scholarby Brian Han Gregg (30 Jun 2006) ISBN 3161487508
ship is ... a historians genuine (and disinterested) interest
page 29
in what really happened. The theological conclusions of
those who pursue the historical Jesus simply correlate too
[117] Criteria for Authenticity in Historical-Jesus Research by
strongly with their own theological predilections to sugStanley E. Porter 2004 ISBN 0567043606 pages 77-78
gest otherwise. Check date values in: |date= (help)
[118] Jesus Research and Archaeology: A New Perspective by [132] Jesus Remembered Volume 1, by James D. G. Dunn 2003
James H. Charlesworth in Jesus and archaeology edited by
ISBN 0-8028-3931-2 pp. 125-126: the historical Jesus
James H. Charlesworth 2006 ISBN 0-8028-4880-X pages
is properly speaking a nineteenth- and twentieth-century
11-15
construction using the data supplied by the Synoptic tradition, not Jesus back then, (the Jesus of Nazareth who
[119] Soundings in the Religion of Jesus: Perspectives and
walked the hills of Galilee), and not a gure in history
Methods in Jewish and Christian Scholarship by Bruce
whom we can realistically use to critique the portrayal of
Chilton Anthony Le Donne and Jacob Neusner 2012
Jesus in the Synoptic tradition.
ISBN 0800698010 page 132
[133] Meir, Marginal Jew, 1:21-25
[120] Mason, Steve (2002), Josephus and the New Testament
[134] T. Merrigan, The Historical Jesus in the Pluralist The(Baker Academic)
ology of Religions, in The Myriad Christ: Plurality and
[121] Tabor, James (2012)"Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle
the Quest for Unity in Contemporary Christology (ed. T.
Transformed Christianity (Simon & Schuster)
Merrigan and J. Haers). Princeton-Prague Symposium
on Jesus Research, & Charlesworth, J. H. Jesus research:
[122] Eisenman, Robert (1998), James the Brother of Jesus:
New methodologies and perceptions : the second PrincetonThe Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity
Prague Symposium on Jesus Research, Princeton 2007, p.
and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Watkins)
77-78: Dunn points out as well that 'the Enlightenment
Ideal of historical objectivity also projected a false goal
[123] Butz, Jerey The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings
onto the quest for the historical Jesus,' which implied that
of Christianity (Inner Traditions)
there was a 'historical Jesus,' objectively veriable, 'who
will be dierent from the dogmatic Christ and the Jesus
[124] Tabor, James (2007), The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden
of the Gospels and who will enable us to criticize the dogHistory of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Chrismatic Christ and the Jesus of the Gospels.' (Jesus Rememtianity
bered, p. 125).
[125] Introducing the Journal of Higher Criticism.
[135] Herzog, W. R. (2005). Prophet and teacher: An introduction to the historical Jesus. Louisville, Ky: Westminster
[126] Hendel, Ronald (June 2010). Knowledge and Power in
John Knox Press. p. 6
Biblical Scholarship. Retrieved 2011-01-06. ... The
problem at hand is how to preserve the critical study of [136] Akenson, Donald (1998). Surpassing wonder: the inventhe Bible in a professional society that has lowered its stantion of the Bible and the Talmuds. University of Chicago
dards to the degree that apologetics passes as scholarship
Press. pp. 539555. ISBN 978-0-226-01073-1. Re...
trieved Jan 8, 2011. ... The point I shall argue below is
that, the agreed evidentiary practices of the historians of
[127] Meier, John. Finding the Historical Jesus: An Interview
Yeshua, despite their best eorts, have not been those of
With John P. Meier. St. Anthony Messenger. Retrieved
sound historical practice ...
Jan 6, 2011. ... I think a lot of the confusion comes from
the fact that people claim they are doing a quest for the [137] Queens University:Department of History. Retrieved
historical Jesus when de facto theyre doing theology, alJan 22, 2011. Don Akenson: Professor Irish Studies
beit a theology that is indeed historically informed.
[138] Dunn, James (2003). Christianity In the Making Volume 1:
[128] Biography Clive Marsh.
Jesus Remembered. Cambridge, MA: Eermans. p. 126.

11

[139] Jesus Remembered, by James Dunn; p.102

[140] Jesus the Christ by Walter Kasper (Nov 1976) ISBN page
31
[141] Theological Hermeneutics by Angus Paddison (Jun 6,
2005) ISBN 0521849837 Cambridge Univ Press page 43
[142] The Historical Jesus by John Dominic Crossan (Feb 26,
1993) ISBN 0060616296 page xviii
[143] The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to
the New Testament by Andreas J. Kstenberger, L. Scott
Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 pages 117125
[144] Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium by Bart
D. Ehrman 1999 ISBN 0-19-512473-1 pages 2223
[145] Meier 1994 v.2 ch. 17; Ehrman 1999 p.227-8

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Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 0-85111512-8.
Bauckham, Richard (2011). Jesus: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0-19-957527-4.
Brown, Raymond E. (1993). The Death of the Messiah: from Gethsemane to the Grave. New York:
Anchor Bible. ISBN 0-385-49449-1.

Fredriksen, Paula (2000). Jesus of Nazareth, King of

the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0679-76746-6.
Gnilka, Joachim.; Jesus of Nazareth: Message and
History, Hendrickson Publishers, 1997.
Gowler, David B.; What Are They Saying About the
Historical Jesus?, Paulist Press, 2007,
Grant, Michael. Jesus: A Historians Review of the
Gospels. Scribners, 1977. ISBN 0-684-14889-7.
Funk, Robert W. (1998). The Acts of Jesus: The
Search for the Authentic Deeds of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-062978-9.
Harris, by William V. Ancient Literacy. Harvard
University Press: 1989. ISBN 0-674-03380-9.
Meier, John P., A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Doubleday,
v. 1, The Roots of the Problem and the Person,
1991, ISBN 0-385-26425-9
v. 2, Mentor, Message, and Miracles, 1994,
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Brown, Raymond E. et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary Prentice Hall 1990 ISBN 0-13614934-0

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

and Todd: 2008. ISBN 978-0232527193

Bock, Darrell L., Studying the Historical Jesus: A

Guide to Sources and Methods.. Baker Academic:
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O'Collins, G. Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and

Systematic Study of Jesus. OUP: 2009. ISBN 9780199557875

Craert, Pieter F. and Botha, Pieter J. J. Why Jesus

Could Walk On The Sea But He Could Not Read
And Write. Neotestamenica. 39.1, 2005.

Sanders, E.P. Jesus and Judaism. Augsburg Fortress

Publishers: 1987.

Crossan, John Dominic. Jesus : A Revolutionary Biography. Harpercollins: 1994. ISBN 0-06-061661X.
Dickson, John. Jesus: A Short Life, Lion Hudson plc, 2008, ISBN 0-8254-7802-2, ISBN 978-08254-7802-4, Google Books
Ehrman, Bart D. (1999). Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet
of the New Millennium. New York: Oxford. ISBN
0-19-512473-1.
Fiensy, David A.; Jesus the Galilean: soundings in
a rst century life, Gorgias Press LLC, 2007, ISBN
1-59333-313-7, ISBN 978-1-59333-313-3, Google
books

Sanders, E.P. The Historical Figure of Jesus. Lane

The Penguin Press: 1993.
Vermes, G. Jesus the Jew: A Historians Reading
of the Gospels. SCM Classics:2001, ISBN 0-33402839-6
Theissen, Gerd and Merz, Annette. The Historical
Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 1998. ISBN 0-8006-3122-6.
Van Voorst, Robert E., Jesus Outside the New Testament, 2000, Eerdmans, google books
Witherington III, Ben. The Jesus Quest: The Third
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12

Wright, N.T. Christian Origins and the Question of

God, a projected six volume series of which three
have been published under:
v. 1, The New Testament and the People of God.
Augsburg Fortress Publishers: 1992.;
v. 2, Jesus and the Victory of God. Augsburg
Fortress Publishers: 1997.;
v. 3, The Resurrection of the Son of God. Augsburg Fortress Publishers: 2003.
Wright, N.T. The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering
who Jesus was and is. IVP 1996
Yaghjian, Lucretia. Ancient Reading, in Richard
Rohrbaugh, ed., The Social Sciences in New Testament Interpretation. Hendrickson Publishers: 2004.
ISBN 1-56563-410-1.

External links
Jesus Christ. Encyclopdia Britannica Online.
2009. The rst section, on Jesus life and ministry

EXTERNAL LINKS

13

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Historical Jesus Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical%20Jesus?oldid=654777423 Contributors: Wesley, The Anome, Slrubenstein, Panairjdde, Sara Parks Ricker, Ewen, Mkmcconn, Michael Hardy, Paul Barlow, Gabbe, Tgeorgescu, IZAK, Irmgard, Jiang, Vargenau, Disdero, Charles Matthews, Timwi, EALacey, Tpbradbury, AnonMoos, Mezaco, Jason Potter, Moncrief, Nach0king, Rursus, Kbahey,
Tom harrison, Fastssion, Angmering, Kultur, Peruvianllama, Robsteadman, Andycjp, Antandrus, Ptypes, MarkSweep, Loremaster, Piotrus, Kaldari, JimWae, Barrett Pashak, Icairns, Sam Hocevar, WpZurp, Zondor, Jayjg, Herzen, Rich Farmbrough, FT2, Pie4all88, Silence,
Dbachmann, Martpol, Cyclopia, Ben Standeven, Pedant, Uli, Lycurgus, Kross, Bobo192, Army1987, Cmdrjameson, R. S. Shaw, Ikana,
MPerel, Mareino, Orangemarlin, Vesal, Alansohn, Danesparza, InShaneee, Zeichman, Kevinskogg, Deror avi, Hijiri88, Michael Gbler,
Woohookitty, Mathmo, SP-KP, Je3000, -Ril-, Miss Madeline, Striver, GregorB, Dodo78, RomeW, G.W., Melissadolbeer, KHM03,
Wgsimon, Paxsimius, Chris Weimer, Seminumerical, Deltabeignet, Miq, Search4Lancer, Rjwilmsi, Koavf, Plainsong, SMC, Alveolate,
Jermdeeks, Yamamoto Ichiro, Scorpionman, Pruneau, SchuminWeb, Old Moonraker, Musical Linguist, Doc glasgow, Master Thief Garrett, RexNL, Gurch, Str1977, Stormwatch, The Dogandpony, Codex Sinaiticus, BMF81, Theshibboleth, Ryvr, Narvalo, Chobot, Sherool,
Haldrik, Kazuba, VolatileChemical, Jesus is the Christ, YurikBot, Wavelength, Jimp, Markhoney, AVM, Raquel Baranow, Nantoz, Sikon,
Gaius Cornelius, CambridgeBayWeather, Eleassar, NawlinWiki, Rick Norwood, Nirvana2013, Bloodofox, The Thadman, Twin Bird,
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Closedmouth, Josh3580, The Bearded One, ManekiNeko, CPRice, JeBurdges, Ephilei, Scientz, Boldra, Jbull, Aenariel, SmackBot,
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rising, J.christianson, Ahogan2, Trencacloscas, BentRedNewt, Escarbot, AntiVandalBot, W1z4rd, Lostcaesar, Kennethmaage, Kbthompson, Tjmayerinsf, Bakabaka, Achilles2005, MishMich, Merveilleux, JAnDbot, Skomorokh, Sonicsuns, Avaya1, Awien, Xeno, Cynwolfe,
Acroterion, VoABot II, AuburnPilot, SHCarter, Mclay1, Cat Whisperer, Twsx, SparrowsWing, GavSalkeld, Cgingold, Johnbibby, Mykas0,
Theseus14, T.Hume, Axlq, Muzhogg, R'n'B, ReligionProf, Servesup153, Gagi, Diarmaid, J.delanoy, Tikiwont, Ginsengbomb, OceGirl, Redshift9, Johnbod, McSly, Phyesalis, Lizzie Harrison, AntiSpamBot, NewEnglandYankee, Kraftlos, Jwh335, Markp88, WLRoss,
Redtigerxyz, Zionstrat, Jpsousa4, Stormarm, Piotrnikitin, Morenooso, Rucha58, Doctorkismet, Java7837, FinalNemesis, Thehamman55,
Someguy1221, Gekritzl, AllGloryToTheHypnotoad, Delbert Grady, Alaric the Goth, Ikrieg, Synthebot, Falcon8765, VanishedUserABC,
Sylent, Eschoir, Zosimus Comes, Sardaka, AlleborgoBot, Rjakew, MrChupon, Hrafn, DionysiusThrax, StAnselm, Tiddly Tom, Pacostein,
Dawn Bard, Calabraxthis, Til Eulenspiegel, S711, Khanele, Anglicanus, Tiptoety, EditorInTheRye, BjrnEF, Poindexter Propellerhead,
Theseos, PalaceGuard008, LordGorval, LonelyMarble, Vanished user ewsn2348tui2f8n2o2utjfeoi210r39jf, Alatari, Lawofone, Donbodo, RomanHistorian, Twinsday, Martarius, Beeblebrox, Soidi, Cyranorox, ClueBot, Polentario, Xmilanz, CiudadanoGlobal, LotusElite,
Camdenengland, Pinecone1, Gaia Octavia Agrippa, Drmies, Bobisbob, Mild Bill Hiccup, Neko-SchoolBoy, 1NosferatuZodd1, Leadwind,
Excirial, Dariobazec, Relata refero, AnthonyUK, Dedgeord, Feline Hymnic, Mr Pillows, Dr.FelixForton, Wdford, Morlonde, Dj manton,
SchreiberBike, Trigley, Inspector 34, Aprock, John Paul Parks, Cassie Puma, Lee.seongheon, Editor2020, DumZiBoT, Jack Bauer00,
AzraelUK, Fratprez, Swift as an Eagle, EastTN, St.Trond, Ost316, WikHead, Mifter, PL290, Garycompugeek, NJG87, Kbdankbot, D.M.
from Ukraine, Dneale52, Addbot, Proofreader77, DOI bot, Amplify4, Trs1470, Yelizandpaul, Damiens.rf, Arcasa73, Bgbg456, MrOllie,
AndersBot, Chzz, Favonian, FaithF, Tomvasseur, Lavivier, Tassedethe, OlEnglish, Ret.Prof, Legobot, HuPi, Yobot, Cinteotl, Theserialcomma, Legobot II, Hellenic9, Wikipedian Penguin, CPX, Defteri, Lronhubbard234, Kjaer, Francescogiusti1, Tempodivalse, ZenithNoesis, AnomieBOT, Shoneen, Bobisbob2, Law, Ulric1313, Mann jess, Duduyat, Materialscientist, Ckruschke, Citation bot, Eumolpo,
DaNorse, LilHelpa, TheAMmollusc, Gymnophoria, GenQuest, Smashboozer, Ordishj, J04n, Omnipaedista, AdamPeenum, Grantmidnight, PeaceLoveHarmony, Inawe, FrescoBot, Bigweeboy, Traceylane, Noloop, Cdw1952, History Biographer, OntoTheNextGuy, Bill
the Cat 7, Shakey201, Alphobrava, Civilizededucation, Citation bot 1, Hraytp, CollinsShelby, REL301 JohnBaptist, Birth123, BaileyCM,
Woord301, BillWrede, Witness1854, Rotating Tree, JCD88, Lskil09, Pinethicket, Blountga, Rokaszil, Nelsonljohnson, Lehooo, Juliobrz, Jschnur, FormerIP, ScottHW, ReaverFlash, Piponwa, Jeppiz, Ozhistory, Debadd, Narwhal2, Mika58, Kinno Angel, UrukHaiLoR,
ChestertonCatholic, Russwencher, Mahuna2, Ktlynch, Cirrus Editor, Tbhotch, Pi zza314159, RjwilmsiBot, Lung salad, NameIsRon, Hajatvrc, In ictu oculi, Deagle AP, EmausBot, Jerlank, John of Reading, WikitanvirBot, Desertroad, Dominus Vobisdu, Thucyd, GoingBatty, AlanSiegrist, Slightsmile, Tommy2010, Mmeijeri, Evanh2008, ZroBot, John Cline, Misty MH, Wpeditor2, Galerita, Gershake,
Tomgazer, DeningEternity, Smirno171, Immanual1andOnly, May Cause Dizziness, Ocaasi, Viking Rollo, Thebraxman, Ludovica1, Iancormac, ROO BOOKAROO, Schnoatbrax, J341933, Jane Dough34, ClamDip, ClueBot NG, Jack Greenmaven, LittleJerry, PurpleMundi,
Leboy001, JLabic, Rambo081, Silentninja92, Telpardec, Anupmehra, Helpful Pixie Bot, Faus, Greengrounds, Quarkgluonsoup, Dabrig,
Hudsoncsoutt, Theophilus77, JohnChrysostom, Marcocapelle, FutureTrillionaire, Ramos1990, Wazashi, Smeat75, Arminden, CitationCleanerBot, Harizotoh9, M.Sokolow, JZCL, Oct13, HaitianBoii, Aisteco, Jason from nyc, BattyBot, I-Am-Jesus-Christ-The Real One,
Spread knowledge, Cult Handsome Seriously Silly, Monozigote, ChrisGualtieri, MarkShells, Khazar2, RedSoxFan2434, Dexbot, Cwobeel,
ScouterMick, Inayity, Cerabot, Joshtaco, Kuhnalvin, Levinrh, Tico.Tuanis, Jodosma, Oz Man Can, LudicrousTripe, Bahooka, Ahzuhnigh, Buckrogers24, Roccodrift, Impsswoon, Monkbot, TMDrew, Radath, WanderingLost, Prasangika37, Asdebeer, Mattshoemaker35,
Jamesveng, Citzfan and Anonymous: 558

8.2

Images

File:Allah-green.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Allah-green.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Converted to SVG from Image:Islam.png, originally from en:Image:Ift32.gif, uploaded to the English Wikipedia by Mr100percent on
4 February 2003. Originally described as Copied from Public Domain artwork. Original artist: ?

14

8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

File:Bible.malmesbury.arp.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Bible.malmesbury.arp.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Anonymous (photo by Adrian Pingstone)
File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-D0116-0041-019,_Albert_Schweitzer.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/
58/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-D0116-0041-019%2C_Albert_Schweitzer.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 de Contributors: This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German
Federal Archive guarantees an authentic representation only using the originals (negative and/or positive), resp. the digitalization of the
originals as provided by the Digital Image Archive. Original artist: Unknown
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:CompositeJesus.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/CompositeJesus.JPG License: Public domain
Contributors: See individual images Original artist: ?
File:P_christianity.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/P_christianity.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Pilate_Inscription.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Pilate_Inscription.JPG License: CC BY-SA
2.0 Contributors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ooocha/2823419399 Original artist: Marion Doss
File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

8.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0