...Rosemarie Stanislaus Term Paper August 1, 2014 The Quest for the Historical Jesus INTRODUCTION Over the centuries scholars from around the world have written a lot about religion, its meaning, relevance and contribution to humanity. There have been many speculations upon the nature and historical background of Jesus Christ. Many scholars have tried to dig into the few clues as to His identity and come up with a human side to which we can all relate. The study of Christianity and how it relates to Jesus Christ is very important to the whole world. Concerning the issue of Christianity, for example, the majority of people are taught in most schools and churches that Jesus Christ was an actual historical figure and that the only controversy regarding him is that some people accept him as the Son of God and the Messiah, while others do not. While the historicity of Jesus is the most debated subject in the field of religion today, the most enduring and profound controversy in this subject is whether or not Jesus Christ really existed. This paper will discuss who Jesus is, the controversy and biblical sources based on the views of scholars surrounding the historicity of Jesus. Finally, this paper will give Biblical evidence that Jesus existed. WHO IS JESUS? It is generally accepted that Jesus was truly a man who walked the earth 2000 years ago. Almost every religion teaches that Jesus was a prophet, excellent teacher or a Godly man. The...
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...Historical quest as a search or pursuit made to acquire meaning and historical as a systematic account of events and time relating human race. Therefore Quest for historical Jesus is the attempt made by a number of people to discover who Jesus was and is. Before the period of enlightenment, the church had only one image of Jesus Christ. He was unanimously and harmoniously accepted as presented by the gospels, the church doctrines and traditions and the liturgy. However, the emergences of the enlightenment period in the 18th century twisted events, minds and the faith of the people. Enlightenment was a period of philosophical movement characterized by belief in the power of the human reason and by innovations in political, religious and educational doctrines. Hence, human reason was the most appealing phenomenon. Everything was subjected to critical analysis and assessment by the intellect and those that were found plausible were treasured and the non-plausible rejected or considered as myth. In the light of this, to ascertain the truth regarding the what the gospels, the doctrines of the church and traditions taught Jesus they began questioning their faith so as to know what is truth and what is false, what to belief and what not to belief. As a result, many things which were not very clear to the mind about Jesus came up and as such the need for scientific rediscovery of the historical Jesus. Examples of such issues among others were the true historical identity of Jesus...
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...COURSE TITLE: THE QUEST FOR HISTORICAL JESUS. DATE: MAY, 2016 It is worthy of note that the first four centuries of the life of the Church was nearly marred by the Christological heresies. Argument about the person and work of Jesus Christ. Arguments abound concerning the Historicity of the Christian religion, while many has maintained that Jesus had not intended a development of faith from his teachings, the quest to identify the historical Jesus and differentiate between the Jesus of history and the Jesus of faith is going on. One of those devastating heresies called Docetism appeared in the time of John the beloved, propounded by the Marcions and the Gnostics, a teaching that denied the human nature of Jesus Christ claiming that the body is matter and matter is evil, so that the body was just a “Phantom” a body merely given a human appearance in nature but not necessarily human, because they believe that God cannot associate with evil. So John wrote in his first epistle that “every Spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God” 1John 4:3. The Jesus of History is the Jesus of the Historical Quests which is by now is on the 3rd stage. The Christ of Faith is the Christ of the Christian belief. To have any sort of separation between the two is like having a separation between the WORD and the CHRIST contrary to the Christian faith that was in the beginning with God as mentioned by John in John 1:2, 14. One cannot separate Jesus from Christ or...
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...For centuries, people from diverse religions and cultures have searched for substantial data in order to better understand the true nature and identity of Jesus. Some contend that he was a prophet; others worship him as a god, while many others assert that he was merely a wise teacher with no link to the divine. In the second part of Graham Stanton’s book, The Gospels and Jesus, Jesus’ intentions, teachings, and downfall are examined and assessed with notable order and clarity, all in an attempt to resolve the fundamental question of Part II: who was Jesus of Nazareth? Stanton launches Part II with a chapter entitled “What do we know about Jesus of Nazareth?” Here, the debate as to whether or not Jesus existed is considered by exploring archaeological evidence from outside the gospels in an effort to establish what is known about Jesus. He cites various non-Christian, Jewish, and Christian sources after opening the chapter with a theory by G.A. Wells which argues that it was not until 100 CE that Jesus was worshipped as a “Savior” figure. Wells maintains that before 150 CE, there is no independent non-Christian support for the existence of Jesus and that the authors of the four New Testament gospels invented their traditions about the life of Jesus. As Stanton argues, this does not entirely make sense, since it is difficult to find signs of the convictions, emphases, and conflicts of the Christians of that period in the canonical gospels. Stanton continues to refer to...
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...metaphysical to historical Christology. This sparked the search for the historical Jesus in which two approaches, “Christology from Above” and “Christology from Below arose. Christology from above, associated closely with Rudolf Bultmann, Karl Barth, and Emil Brunner, was born from the idea that rather than studying the historical Jesus as a man, the best study would be of the resurrected Christ, His works and the relationship established by faith from His disciples. The ideas of this approach include: 1. The kerygma regarding Christ is a better basis for understanding than the historical account of His life. 2. Paul’s writings and the Book of John are preferred for study over the Synoptic Gospel’s historical accounts. 3. Faith in Christ is not contingent on rational proof. Brunnner does not concede a need to study the historical account of Christ’s life with respect to His different facets, one as God becoming incarnate in the flesh and the other revealed by Christ after the flesh. Brunner asserts the study of Christ in the flesh gives us greater insight to His Person in a historical sense than the alternative of Christ after the flesh which necessitates faith to fully comprehend. Therefore, the “Christology from above” approach takes church’s proclamation of Christ with the testimonies of “Christ after the flesh” with the study of Scriptural accounts of Christ for a better understanding of Him. Another approach to discover the historical Jesus came in reaction...
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...Introduction to Gospels Life and teachings of Jesus Four Gospels – 3 Synoptic gospels plus John Jewish Sources – Josephus, 2 references; one authentic Talmud: Jesus a rabbi who practiced sorcery and led Israel astray Roman sources – Pliny the Younger letter to Emperor Trajan Tacitus – wrote that Nero blamed the fire in Rome on Christians Suetonius – expulsion of Jews from Rome by Claudius, AD 49 after disturbances initiated by “Chrestus.” NT Apocrypha – stories and sayings (reported) of Jesus - other gospels Difficulties in achieving biography of Jesus – He left no autobiographical material, none of the NT sources were written during his lifetime but later; material which exists is not in biographical form; gospels differ in details and content; sources written first such as writings of Paul contain almost nothing about the life of Jesus. Gospels are each interpretation of the life of Jesus. Nevertheless, gospels present Jesus as Christ or Messiah, God’s anointed. Jesus Seminar – quest for historical Jesus Core elements in life of Jesus – kerygma 1. Baptized by John the Baptizer 2. Was a Galilean who preached and healed 3. He called disciples and spoke of 12 4. Confined his activity to Israel 5. Engaged in controversy about the Temple 6. Was crucified outside Jerusalem by Rome authorities 7. Following his death, the followers of Jesus continued as an identifiable movement 8. Some Jews persecuted some parts of the new movement Gospels were written from...
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...I read the King James version and the Living Bible. The language difference was immediate. In the King James version it was like Yoda was talking, or like reading Shakespeare. In the Living Bible it was much easier for me to understand it was written like how we speak now. When the Samaritan gave the inn keeper money the King James version used the word pence where as the Living Bible used the terminology of two 20 dollar bills. I feel that the Living Bible makes more sense for me to understand. What is the historical context of the story. In other words, why is it important that the hero of the story is a Samaritan (who is a Samaritan?) The historical context of the story is to teach people how to be a Christian or how to be more Christ like in their ways, and to follow moses' law. I think it was so important that the hero of the story was a Samaritan because, of the history and the dislike or as the bible describes it despising each other between Jews and Samaritans. It was a Jew that got beat up and left on the side of the road for death, when a Jewish priest walked by and ignored the man. Then a Levite (a Jewish temple assistant) walked by and ignored him to. It was then that the Samaritan walked by picked up the man brought him to an inn and nursed him throughout the night and paid the inn keeper to look after him and said if it wasn't enough money that he would pay the inn keeper back. Samaritans today are a religious group they are located in Palestine. They believe...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Book Critique Fee, Gordon D. and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for all it’s Worth, 4th ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014. 304 pp. USD $18.99 Submitted to Dr. Roy Lucas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of NSBT 610-D03 Hermeneutics by David P. Velez March 12, 2015 Contents Introduction....……………………………………………………………………………………..1 Brief Summary…..………………………………………………………………………………...1 Critical Evaluation...………………………………………………………………………………2 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………...5 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………6 Introduction In the rise of the early Orthodox Church, the early church fathers were among the few privileged ones exposed to the Scriptures, thus, the Scriptures, not available for the common person to read, created a problem in understanding God’s written Word. But times have changed. Now that the believer has access to the Bible, the problem is not the lack of understanding, but the inability to obey the Word of God. According to Fee and Stuart: “In fact we are convinced that the single most serious problem people have with the Bible is not a lack of understanding but with the fact that they understand many things too well!... the problem is not understanding it, but obeying it.” Today there a more Bible translations than we can keep up with. While revising the third...
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...Jesus and Muhammad Student name HUM/130 Nicole Reale September 18, 2011 Jesus and Muhammad Jesus and the prophet Muhammad are two of the predominate figures that influence today’s modern religion. Both figures critics, they also have a large following of believers’. Both figure are the central focus of their respective religions. Both of these individual’s teaching have an impact on their religion’s and the secular world as well. Both Christianity and Islam are monotheistic and have several distinct similarities. Both individuals are well-documented historical figures as well. Jesus was born 6 B.C. (before Christ) in Bethlehem in a Roman province of Palestine to the Virgin Mary. An angel named Gabriel declared Jesus as the “Savior of Men”. Jesus led a sinless life that was admired by everyone and envy from the Jewish leaders. In a town called Galilean of Nazareth, Jesus worked as a carpenter. Jesus demonstrated his authority through his teachings, and his power through the production of many miracles. He did things such as walking on water, turning water into wine, and restoring life to the dead. About the age of thirty, after seeking out John the Baptist, Jesus went out to search and teach all the people about God and heaven. Jesus demonstrated through his actions God’s commands and led a righteous life. Jesus eventually returned to Jerusalem after all of his travels and tribulations abroad. The message of Christ is continually spread today be many people...
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...everyone was born evil. I believed this because that is what the Bible teaches. As a Christian, my beliefs are deeply rooted in what the Bible teaches. It teaches us that the first man was Adam and that all of mankind derived from Adam. The Bible then tells us that we all are born into sin because of Adam’s transgression, and sin is evil. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 New King James Version). In order to become good, according to the Bible, we must become believe in Jesus, and become Christians. This is what I have been taught most of my life and it is what I believe. I also don’t believe that there is any physical evidence to would support the theory that someone is good or evil. I believe these behaviors come from the spirit of a person and are not the result of birth or science. My journey in academics has not made me question my beliefs, but it has caused me to open my mind and take into consideration the historical and scientific...
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...the ritual dances and ritual clothing Native American partake in during ceremonies. As scholars study these oral traditions many details could be over looked due to a language barrier. Many written religious documents are written in spiritual language called Hagiography (Molloy, 2010). This is a spiritual language with the purpose of creating devotion to a high entity. This language can be challenging to translate and put in a document with the purpose of educating. Religious traditions are used to created devotion, bring communities together, and give hope during trying times. Many traditions include myths, stories, doctrines, and texts (Molloy, 2010). Myths tell the story of a religion. In Christianity the death and resurrection of Jesus is a myth that expresses the beliefs of Christianity. It is important to understand that the use of the word myth does not make the story untrue as in other areas but it simply states that the stories are specialized for a specific religion (Molloy, 2010). Religious traditions bring some order in a world of chaos. Many...
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...and progressively reveals himself in human history. God’s intentional action is to send his Son according to his eternal counsel. The divine discourse sets forth the redemptive action of God in Jesus Christ–triune economies of redemption and covenantal relations between God and His people.100 Jesus Christ is the culmination of God’s communicative action. The Holy Spirit illuminates 99Kevin J. Vanhoozer, The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005), 65. Cf. Jens Zimmermann, Recovering Theological Hermeneutics: An Incarnational-Trinitarian Theory of Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,...
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...Brooks Brown Mrs. Allen English IV 11 March 2015 The Holy Grail The Holy Grail is a very symbolic holy relic that is recognized as the cup Jesus Christ drank out of at the Last Supper. The Grail has many different legends, myths, and controversies to discover and is one of the most debated historical artifacts in history. The Holy Grail is thought to be a fine chalice or cup used as a drinking device. It has also been thought to be a stone, dish, cup, platter, cauldron, or horn of plenty (Day 122). The Holy Grail stands for a sacred relic that Jesus Christ drank out of; because of this many consider it the greatest item in all of Christianity. People seeking this great treasure; past and present have died looking for it. The actual object that is believed to be the Holy Grail is approximately seven inches in height. In addition to that it has 28 pearls around the cup, and is decorated with two balaxes and two emeralds. The texture of the cup is made out of stone and gold (“Holy Grail”). There are several myths in all cultures that involve when a person comes in contact with the precious item. Some myths state that if someone drinks from the cup they will inherit the ability to raise someone from the dead. Magical qualities of the cup are never proven but do have a lot of interesting things about them. One such example includes if someone is stranded somewhere and have no way of providing food for themselves, the Grail will serve as a nourishing chalice that never runs out...
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...the ritual dances and ritual clothing Native American partake in during ceremonies. As scholars study these oral traditions many details could be over looked due to a language barrier. Many written religious documents are written in spiritual language called Hagiography (Molloy, 2010). This is a spiritual language with the purpose of creating devotion to a high entity. This language can be challenging to translate and put in a document with the purpose of educating. Religious traditions are used to created devotion, bring communities together, and give hope during trying times. Many traditions include myths, stories, doctrines, and texts (Molloy, 2010). Myths tell the story of a religion. In Christianity the death and resurrection of Jesus is a myth that expresses the beliefs of Christianity. It is important to understand that the use of the word myth does not make the story untrue as in other areas but it simply states that the stories are specialized for a specific religion (Molloy, 2010). Religious traditions bring some order in a world of chaos. Many...
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...evaluate one argument for the existence of God and one argument against the existence of God. Explain each argument and show why it is potentially helpful or dangerous for the theist. Then, explain which of these arguments you find more convincing, and why. 2.Comparing Religions: Compare the worldview of one of the monotheistic religions we have discussed with one other religion we have studied, mono or polytheistic. Explain three specific points of similarity and three clear differences in each world view. Given these similarities and differences, would you say the two religions compared are fundamentally at odds or in agreement concerning their understandings of human transformation in response to perceived ultimacy? 3.Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad: Compare and contrast TWO of the three figures above. Using specific examples, explain a major similarity and a major difference in the account of their lives, their teachings, and in the role given to each by their respective religions. Who do you find to be the more compelling spiritual leader and why? 4.Compare two different sects of the same western religion, either Judaism, Christianity or Islam. Explain three major ways the sects are similar in their understanding or practice of the religion, and three major differences. Based on the similarities and differences presented do you think the sects really vastly differ in their understanding of their religious life? If not, why not? If so, which sect do you find more...
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