The historical Jesus : a current perspective

Abstract

The existence of Jesus Christ has been questioned by some scholars in the last two centuries. Recently, the oriental scholar, John Allegro, has claimed Jesus was only a myth devised by a fertility cult. However, one must disregard a considerable amount of source material proving the existence of Jesus to make such a blatant statement.

Christology has become a 'Whole new science since 1960. After examining the scholarly works on the historical Jesus in the past thirteen years, one finds a new breed of historian who is freeing himself from the biased tenets of nineteenth century criticism. He is reexamining source material that was once rejected by critics and reevaluating his perspective on the historical Jesus.

Though Roman historians almost completely ignored the Christian movement in their writings, there are a few references to Jesus and Christians. These serve as independent pagan testimonies, and though they are dated in the early second century, when coupled with other materials, they give the historian an extremely strong case for the historical Jesus. The Josephus "Testimonium" (93 or 94 A.D.), though interpolated, has been recently discovered in a manuscript which some scholars feel is without interpolation. Josephus at least mentioned Jesus which is another proof that Jesus existed.

The Talmud is a backhanded compliment to Jesus because its vituperated outbursts against Jesus' magic and blasphemy actually give proof that Jesus existed and that he was a charismatic personality. Apocalyptic and apocryphal materials by their presence support other material proving Jesus' existence.

Furthermore, current scholarship is returning to the New Testament documents, especially the Gospels, for source material on Jesus. Archaeology has been partially responsible for the changing climate of opinion among scholars concerning the reliability of Scripture. Form Criticism is being rejected by the historian and, surprisingly, the Gospel of John is being considered as a source on the historical Jesus along with the Synoptics. The Dead Sea Scrolls have actually shown the four Gospels to be contemporary with the milieu of the first century. Background studies are providing valuable material on the environment of the first century.

In light of the overwhelming evidence proving the existence of Jesus, one is foolish to blatantly claim that he never existed. However, current scholarship is not only affirming that he existed in history, but that one can know details of his life. Research into the historical Jesus will no more destroy his life than astronomemers' studies will destroy the stars.