Posted on 01/29/2007 10:02:46 AM PST by presidio9
An Amherst-based group will lead a new effort to examine whether Jesus of Nazareth existed in history. The Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion is billing its scholarly investigation the "Jesus Project," and it plans to take the work of the controversial "Jesus Seminar" a step further.
The "Jesus Seminar," which formed in 1985, focused on what sayings in the New Testament were truly spoken by Jesus and what deeds he actually performed, but in the end it didn't question his existence.
Amid much fractious debate - as well as dismissive criticism from many Christians - the group of seminar scholars concluded that fewer than one-fifth of the statements attributed to Jesus in the four Gospels were actually made by him and also agreed that he did not rise from the dead.
The "Jesus Seminar" still exists, but interest in its work has faded, and its founder, Robert Funk, died in 2005.
Members of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, which is based at the secularist Center for Inquiry, near the University at Buffalo North Campus, want to reignite the debate with a different emphasis.
Many of the scholars involved with the "Jesus Seminar" examined the question primarily from a theological perspective, said R. Joseph Hoffman, who heads the committee and will organize regular meetings of historians, classicists and other scholars for the "Jesus Project."
Others involved at this point include Robert M. Price, a former "Jesus Seminar" participant, and Gerd Ludemann, a history professor in Germany, Hoffman said.
The new investigation will differ from the "Jesus Seminar" because it won't be hamstrung by theology, he said.
The committee regards the belief that Jesus was a historical person as a "testable hypothesis," just like any other historical question.
Hoffman announced the "Jesus Project" on Sunday at the conclusion of a conference on "Scripture and Skepticism" at the University of California at Davis.
The conference attracted scholars from around the globe to explore the use of historical and critical interpretation in the study of religious texts.
The "Jesus Project" will keep that method of research at the forefront in examining the existence of Jesus, Hoffman said.
"We can't let this discussion be dominated by people who do theologically driven history," he said.
The "Jesus Project" is not necessarily an attempt to disprove that Jesus existed, Hoffman said. "I happen to believe there probably was a Jesus of Nazareth, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be asking the question," he said. "I'm kind of agnostic about it. I want to look at the historical evidence."
The committee will begin accepting applications in March from scholars interested in participating. Members of the project will meet twice a year - once in Amherst and once in Los Angeles.
Hoffman predicted the work of the group would take no more than five years and result in the publication of majority findings and minority findings.
God is alive. Because He is alive, you are also. Therefore, you are able to post.
Were God not alive, nothing would exist.
Which would severely curtail the number of UpAllNights available to post and the number of hosting facilities for them to post on.
Another reason to avoid Buffalo, as if we needed one.
Religion aside, it's always interesting to watch the narcissism of "scholars" who claim to be interested in science but always betray the fact that they are interested first and foremost in what goes on in their own lives.
LOL haven't seen that movie or read the book yet....
Sort of reminds me of how upset the secular crowd got about The Passion Of The Christ, because it focused mostly on His death, and not enough on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, philosopher.
I'm trying to determine if Robert Price exists - for all I know they guy claiming to be Robert Price may be using a false identity and there never was a Robert Price to begin with - just a bunch of forged documents and lying witnesses colluding through time and space to perpetuate this whole Robert Price hoax.
The criticisms of Josephus are pathetic. If somone was going to go in later and add referrences to Jesus, its pretty logical that they would make them more than a couple of throw-away lines. Granted, I doubt that a Jew would have said that He was the Christ (that probably WAS later editing), but the fact that Josephus did mention a person named Jesus seems pretty credible.
Ahhh, the sweet irony of my post.
No, but his boss is. ;)
Next they'll tell us history didn't begin until the Vietnam War...the Libs keep referring to it as if it it were some major point in history.
--Were God not alive, nothing would exist. --
ERGO, because we are alive, God exists.
This guy Hoffman does have an agenda. He is chair of the
The Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion
"(CSER) is a research division of the Center for Inquiry. Since its 1983 founding in Washington, DC, the Committee has worked to encourage humanistic, critical and non-parochial approaches to the study of religious traditions and institutions and to develop programs that promote the public understanding of religion in an international context.
CSER is an international research and educational consultation comprising members (appointed fellows) of the Committee who are nominated by an executive board. The current Chair of CSER is Dr. R. Joseph Hoffmann, who succeeded Dr. Gerald Larue in January 2004
CSER activities include the following:
„X The sponsorship of conferences and seminars at university sites in the United States and abroad.
„X Short courses and seminars held in conjunction with the Center for Inquiry or its affiliated organizations.
„X In cooperation with Prometheus Books the publication of classic works of religious studies scholarship and newer titles in the critical study of religion.
„X Beginning fall 2006, the publication of a Quarterly Review in print and web formats,CSER.
Religion, Ethics, and Society
The Council for Secular Humanism (CSH) promotes naturalism and secular values to the public, and stimulates critical inquiry into the foundations and social effects of the world religions. The Council stands up for the dignity of those who dissent from today's reigning orthodoxies, and assists secular humanist community groups across North America. Different divisions focus on issues specific to the African-American and African experience,...
The Council's peer-reviewed journal of academic philosophy, Philo, specializes in the articulation and philosophical defense of naturalism in metaphysics, epistemology, and moral theory."
For more info:
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/cser/
Faulty logic. Something needed to create us. Nothing needed to create God. Therefore, we exist because of God, and not vice-versa.
The only Jewish writings that exist from 1st century Judea (outside the New Testament, and maybe some apocalyptic writings that could be from the 1st century, but shed no light on it) are from Josephus, who does mention Jesus, John the Baptist, and James the brother of Jesus in three different passages, though the first has obviously had some filing at the hand of a later Christian scribe.
Doubting the existence of Jesus is a fringe indulgence though, since it is a far more complicated and improbable explanation for the creation of Christianity than accepting the basic story that there was an itinerant preacher who lived for a few years in Galilee and taught many memorable things. Somebody had to be responsible for the basic core of Christian teachings embodied in the Gospels, and if it wasn't Jesus then it doesn't really answer any questions to say it was somebody else.
In any case, it's unlikely someone creating it out of whole cloth would have included potentially damaging stuff like Jesus crying out on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" That requires commentary (i.e., explaining it away) if you're a missionary trying to use the Gospel to convince a pagan that this fellow is the Son of God, as hammered down elsewhere in the book. Scholars call it the "Criterion of Embarassment" --- if something is included in the Gospel that's potentially embarassing and would require a long explanation to make it sound right, it's probably there because it was so widely known to be true that you could not omit it without losing your credibility. The cri de coeur is probably historical, then, because no fervent Christian ever would have come up with it otherwise.
The amount of accredited scholars, liberal or conservative, highly skeptical or otherwise, who believe Jesus did not exist is probably less than one-half of 1%.
--Faulty logic. Something needed to create us. Nothing needed to create God. Therefore, we exist because of God, and not vice-versa.--
Then you disagree that we are proof of God's existence.
In part.
I am scratching my head in bewilderment over how you could have reached that conclusion from my statement "Something needed to create us."
It's available for $19.99 by calling 1-800-BOX-WINE /s
"Because we are alive, God exists".
Is not the existence of humans, proof that God exists?
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