>>Hi Christine, I have not had much time to study the Jesus Seminar sites. I have been
looking for a chronology of when the books of the Bible were written, and when they
were assembled into the collection that is in use today. My Bible, for instance mentions
that Mathew was written in 79 AD, at least 40 years after the Crucifiction, hardly the
contemporary eyewitness accounts that Emile tries to portray.
I don't believe there is evidence of any of it written down as it occurred.>>
Del, are you familiar with the theory of the Q document? Many historians and theologians believe that someone compiled and collected a list of the things Jesus actually said, and that while the document has not surfaced, the writers of the Gospels did have access to it. Whether there is a Q document or not is somewhat controversial, however. I did enjoy reading this discussion of what we really know about Jesus, from the PBS Frontline special.
There is a brief discussion of the gospels in it, as well. They were definitely written over a fairly long period of time after Jesus' death, as the stories about him gained momentum. Apparently there was something about Jesus the man which people did not forget--he was obviously very charismatic. So a lot of myths and legends were built up around him. However, I think it is important to remember what we do know--that he was a Jewish rabbi from the countryside, that there is nothing in the historical record about him for over a hundred years after his death, and that many conservative Christians today have perverted his teachings to include things like rejecting homosexuals, whereas Jesus never uttered one word about homosexuality.
I think it is important to go back and find out what we can about the historical Jesus and his values and his teachings, so that we can separate those things out from other, less positive things that have sprung up around the mythology.
pbs.org
Here is the Frontline discussion of the emergence of the Gospels, which is quite informative:
pbs.org |
