I said serious scholars, not simply atheist scribblers. Volney, Dupuis, Bauer were neither historians nor students of the language of the Bible. Neither was Wells. These guys scholarship consists of not wanting to believe in Jesus and simply making a claim he didn't exist. Simply not believing he was who he claimed isn't enough for them. They feel a need to deny he even existed at all, something that seems a mark of desparation to me.. Price and Doherty are disciples of Wells. Unfortunately, Wells has decided he was wrong and Jesus did exist after all. Not sure what his disciples think about that.
Scholars cited in support of his thesis acknowledge problems in the New Testament but not the necessity or soundness of his conclusions. Wells's previous books have not significantly affected New Testament studies, and it is doubtful that this one will."[9]
Wells' latest book, 'The Jesus Myth' (1999), departs from his earlier insistence that Jesus did not exist, acknowledging the Q document as early historical evidence.[10]
9.^ Craig W. Beard, Harding Univ. Lib., Searcy, Ark. writing in Library Journal see amazon citation
10.^ 'A final argument against the nonexistence hypothesis comes from Wells himself. In his most recent book, The Jesus Myth (1999), Wells has moved away from this hypothesis. He now accepts that there is some historical basis for the existence of Jesus, derived from the lost early "gospel" "Q" (the hypothetical source used by Matthew and Luke). Wells believes that it is early and reliable enough to show that Jesus probably did exist, although this Jesus was not the Christ that the later canonical Gospels portray. It remains to be seen what impact Wells's about-face will have on debate over the nonexistence hypothesis in popular circles.'
en.wikipedia.org
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Now THIS is an example of a real serious scholar:
Frederick Fyvie Bruce (12 October 1910 – 11 September 1990) was a Bible scholar, and one of the founders of the modern evangelical understanding of the Bible. His work New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? is considered a classic in the discipline of Christian apologetics.
He was born in Elgin, Moray, in Scotland, and was educated at the University of Aberdeen, Cambridge University and the University of Vienna. After teaching Greek for several years first at the University of Edinburgh and then at the University of Leeds he became head of the Department of Biblical History and Literature at the University of Sheffield in 1947. In 1959 he moved to the University of Manchester where he became professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis. In his career he wrote some thirty-three books and served as editor of The Evangelical Quarterly and the Palestine Exploration Quarterly. He retired from teaching in 1978.
Bruce was a distinguished scholar on the life and ministry of Paul the Apostle, and wrote several studies the best known of which is Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free. He also wrote commentaries on several biblical books including Romans, Acts of the Apostles, 1 & 2 Corinthians, The Gospel and Epistles of John, and the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Bruce was in fellowship at various places during his life, including both the Exclusive and Open Plymouth Brethren.[1] However he did not affirm the dispensationalism[2] and pretribulationism[3] usually associated with the brethren.
Most of his works were scholarly, but he also penned several mainstream works on the Bible that were quite popular. He viewed the New Testament as historically reliable and that the truth claims of Christianity hinged on its being so. To Bruce this did not mean that the Bible was always precise, and this lack of precision could lead to considerable confusion. However, he believed that the passages that were still open to debate were ones that had no substantial bearing on Christian theology and thinking.
He was honoured with two scholarly works by his colleagues and former students, one to mark his sixtieth and the other to mark his seventieth birthday. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, and served as President of the Society for Old Testament Study, and also as President of the Society for New Testament Study. He is one of a handful of scholars thus recognised by his peers in both fields.
This is an incomplete list of his publications :
[edit] Books
• New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981. (First published in 1943 as Are the New Testament Documents Reliable? New Testament Documents online version) ISBN 0-8028-2219-3
• The Hittites and the Old Testament. Tyndale Old Testament Lecture, 1947. London: The Tyndale Press, 1947. Pbk. pp.28.
• The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text With Introduction and Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1951.
• The Book of the Acts (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1954. ISBN 0-8028-2182-0
• The Epistles to the Colossians and the Ephesians. (New International Commentary on the New Testament) Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1957. [title may be incorrect; Bruce wrote the Colossians commentary, and E.K. Simpson wrote the Ephesians commentary; see the 1984 replacement below entirely by Bruce]
• The Teacher of Righteousness in the Qumran Texts. London: The Tyndale Press, 1957. Pbk. pp.36.
• Biblical Exegesis in the Qumran Texts. London: The Tyndale Press, 1960. Pbk. pp.88.
• Romans (Tyndale New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1963. ISBN 0-8028-1405-0
• Epistle to the Hebrews (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1964.
• New Testament Development of Old Testament Themes. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1968. ISBN 0-8028-1729-7
• The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text With Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1970.
• An Expanded Paraphrase Of The Epistles Of Paul. R.N. Haynes Publishers; 1st USA edition (1981) 323 pages. ISBN-10: 0880210168 ISBN-13: 978-0880210164
• Galatian Problems. John Rylands Library, 1971.
• The 'Secret' Gospel of Mark. The Ethel M. Wood lecture delivered before the University of London on 11 February 1974. London: The Athlone Press, 1974. Pbk. ISBN 0485143186. pp.20.
• Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1974. ISBN 0-8028-1575-8
• Paul: Apostle of The Free Spirit. Exeter UK: Paternoster, 1977. ISBN 1-84227-027-3
• History of the Bible in English. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1978. ISBN 0-19-520088-8
• The Epistles of John. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1979. ISBN 0-8028-1783-1
• Men and Movements in the Primitive Church. Exeter: Paternoster, 1979. ISBN 0-85364-705-4
• I & II Corinthians (New Century Bible Commentary). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1980. ISBN 0-8028-1839-0
• The Spreading Flame. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1980. ISBN 0-8028-1805-6
• Epistle to the Galatians (New International Greek Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1982. ISBN 0-8028-2387-4
• 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Word Biblical Commentary). Thomas Nelson, 1982. ISBN 0-8499-0244-4
• Hard Sayings of Jesus InterVarsity, 1983. ISBN 0-87784-927-7
• Jesus and Paul: Places They Knew. Thomas Nelson, 1983. ISBN 0-8407-5281-4
• The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1984. ISBN 0-8028-2510-9 [This is Bruce's new commentary on Ephesians and Philemon along with a revision of his 1957 commentary from the Simpson and Bruce volume above]
• The Gospel of John. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1984. ISBN 0-8028-0883-2
• Jesus: Lord & Savior InterVarsity, 1986.
• The Message of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1986. ISBN 0-8028-1525-1
• Romans (Tyndale New Testament Commentary), revised. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1986. ISBN 0-8028-0062-9
• Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Attic Press, 1986. ISBN 0-85364-017-3 ( download online copy here)
• The Canon of Scripture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988. ISBN 0-8308-1258-X
• The Book of the Acts, revised (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1988. ISBN 0-8028-2505-2
• Philippians, (New International Biblical Commentary), 1989. Hendricksen. ISBN 0-943575-15-X
• Epistle to the Hebrews, revised. (New International Commentary on the New Testament) Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990. ISBN 0-8028-2514-1
• The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text With Introduction and Commentary, 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990. ISBN 0-8028-0966-9
• Kaiser, Walter C., Peter H. Davids, F. F. Bruce, and Manfred Brauch. Hard Sayings of the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996. ISBN 0-87784-927-7
[edit] Articles
• "The Chester Beatty Papyri," The Harvester 11 (1934): 163, 164.
• "What Do We Mean By Biblical Inspiration?" Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute 78 (1946): 121-139.
• "The Speeches In Acts: Thirty Years After," Robert Banks, ed., Reconciliation and Hope. New Testament Essays on Atonement and Eschatology Presented to L.L. Morris on his 60th Birthday. Carlisle: The Paternoster Press, 1974. pp.53-68.
• "The Background to the Son of Man Sayings," Christ The Lord. Studies in Christology presented to Donald Guthrie. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1982. Hbk. ISBN 0851117449. pp.50-70.
• "The Curse of the Law," M.D. Hooker & S.G. Wilson, eds., Paul and Paulinism. Essays in Honour of C.K. Barrett. London: SPCK. Hbk. ISBN 028103835X. pp.27-36.
• "Colossian Problems: Part 1: Jews and Christians in the Lycus Valley," Bibliotheca Sacra 141: 561 (1984): 3-13.
• "Colossian Problems: Part 2: The 'Christ Hymn' of Colossians 1:15-20," Bibliotheca Sacra 141: 562 (1984): 99-112.
• "Colossian Problems: Part 3: The Colossian Heresy," Bibliotheca Sacra 141: 563 (1984): 195-206.
• "Colossian Problems: Part 4: Christ as Conqueror and Reconciler," Bibliotheca Sacra 141: 564 (1984): 291-301.
• "Luke's Presentation of the Spirit in Acts," Criswell Theological Review 5.1 (1990) 15-29.]
en.wikipedia.org
Edward Price of the Johnnie Colman Theological Seminary (associated with the "New Thought" movement) of Carol City, FL, editor of the Journal of Higher Criticism (supported by the Atheist Alliance) is an example of a pseudo-scholar.
Earl Doherty, author of The Jesus Puzzle, published by Canadian Humanist Publications, is another.
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You ought to have read the prior portions of the site you posted a passage from:
With few exceptions (such as Robert M. Price), virtually all scholars in the fields of biblical studies and history agree that Jesus was a Jewish teacher from Galilee who was regarded as a healer, was baptized by John the Baptist, was accused of sedition against the Roman Empire, and on the orders of Roman Governor Pontius Pilate was sentenced to death by crucifixion.[1]
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1Corinthians 15:3-4 reads: "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." This contains a Christian creed of pre-Pauline origin.[21] The antiquity of the creed has been located by many Biblical scholars to less than a decade after Jesus' death, originating from the Jerusalem apostolic community.[22] Concerning this creed, Campenhausen wrote, "This account meets all the demands of historical reliability that could possibly be made of such a text,"[23] whilst A. M. Hunter said, "The passage therefore preserves uniquely early and verifiable testimony. It meets every reasonable demand of historical reliability."[24]
Remember that 1 Corinthians is accepted as being written by Paul in the 50;s. Its a very early source itself. And as you can see it contains the essense of the Christian message. Absurd to think it was a piece of fiction written about someone who never even existed. People were alive then who were eyewitnesses and while there are early indications that some didn't believe Jesus was who he claimed, there is no early source who asserted there was no such person.
Other relevant creeds which predate the texts wherein they are found[citation needed] that have been identified are 1John 4:2: "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God",[25] 2Timothy 2:8: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, this is my Gospel",[26] Romans 1:3-4: "regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.",[27] and 1Timothy 3:16: "He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory," an early creedal hymn.[28]
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Early Christian sources outside the New Testament also mention Jesus and details of his life. Important texts from the Apostolic Fathers are, to name just the most significant and ancient, Clement of Rome (c. 100),[33] Ignatius of Antioch (c. 107-110),[34] and Justin Martyr.[35]
Perhaps the most significant Patristic sources are the early references of Papias and Quadratus (d. 124), mostly reported by Eusebius in the fourth century, which both mention eyewitnesses of Jesus’ ministry and healings who were still alive in their own time (the late first century). Papias, in giving his sources for the information contained in his (largely lost) commentaries, stated (according to Eusebius):
…if by chance anyone who had been in attendance on the elders should come my way, I inquired about the words of the elders — that is, what according to the elders Andrew or Peter said, or Philip, or Thomas or James, or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and whatever Aristion and the elder John, the Lord’s disciples, were saying.[36]
Thus, while Papias was collecting his information (c. 90), Aristion and the elder John (who were Jesus’ disciples) were still alive and teaching in Asia minor, and Papias gathered information from people who had known them.[37] Another Father, Quadratus, who wrote an apology to the emperor Hadrian, was reported by Eusebius to have stated:
The words of our Savior were always present, for they were true: those who were healed, those who rose from the dead, those who were not only seen in the act of being healed or raised, but were also always present, not merely when the Savior was living on earth, but also for a considerable time after his departure, so that some of them survived even to our own times.[38]
By “our Savior” Quadratus means Jesus, and by “our times” it has been argued that he may refer to his early life, rather than when he wrote (117-124), which would be a reference contemporary with Papias.[39]
There are passages relevant to Christianity in the works of four major non-Christian writers of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries – Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny the Younger. However, these are generally references to early Christians rather than an historical Jesus. Of the four, Josephus' writings, which document John the Baptist, James the Just, and possibly also Jesus, are of the most interest to scholars dealing with the historicity of Jesus (see below).
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en.wikipedia.org
BTW, the "James the Just" mentioned above is the brother (or half brother) of Jesus, who became the pre-eminent leader of the first church. |
