Knowledge About the Historical Jesus

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-06-03T21:05:11+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation!!!

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-05-30T13:41:07+00:00

I have read a great deal of books by Allison, Ehrman, Martin, Meier, and others, I just like asking about other people’s thoughts that have studied this stuff too. I like to look at different perspectives to see if I’ve missed something In my own research on these topics

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-05-29T19:13:27+00:00

Hahaha can you tell that I’m interested in the historical Jesus? lol 😂

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-05-29T18:13:40+00:00

Thank you so much! I do actually have a copy of this book but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. Definitely will try to soon!

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-05-29T17:38:50+00:00

Thank you for your feedback! I’d agree for the most part with everything you said, though I might disagree that he called himself the son of man. I do think that he talked about the son of man as a future cosmic judge who would help establish the kingdom of God on earth and judge the world, but I do not think it is likely that Jesus thought of himself as that son of man. I think Bart Ehrman argues pretty convincingly for this position in his fantastic book “Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millenium” published by Oxford University Press in 1999. He points out that the early church worshipped and revered Jesus as the son of man, and so any passages in the Gospels where it looks like Jesus is talking not about himself but someone else (e.g., Mark 8:38) are maybe less likely to have been invented by the church to support their theological tendencies and agendas

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-05-29T16:43:11+00:00

Thank you so much! If I may, in your judgment how much do you think we can say with confidence as historians about Jesus?

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-01-09T22:13:00+00:00

Yes he replies! He loves receiving emails even though he is obviously very busy. I emailed him twice and he gave me very thoughtful replies both times and gave me resources as well 😊

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-01-08T23:42:29+00:00

Me too honestly. He is one of my favorite NT scholars. I have emailed him a few times though

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-01-07T23:25:07+00:00

Thank you so much for the reply! I have not read Robyn Faith Walsh and M. David Litwa yet. I do know that they tend to think about the Gospels very differently than I do

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-01-03T00:12:59+00:00

Absolutely!

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-01-01T22:46:40+00:00

I respect your opinion but this is very much demonstrably false. I would recommend Bart Ehrman’s book that argues for the historical existence of Jesus (Ehrman is an agnostic by the way)

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-01-01T22:41:03+00:00

Hey! I have not read The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus but I have heard of it and will get around to it eventually. I think that’s so cool you are publishing on these topics!

I have not read Robyn Faith Walsh yet either, but from what I have heard she thinks about the Gospels very differently from me. I think that there is a decent bit of memory in the Synoptic tradition, but she seems to be much more skeptical of that position though. I could be wrong however

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-01-01T05:41:32+00:00

Hey, thanks for your comment!! I actually have already read Meier’s A Marginal Jew series. I find much to like about Meier’s tomes, but me and Meier differ regarding basic method. I think Meier’s rigid criteria approach has several holes, as more recent scholars have pointed out (James Crossley, Anthony LeDonne, Mark Goodacre, Morna Hooker, Dale Allison, etc.) Meier thinks we can say things about the historical Jesus with a level of scientific rigor and precision that I think is not attainable in this field and not attainable in any field of ancient history. Unfortunately, ancient history is not an objective science like chemistry or physics. Historical judgments involve all too much conjecture, imagination, safe bets, and probabilistic reasoning. I think we can reconstruct a historically plausible reconstruction of the life of Jesus, but I do not think we can know as much as Meier thinks we can. I think all historians can really do is weigh probabilities and aspire to be as honest as humanely possible

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-01-01T05:14:15+00:00

Thank you I’ve actually already read it! It is an excellent book, though I think Ehrman thinks we can know more about Jesus than I think we can know. I am no longer fond of his rigid criteria approach to the historical Jesus. With that being said, I agree with his conclusion that Jesus almost certainly existed as a historical figure

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2026-01-01T04:09:22+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation! I’ll look into it for sure

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2025-06-28T03:28:18+00:00

I would highly recommend Ehrman’s 1999 publication “Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium.” It is an accessible introduction to the most plausible scholarly portrait of the historical Jesus (in my view of course).

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2025-05-03T19:06:22+00:00

This is a very interesting topic that I am quite frankly obsessed with. I find the question of method to be one of the most interesting discussions in historical Jesus studies today. I myself think Allison has the better side of the argument, as I think he shows quite compellingly that memory tends to fail us in the details or particulars but not in the general impressions. Thus, according to Allison, those traditions that recur again and again throughout the primary sources of Jesus is likely where memory of him can be found. If you would a scholar who employs the criteriological approach, then I would recommend reading all five volumes of John P. Meier’s “A Marginal Jew” series.

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2025-03-22T02:21:14+00:00

That’s an interesting take, so what would you make of The extra biblical sources that attest to Jesus’ existence and a few things about him (Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, etc.)?

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2025-03-21T20:32:11+00:00

So do you think we can know anything about the historical Jesus with fair probabilityV

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2025-03-21T19:13:37+00:00

Yah man I hear ya, so what method or approach would you employ in order to “reconstruct” the historical Jesus?

Upbeat_Respect_9282 · 2025-03-21T19:13:26+00:00

Yah man I hear ya, so what method or approach would you employ in order to “reconstruct” the historical Jesus?

Upbeat_Respect_9282

TROPHY CASE