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Historical Jesus: Quests
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This started in the 1980's, became a major area of theological and historical study, and continues today. The Jesus Seminar and other academic organizations have been created to further the Quest. The Third Quest has a number of novel features:
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The primary historical method in use since the 1950’s has utilized the criteria of authenticity. These are various rules used to determine whether or not something is more or less likely to be historical. They include the criterion of dissimilarity, coherence, multiple attestation, and embarrassment. The issue concerns the use of these criteria in light of the historical work proposed by the Third Quest. For example, the criterion of dissimilarity states that traditions different from the Judaism of Jesus’ day and the Christian church he founded are more likely to be original. This is in direct conflict with the trend to see Jesus as firmly within the Judaism of his day and directly connected to the church he founded.
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The critical study is the classic text from the early Second Quest of the Historical Jesus. As a Second Quest study, it puts a high priority on the Criterion of Dissimilarity. It is written for a popular audience.
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Behind such responses are serious theological issues which have dogged attempts to pursue the historical questions. Martin Kähler was one of the first to expose the fragility of faith founded on the historical enterprise.
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