What is the quest for the historical Jesus?

Question

I have to answer this question for my New Testament class, but I don't quite understand it. Does this question call for opinions from scolars and/or people of Jesus' time? Or does it just call for general information about Jesus as a person?

Answer 1

I think it is the Jesus Seminar. Its where they try to gain a nonbiased secular understanding of the life of Jesus Christ. questions like, did he even exist? What did he realy say? How do we know that? thats the sort of questions they will try to ask.

Answer 2

You are asking a question that could really get you in a lot of hot water if the class of which you speak is in a church/Sunday school setting. Most Christians are very disturbed by the historical realities surrounding the person of Christ. So much so that certain branches of christianity ( those in possesion of the actual documents pertaining to Christ and his life, not naming any names ) have gone to great lengths to insure that no one ever learns certain facts. A very good book on the subject, and I can't recall the authors name, is Jesus Christ, the lost years. This book details how anthropologists discovered tibetan scrolls, written only 45 years after Christ's death, which detail his journey to Tibet, through India, and his experiences there. This journey occured during that unexplained gap from the time Christ, as a child, confronted the temple priests, and when he reimerged to be baptized by John. Another good book, Rabbi Jesus, goes into extensive detail of what (historically speaking) life was like for Jesus and his followers. It also details the fact that Christ never intended for his ministry to become a new religion, but rather was an attempt to make Judaism more tolerant and available to the masses in general. I would be very careful who you discuss things with, as it has been my experience that most churches become very offended that you would ever consider aspects of Christ that they feel should never be questioned, but rather blindly accepted as a part of faith.

Answer 3

nicely outdoors of the Bible, there is rather little or no data that an rather historic individual ever existed. and you will't use the Bible itself to instruct the Bible is historic. Even interior the Bible, in many techniques he's a minor character. He rather basically looks interior the 4 Gospels. and because all of us be attentive to that Matthew and Luke have been copied from Mark, and the Q rfile, which has now vanished...that may not very lots. each thing written approximately him is 2nd hand. He in no way wrote his very own e book. Christians have basically continually universal that Christ became right into a real individual, yet like William tell and King Arthur...there is greater legend than actuality.

Answer 4

Jesus main purpose for coming to the earth is to bear witness to his Father's name Jehovah and for people to know that Jehovah God is the creator of all things, psalms 83. verse 18, also to give mankind life again which Adam and Eve lost for all of their offspring Genesis 3.1-24, Isaiah 48 verses 16-19, also, Isaiah 9 verse 6&7, : look at 1 John 5 verse 19 that is why we are suffering today, that is why Jesus main theme was to preach and teach everyone about God's Kingdom which will bring about better conditions after Armageddon for all of mankind, and put and end to all suffering, Rev 21verses 1-4 N.W.T.

Answer 5

Research the man Jesus not the spiritual Jesus.

Answer 6

I guess it is a question to prove to other people that no matter what religion or background you are there was a man named Jesus who walked the earth 2,000 years ago.

Answer 7

it would be seeking and authenticating extra biblical sources for Jesus and a textual analysis of the bible. here are two wiki pages that show you for and against.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus_Christ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_as_Myth

Answer 8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest_for_the_Historical_Jesus