The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria

Front Cover
Westminster John Knox Press, Jan 1, 2002 - Religion - 344 pages

Should the dissimilarity between Jesus and early Christianity or between Jesus and Judaism be the central criteria for the historical Jesus? Gerd Theissen and Dagmar Winter argue that the criterion of dissimilarity does not do justice to the single most important result of more than two-hundred years of Jesus research: that the historical Jesus belongs to both Judaism and Christianity. The two authors propose a criterion of historical plausibility so that historical phenomenon under question can be considered authentic so long as it can be plausibly understood in its Jewish context and also facilitates a plausible explanation for its later effects in Christian history. This book is a cooperative project between Dagmar Winter and Gerd Theissen and represents the fruit of many years of their research on the historical Jesus.

 

Selected pages

Contents

Aspects of the Quest for Criteria
1
The Criterion of Dissimilarity within the Framework
10
of the Criterion of Dissimilarity
17
b Motives Related to Theories of Historical Science
24
a Introduction
42
37
58
The History of the Criterion of Dissimilarity
76
b The Picture of Jesus in the Work of Wilhelm Bousset
89
A New Formulation of the Criteria
210
Criteria in Jesus Research and the Wide Ugly Ditch
226
The Problem of Historical Source Criticism
233
The Problem of Historical Relativism
242
A Collection of Formulations
261
1878
267
1900
269
1912
275

ii The Impossibility of LifeofJesus Research
100
of Dissimilarity and the Discussion of the 1950s
122
c The Criterion of Dissimilarity and the Picture
136
ii The Genesis of the Third Questa Brief Sketch
144
b The Criterion of Dissimilarity in the Discussion
153
c The Picture of Jesus in the Work
163
The Criterion of Historical Plausibility
172
1955
279
1965
285
1971
290
1983
302
Bibliography
317
Index of Authors
337
Copyright

Common terms and phrases

already applied authentic basic basis biblical Bornkamm Bousset Bultmann characteristic Charlesworth Christ Christology contextual plausibility contrast criteria criterion of coherence criterion of dissimilarity distinctive distinguish documented E. P. Sanders early Christianity early church effects elements faith figure of Jesus form criticism formulation Frage genius Geschichte Gospel of John Gospel of Thomas Gospels historical figure historical Jesus historical plausibility history-of-religions human Ibid idea important inauthentic individual interpretation Jesus and Judaism Jesus book Jesus material Jesus of Nazareth Jesus research Jesus Seminar Jesus tradition Jewish context Käsemann kerygma Matt means ment method methodological Montanism Montanist multiple attestation original Paraclete particular personality perspective picture of Jesus post-Easter precisely presupposed presuppositions principle problem prophets question reconstruction regard Reimarus relativism religion Rudolf Bultmann sayings of Jesus Schmiedel scholars source-evaluation arguments sources Synoptic teaching tendencies Testament texts theology Third Quest tion torical understanding unique Wilhelm Bousset

References to this book

About the author (2002)

Gerd Theissen is Professor of New Testament at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. His books include The Religion of the Earliest Churches and The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form. Dagmar Winter is Associate Vicar at Hexham Abbey and Hexham Deanery Training Officer in Northumberland, England.

Bibliographic information

TitleThe Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria
AuthorsGerd Theissen, Dagmar Winter
PublisherWestminster John Knox Press, 2002
ISBN0664225373, 9780664225377
Length344 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Religion / Christian Theology / Christology
Religion / Theology
  
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