The Historical Jesus: Five Views provides readers a unique opportunity to sit in on a virtual seminar on the historical Jesus. Dunn probe these issues with formidable knowledge and insight, filling out a further range of options. Scholars John Dominic Crossan, Luke Timothy Johnson, and James D.

And between these two extremes are numerous avenues to explore, questions to ask, and “assured results” to weigh. Price lucidly maintains that the probability of Jesus' existence has reached the “vanishing point,” while on the other, Darrell Bock ably argues that while critical method yields only a “gist” of Jesus, it does in fact take us in the direction of the Gospel portraits. After a scene-setting introduction by the editors that establishes a helpful context for the arguments to come, prominent figures in the Jesus quest set forth their positions and respond to their fellow scholars.Ī healthy range of views are presented throughout the book, giving readers a comprehensive taste of this long-standing debate, situated within its proper context. Adding to this academic effort now comes The Historical Jesus: Five Views, from some of the most prominent Jesus scholars of our day. Scholars have identified three separate “quests” for the historical Jesus, with the third beginning in the 1990s and continuing today. This fascination remains alive and well today. Toward the end of the Enlightenment, a fascination with providing a historical account of the life of Jesus arose among academics.

The Historical Jesus by James K. Beilby