Christianity: From Galilean Sage to God Incarnate

How the iconoclast became an icon.

Quests for the historical Jesus The quest for the

historical Jesus begins in the Enlightenment period, when the Church has lost its control of university curriculum. Hermann S. Reimarus: The Aims of Jesus and His Disciples (1778).

Reimarus was the first to distinguish between what the historical Jesus did and said and the teachings and aims of his disciples.

Herman Samuel Reimarus 1694-1768 Reimarus argued that

Jesus wished to found a godly state. In the Gospels, Jesus never claimed that he came to atone for our sins. Jesus should be revered as the teacher of “a remarkable, simple, exalted and practical religion.”

David Friedrich Strauss 1808-1874 The Life of Jesus, a two

volume work, appeared in 1835. The gospels, says Strauss, contain a mixture of historical material and myth. Christian legends are woven out of Old Testament motifs. We are prepared to meet with both legend and mythos in the gospel history;

Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965 In 1906 Albert

Schweitzer produced The Quest of the Historical Jesus. Concluding that Jesus expected the immanent end of the world, Schweitzer regarded him as irrelevant, leading him to abandon his theological career to practice medicine in Africa.

New Quests Neo-Orthodoxy and

the Christ of faith. Renewed quests:

Distinguishing the core of Jesus’ teachings and deeds from the interpretive insertions and additions by gospel writers. Robert W. Funk

Jesus Seminar

Pillars of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship The distinction

between the historical Jesus, found by application of the historical critical method, and the Christ of Faith, as proclaimed in the later creeds.

Recognizing that the synoptic gospels’ portrayal of Jesus is more historically accurate than the ‘spiritual’ Jesus presented in the gospel of John.

Consensus views Priority of Mark: The

Gospel of Mark was written first, and both Matthew and Luke use Mark as a source.

Q hypothesis: A lost “sayings gospel” known as “Q” was used by Matthew and Luke.

Uncovering the non eschatological Jesus

Oral tradition vs print Shift of the burden of

proof to those who claim an event or saying is historical.

Historical Sources

Jesus (4 BCE- 30 CE) His one year ministry is described in the gospel of Mark, which became a source for the writers of Matthew and Luke (who add a story of Jesus’ miraculous birth, and additional sayings and parables from a lost sayings gospel now called Q). The latest gospel (John) presents a somewhat different picture of the three year ministry of Jesus (Synoptics: parables, exorcism, concern for poor; John: long discourses, no parables or exorcisms).

The Historical Jesus and the Christ of Faith Earliest New

Testament manuscripts date from 175 CE. Jesus’ teachings were delivered orally, remembered, retold, and eventually written down in a number of gospel traditions, which were recopied and redacted.

Aim of the gospels: to establish the Messiahship of Jesus to the Jews and his importance to the Gentiles.

Paul: expresses no familiarity with the four Gospels. Christ as key event in salvation history, atonement.

The Development of the Christian Tradition 0-30 CE: John the Baptist (d.

27 CE); Jesus of Nazareth (d. 30 CE)

30-60 CE: Paul of Tarsus, founder of Gentile Christianity, letters written 50-60 CE.

Sayings Gospel Q (50-60 CE) Gospel of Thomas, 1st edition

(50-60 CE) 60-80 CE: Gospel of Signs

(60-70 CE) Gospel of Mark, 1st ed, (70

CE)

Gospel of Matthew, incorporating Mark and Q (85 CE)

Gospel of Luke, incorporating Mark and Q (90 CE)

Gospel of Peter (50-100 CE) Egerton Gospel (50-100 CE) Gospel of John, incorporating

Gospel of Signs, (90 CE) Gospel of Mark, can. Ed. (100

CE) 150-325 CE: Four recognized

gospels; official collections of the New Testament; 1st official creeds; 1st surviving copies of “Bibles” (300-350 CE)

Hedrick’s 34 Gospels 4 canonical gospels:

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. 4 complete non-canonical

gospels: Infancy Gospel of James, Secret Book of James; Gospel of Thomas; Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

8 Fragmentary non-canonical gospels: Egerton Gospel; Gospel of Mary; Gospel Oxyrhynchus 840; Gospel Oxyrhynchus 124; Gospel of Peter; Dialogue of the Savior

Gospel of the Savior; Gospel of Judas.

4 Gospels known only from quotations: Secret Gospel of Mark; Gospel of the Ebionites; Gospel of the Hebrews; Gospel of the Nazoreans.

2 Hypothetical Gospels: Q; Signs Gospel

12 Gospels Known Only by Name Gospel of the Four

Heavenly Regions; Gospel of Perfection; Gospel of Eve; Gospel of the Twelve; Gospel of Matthias; Gospel of Bartholomew; Gospel of Cerinthus; Gospel of Basilides; Gospel of Marcion; Gospel of Apelles

Gospel of Bardesanes; Matthew’s Logia collection.

Most of the titles were added later (in the 2nd century.

Each of these gospels was deemed true and sufficient for some early Christian group.

The Infancy Narratives Stories of Jesus’ birth are

found in Matthew and Luke. These stories are late additions, dating from the late 1st or early second century. The conviction that God raised Jesus from the dead produced an exaltation Christology, identifying Jesus with the son of man in Daniel 7. (See Romans 1.3-4, e.g.)

When Jesus failed to return as soon as expected, his followers began to frame another version of his story, in which he was designated the son of God at his baptism (adoptionist Christology, Mark 1.10-11)

Finally, the later gospels of Matthew and Luke move the messianic status of Jesus back to his birth, using themes common in Hellenistic biographies of famous people.

Hellenistic Biography and The New Testament Gospels The biography of a Greek

hero consisted of five parts: a miraculous or unusual birth; a revealing childhood episode; a summary of wise teachings; wondrous deeds; and a martyrdom or noble death. Since the NT gospels contain these elements, they are examples of Hellenistic biographies. (Plato, Alexander the Great, Apollonius Tyana, etc.)

Hellenistic infancy narratives consist of five parts:

1. A genealogy revealing illustrious ancestors.

2. An unusual, mysterious, or miraculous conception.

3. An annunciation by an angel or in a dream.

4. A birth accompanied by supernatural portents.

5a. Praise of great things to come, or 5b. Persecution by a potential competitor.

The Birth of Jesus According to Matthew 1. Family Tree 1:1-17 2. Miraculous Birth of Jesus 1:18-25

Miraculous Conception 1:18 Annunciation to Joseph 1:20-21 Prediction of the Prophet 1:22 3. Astrologers from the East 2:1-12 Star in the East 2:1-2,7-9 Prediction of the prophet 2:15 Astrologers pay homage to the child 2:10-124. Flight to Egypt 2:13-15 Prediction of the prophet 2:155. Murder of the babies 2:16-18 Prediction of the prophet 2:176. Migration to Nazareth 2:19-23 Prediction of the prophet 2:23

The Birth of Jesus According to Luke 1. Genealogy 3:23-38 2. Miraculous conception of Jesus 1:26-56

Annunciation to Mary 1:26-38 Mary’s visit to Elizabeth 1:39-45 Mary’s hymn of praise 1:46-563. Birth of Jesus 2:1-74. Visit of the Shepherds 2:8-20 Annunciation to the shepherds 2:8-14 Shepherds praise God 2:15-205. Dedication of Jesus and predictions 2:21-38 Circumcision and naming 2:21 Presentation in the temple 2:22-24 Simeon predicts Jesus’ destiny 2:25-35 Anna thanks God 2:36-386. Family returns to Nazareth 2:397. Childhood episode 2:40-52

The Teachings of HJ Searching for the voiceprint of the

historical Jesus. Careful scrutiny of ancient Christian texts reveals tendencies in the evolving tradition- from oral speaker to oral speaker, written source to written source. Scholars can create a profile of typical Christian ways of reporting and interpreting the words of Jesus. Unable to grasp the subtleties of Jesus’ vision, his followers reverted to the more popular apocalyptic perspective of John the Baptist.

Domesticating the Tradition John’s disciples and the

Pharisees were in the habit of fasting, so they come and ask him, “Why do the disciples of John fast, and the disciples of the Pharisees, but your disciples don’t?” And Jesus said to them, “The grooms friends can’t fast while the groom is present can they? So long as the groom is around you can’t expect them to fast. [But the days will come when the groom is taken from them, and then they will fast on that day.]

The bracketed comment is a self-justifying Christian overlay inserted by Mark. Jesus viewed his life as a wedding celebration (a time when peasants ignored their limited resources and celebrated.) The early church rejected the celebratory approach to life and reverted to an earlier asceticism.

You are not to fast in concert with the phonies. They fast each week on Mondays and Thursdays, You should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. (Did. 8.1, 70-80 CE)

Softening the Hard Sayings 1. The last will be

first, and the first last. (Q- Mt. 20.16; Lk. 13.30).

2. Many of the first will be last, of the last many will be first. (Mark 10.31; Mt. 19.30)

3. For many of the first will be last, and will become a single one. (Thom. 4.2-3)

It is easier for a camel to squeeze through a needle’s eye than for a wealthy person to get into God’s domain. [And they were very perplexed wondering, “well then, who can be saved? Jesus says, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; after all, everything’s possible for God.] (Mark 10. 25-27)

Ask, Seek, Knock Ask- it’ll be given to you. Seek- you’ll find Knock- it’ll opened to you Everyone who asks receives Everyone who seeks finds And for the one who knocks it is

opened.

The Good Samaritan This guy was on his way

down from Jericho to Jerusalem when he was waylaid by thieves. They robbed him, beat him up, and ran off, leaving him for dead. By chance a priest was on his way down that road; when he spied the victim he went out of his way to avoid him. Similarly, when a Levite came by the place, he, too, took one look at him and passed by on the far side of the road. In contrast, there was this Samaritan who was also traveling that way.

When he came to that place where the victim lay, he was moved to pity by at the sight of him. He went up to him, treated his wounds with oil and wine, and bandaged them. He hoisted the fellow on to his own animal, brought him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he brought out two silver coins, which he gave to the innkeeper with these instructions, “Look after him, and on my way back I’ll reimburse you for any extra expense you’ve had.”

Parable of the Great Banquet

Matthew 22.2-14: Angry king sends armies to destroy them and their city. Matthew transforms the parable into an allegory. A king (God) prepares a feast for his son (Jesus); invites his subjects (Jews) who treat the invitation lightly or kill the messengers (prophets). The king destroys them and their city (Jerusalem) and invites new guests (Gentiles).

Luke 14.16-24: Angry King sends slaves to invite the homeless. Luke’s version is closer to the original (also closer to the version in the Gospel of Thomas, 64. 1-12) The invitation of the poor, crippled, blind, and lame is a favorite theme of Luke’s gospel. (See 4. 18-19; 7.22)

Lord’s Prayer

Matt. 6.9-13: Our Father in the heavens, your name be revered. Impose your imperial rule, enact your will on earth as you have in heaven. Provide us with the bread we need for the day. Forgive our debts to the extent we have forgiven those in debt to us. And please don’t subject us to test after test, but rescue us from the evil one.

Luke 11.2-4.: Father, your name be revered. Impose your imperial rule. Provide us with the bread we need day by day. Forgive our sins, since we too forgive everyone in debt to us. And please don’t subject us to test after test.

[Father, your name be revered. Impose your imperial rule. Provide us with the bread we need for the day. Forgive our debts to the extent we have forgiven those in debt to us. And please don’t subject us to test after test..] Q?

From: The Five Gospels, p. 326. (R. Funk ed)

The Gospel of Jesus The message of Jesus was centered around the

presence of the Kingdom of God (or God’s domain). He used parables to communicate that our everyday perception of the world was deceptive, obscuring the reality of God’s domain. For Jesus, God’s domain was present for those with “eyes to see” and “ears” to hear. His critics (John 8.48) and even his own family (Mark 3.20-21) thought he was crazy.

For Jesus, God’s domain was not a political kingdom or a future kingdom to be established apocalyptically. It was a present reality for those who could see it.

Galilean Sage or Apocalyptic Prophet? God’s imperial rule

will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, “Look, here it is!” or “Look, there it is!” Rather, the Father’s imperial rule is spread out upon the earth, and people don’t see it. (Thomas 113.2-4)

You won’t be able to observe the coming of God’s imperial rule. People are not going to be able to say, “Look, here it is !”or “Over there!” On the contrary, God’s imperial rule is right there in in your presence. (Luke 17:20-21)

God’s Domain as Present Reality The apocalyptic expectation that God would

intervene and put an end to history (a view espoused by John the Baptist and many other 1st century Jews) is not consistent with the vision of God’s domain found in the parables of Jesus. Thus, passages such as Mark 13:14- 27 reflect the beliefs of the early Christian community who applied prophetic texts such as Daniel 7 to Jesus.

Just remember, John the Baptist appeared on the scene, eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “he is demented.” The son of Adam appeared on the scene both eating and drinking, and you say, “There’s a glutton and a drunk….:Lk.11.20.

Subverting The Status Quo When someone slaps

you on the right cheek, turn the other as well (Q: Matt. 5.39)

If someone sues you for your coat, give him the shirt off your back too. (Q: Matt. 5.40)

When anyone conscripts you for one mile, go along two. (Q: Matt. 5.41)

If you have money, don’t lend it at interest. Rather, give it someone from whom you won’t get it back. (Q: Thomas 95.1-2)

Give to everyone who begs from you (Q; Matt. 5.42)

Rewards are Intrinsic to Actions Forgive, and you will be

forgiven. (Q; Luke 6.37) Forgive our debts to the

extent we have forgiven those in debt to us, (Q; Matt. 6.12)

Take care that you don’t flaunt your religion in public to be noticed by others. Otherwise, you will have no recognition from your father in the heavens. (Matt. 6.1)

And when you pray, don’t act like the phonies. They love to stand up and pray in houses of worship and on street corners, so they can show off in public. I swear to you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. (Matt. 6.5)

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you’ll be children of the most high. (Q; Luke 6:35)

Humor: Antidote to Moral Arrogance If someone sues you for your coat, give him the

shirt off your back to go with it. (Matt 5.40) Don’t let your left hand in on what your right

hand is up to. (Matt. 6.3) It’s not what goes into a person that can defile;

it’s what comes out that defiles. (Mark 7:15) You see the sliver in your friend’s eye, but you

don’t see the timber in your own eye. When you take the timber out of your own eye, then you will see well enough to remove the sliver from your friend’s eye. (Thomas 26.1-2)

Miracle Stories The Gospels report

three sorts of miracle story: exorcisms, cures, and nature wonders. Such stories are intended to portray Jesus as a wonder worker in the tradition of Moses, Elijah, and Greek gods.

As Moses fed the Israelites with mana in the wilderness, so Jesus feeds the five thousand. As Elijah raised a widow’s son, so does Jesus, as Poseidon drove his chariot across the waves, so Jesus walked on the water. Such stories reflect the shift from Jesus’ vision to Jesus himself.

Easter as a Developing Tradition The earliest layers of the sayings tradition

found in Q and Thomas contain no trace of an empty tomb story, appearances to key leaders, or an ascension into the sky.

The earliest references to Jesus' resurrection occur in the letters of Paul. I Cor. 15: 3-8 (dated at about 54 CE) says that Jesus died, was buried, was raised again on the third day. He was seen by Cephas, the 12, a group of 500, James, all the apostles, and finally to Paul himself.

Resurrection Stories

Mark (earliest gospel). No appearance stories. Three women (Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome) discover an empty tomb. A heavenly messenger informs them that Jesus has been raised. Fearful, they say nothing.

Matthew: The two Marys (without Salome) arrive at the tomb. An earthquake has rolled away the stone, and an angel is sitting on it. As the women hurry off, Jesus appears to them. Guards report the event. Later, Jesus appears to the eleven on a mountain.

Appearance Stories

Luke: The two Marys and some other women come to the tomb. Two angels appear and remind them of Jesus’ prediction that he would die and rise. The disciples don’t believe them. First appearance is to two people on the road to Emmaus.

They report to the 11 that “Jesus has been raised and appeared to Simon” (Peter). Jesus then appears, some think he is a ghost. Jesus invites them to touch him.

John: Mary M. goes to the tomb. She is the first to see the risen Jesus.

The Early Church

Acts of the Apostles: Persecution; Pentecost. Conversion of Saul. Paul: salvation by faith, ritual adherence not required. Letters composed: 50-60 CE.

To make sense of a crucified Messiah, Paul combined the Jewish ideal of the Messiah with Isaiah’s suffering servant.

I passed on to you the account I was taught: Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and was buried; he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and appeared to Cephas and then to the twelve. I Cor. 15.3-5

From Sage to Savior The conviction that Jesus was no longer

dead but risen began with Peter. Paul claims to have his own vision on the road to Damascus. The conviction that Jesus was risen and seated at the right hand of God founds the confession that he was the son of God, a heavenly savior figure who came to earth incognito to redeem humanity. This was an intermediate stage on the way to the belief that Jesus was divine.

Paul Authentic letters of

Paul: 1 Thessalonians; 1st and 2nd Corinthians Galatians; Philippians; Philemon; Romans. The pastoral epistles reflect an early 2nd century theology, Colossians develops a more exalted conception of Jesus

Paul presents a contrast between those alienated from God and those who have been justified by God through faith in the atoning death of Christ. They have received the spirit of God which enables them to live a more ethical life.

The Body of Christ For Paul, those who receive the spirit

of Christ form a new community, a body of Christ in which there are no social divisions: in Christ there is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female, for you are all one person in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3.28)

Origins of the Trinity doctrine The Doctrine of the trinity

is not found in the New Testament. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul quotes an early Christian hymn:

Who subsisting in the form of God did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself, to assume the condition of a slave, and become as men are…he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. But God raised him high

and gave him the name which is above all names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord (kyrios) to the glory of God the Father.

This suggests that Jesus existed with God before becoming a man. But he is distinct from and lower than God who raises him and gives him the title Kyrios.

Trinity Forty years after Paul, John’s gospel makes a similar claim,

describing Jesus as the logos existing “with God from the beginning.” Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him. Since the power and wisdom of Jesus derived from God, his life expressed “what was there from the beginning.”

Peter does not describe Jesus as God. He was a man commended to you by God by the miracles…and signs that God worked through him when he was among you. (Acts 2.22)

Arius vs Athanasius at Nicaea in 325 CE. Arius argued that Christ the Word was created by God to be his instrument in creation. Athanasius argued that Jesus must be of the same nature as the Father, only the creator of the world could redeem it. Athanasius’ view was adopted, even though it failed to explain how Jesus could be “of the same stuff” of the Father without being a second God.

Medieval Church

480-550- Benedict, monasticism. 540-604- Pope Gregory I 1054- Eastern and Western Church split.

Filioque. 1225-1274- Thomas Aquinas 1483-1546- Martin Luther. 1517- posts

95 theses on Wittenberg door. Opposes indulgences, penance, transubstantiation, purgatory, celibacy, papal authority.

Reformation Lutheran doctrine:

Priesthood of all believers; solo scriptura; salvation by faith alone. 1521- Luther excommunicated at the Diet of Worms. Here I stand, I can do no other.

The popish schoolmen have altogether darkened the principal article of all Christian doctrine. For it belongs only to the divine power to destroy sin and abolish death….They have attributed this divine power to our own works saying, If thou do this work or that , thou shalt overcome sin, death, and the wrath of God; and by this means they set us in God’s place, making us in very deed naturally, if I may so say, God himself.

John Calvin (1509-64). Total depravityUnmerited graceLimited atonementIrresistible gracePerseverance of the saints 1800’s European

Enlightenment: Opposition to ignorance and intolerance. Theological liberalism, deism. 1910- Protestant ecumenical movement.

1962- Vatican II.

Post-Enlightenment Christianity In the enlightenment

age, universities became independent from the authority of the church. Scientific investigation of the physical universe led to the collapse of the symbolic picture of the universe found in the pages of the Bible.

The historical-critical study of the Bible has eroded claims about its reliability as a source of historical and theological truth.

Fundamentalists have responded by denying the credibility of science. Liberals have searched for metaphorical meaning in the tradition.

References Crossan, J.D. (1996). Who killed Jesus? San Francisco:

Harper. Davies, S.L. (1994). New Testament fundamentals. Santa

Rosa. CA: Polebridge. Funk, R.W. (1990). New gospel parallels. Santa Rosa. CA:

Polebridge. Funk, R.W. and Hoover, R. (Ed.s). (1993). The five

gospels. San Francisco: Harper Collins. Funk, R.W. (1996). Honest to Jesus. San Francisco: Harper Collins. Funk, R.W. and Hoover, R. (Ed.s). (1998). The acts of Jesus. San

Francisco: Harper Collins. Laughlin, P.A. (1992). Remedial Christianity. Santa

Rosa. CA: Polebridge.

References Ludemann, G. (1994). The resurrection of Jesus. Minneapolis ,

MN: Fortress Press Mack, B. (1993). The lost gospel. San Francisco: Harper Collins. Mack, B. (1995). Who wrote the New Testament? San Francisco:

Harper Collins. Mack, B. (2001). The Christian myth. New York: Continuum. Metzger, B. (1968). The text of the New Testament. New York:

Oxford University Press. Miller, R.J. (Ed.). (1992). The complete gospels. Santa Rosa. CA:

Polebridge. Miller, R.J. (2003) Born divine. Santa Rosa. CA: Polebridge. Scott, B.B. (Ed.). (2008). The resurrection of Jesus. Santa Rosa.

CA: Polebridge. Spong, J.S. (1994). Resurrection: myth or reality? San

Francisco: Harper Collins.