The new lenses we have acquired in this new information age have taken biblical scholarship to a whole new level. The Jesus that is emerging is a man who never thought of himself as the son of God, never thought of his mission as being savior for the sins of mankind, and probably didn't believe in a final divine ethnic cleansing by the God he referred to as "Daddy Dear."

His authentic parables and aphorisms are the result of reading the gospels in parallel rather than one after the other. By using this comparative method of study, scholars since the Enlightenment in the 18th Century have been able to isolate a proto-gospel within the biblical texts themselves. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Gospel of Thomas at the end of World War II scholars have devised a schema for determining what Jesus probably/actually said as divorced from the church's pronouncements placed into his speech by the gospel writers themselves.

The infamous "Jesus Seminar" is just the latest and most public expression of what has been going on behind ivory towers for years. Plus they have a pretty good public relations arm as well.

Bible Study is actually "studying the Bible."
What a concept, eh?

Okay, that clears it up. Yet again, aikido7, thankyou. I'll certainly be looking into that area of bible study in more detail. Can you suggest any books/websites for me?

www.westarinstitute.org

www.intac.com/~rollins/ctm.html

www.ntgateway.com/Jesus/

www.united.edu/portrait/index.html

"Who is Jesus" by Crossan and Watts
"In Parables" by Crossan
"Gospel Fictions" by Helms
"Jesus Before Christianity" by Nolan
"Jesus' Plan for a New World" by Rohr

Many, many others in this field as well.
Happy reading!

Thanks, aikido7. I will most definitely read through the websites you've posted, and try to get hold of at least a couple of the books.

Is that Janelle Rohr?

I beg your pardon?

"Jesus' Plan for a New World" by Rohr

He cleared it up for me by email. Turns out it's Richard Rohr.