Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 03-17-2008, 11:36 AM

Jesus is ill-served by this literary detective

Quote:

At least 100 years ago, the quest for the historical Jesus was shown to be a wild goose chase. Vermes's beguiling attempt to revive it has not yielded one jot of new information.

The other day a group of us assembled with the old man to mark the publication of The Resurrection (or via: amazon.co.uk), which comes in time to wonder whether it is worth celebrating Easter.

Meeting Vermes again reminded me of his cleverness and overwhelming personal charm. But this fact can't allow me to recommend this latest book, which has reminded me why I find all his Jesus books (unlike his magisterial work on the Dead Sea Scrolls, on which he is the acknowledged expert) so unsatisfying.

Wilson now regrets the book he wrote under Vermes' influence, Jesus (or via: amazon.co.uk)

Clivedurdle · 03-17-2008, 12:33 PM

Quote:

The "Lives of Jesus" school of reading the material overlooks the central, and historically, the earliest, stuff: namely Paul's "visionary" Christ, who died for our sins and rose again for our justification. That is where a detective would start looking for resurrection.

AN Wilson has puzzled me, with his book on Jesus, God's Funeral and his Counterblast "Against Religion" and that article at last makes sense!

What with this at the top of the page here

http://www.infidels.org/library/hist...cus/jesus.html

Quote:

As P. L. Couchoud sums up the results of the battle between the mythicists and the "historic" school, one readily can see the utter bankruptcy of the latter. Writes Couchoud:

"The historicity of Jesus is an article of faith." [2]

Would the real historic Jesus please stand up!

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