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Originally Posted by Toto
Every element of Jesus' character can be found in some other source, from the Hebrew scriptures to classical Greek or Hellenistic philosophy and literature. It is not necessary to assume that there was a "great man" behind either the portrait of Jesus in the gospels or the Christian movement.
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So, we come to the question of whether or not Christ is completely fictional. Brunner devotes an appendix to debunking this claim. In particular, Brunner addresses the question of Christ's originality and similarities with others. Here is one good passage on this point:
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And so it has been going on for nearly two thousand years: the Christ hanged on a tree, the Gnostic Christ, the Christ of religion, the scholastic-Aristotelian Christ; and it will not be long before the present non-existent Christ has just as much power, fame and originality in the world as all the earlier Christs. The Christ who was never born will never die, and will remain for ever as the great constellation in the heavens, outshining all our stars, causing all their fame to fade away! A disgusting originality! Is there nothing we can do against it? Are we so powerless, with our hatred and envy, with all our science? Thus, in its sickness, criticism passionately searches out similarities from every hole and corner of the world, to devalue this originality and strip it of its uniqueness.
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I certainly am happy that you have decided to buy the book. It didn't sell, so the Brunner Institute sold the stock to a remainder house for a pittance. I bought 50 copies for about $3.00 each. I give them away to people who are interested. I guess I should have said so earlier
07-08-2004, 03:06 PM
