Jesus Seminar Thesis

John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. What is recorded is to give full proof of the Divinity of Christ; that he is the promised Messiah, that he really suffered and rose from the dead and that through Him every believer might have eternal life.”

At the beginning of time, God created mankind, creatures made in his own image, with whom He could have relationship with. Unfortunately, the original humans, Adam and Eve, shattered this relationship by turning away from God and sinning, putting themselves before Him. All of the descendants of Adam and Eve, mankind itself, have and continue to suffer from the repercussions of this Original Sin. Ever since that time, thousands of years ago, God has been working through human history in order to repair His relationship with Humanity, redeeming them from the effects of sin. His plan of salvation began with a covenant He made with a nomad named Abraham, whose descendants became the nation of Israel. This covenant established the Lord's intentions to bring about redemption for humanity through the nation of Israel. Sadly though, the ancient Israelites time and again were unfaithful to their covenant with God, and would worship the false idols of the nations around them. Because of their sin of apostasy, the nation of Israel eventually split in two, and was then wiped out by foreign invaders, sending in the Hebrew people into exile. It was during this exile that the Prophets, men who would speak on behalf of God, began to predict the coming of the Messiah, an 'anointed one' of

Many people ridicule Christians for believing in a man who resurrected from the dead. They laugh at Christians and criticize them for basing their faith on an event that lack proof and evidence. However, the evidence that skeptics use to challenge the Christian faith, in actuality, support the claims that Jesus truly was the God that he claimed to be. The evidence that affirms Jesus’ claims to be true include his lifestyle and teachings, the prophecies that he fulfilled, historical facts, and the dramatic transformation of the lives of his disciples. Many may ask Christians how they can believe in a Savior without proof of his divinity; but, in reality, God has given us an abundance of signs. He is still providing us with compelling evidence

The religious leaders heard Jesus’ message but they rejected it. Jesus used agricultural images to portray the unfruitfulness of these religous leaders and their rejection of Jesus. They were unfruitful as outlined in the three situations. They should respond to the message and persevere the word and to bear fruit.

A Transforming Ministry: Jesus and Women The topic of women and Jesus, like most other topics involving women in Christianity, has experienced much debate throughout years of biblical scholarship. For example, throughout biblical academia and feminist biblical scholarship, questions regarding Jesus’ influence on the status of women in his earthly ministry typically arise. Those who suggest a positive influence often do so by citing accounts about women such as Mary Magdalene (Luke 7:36-50) or the women who financed Jesus’ ministry (Luke 8:1-3). However, those with a more cynical view typically cite various accounts in the New Testament, such as Jesus likening the Syrophoenician woman to a dog (Matthew 15:21-28) or seemingly rejecting his

One critique to the Jesus Seminar was the motives behind their work. The media often portrayed the group to be comprised mostly of former Christians, attacking hardest on the group’s leader Robert Funk and cochair John Crossan. Critics went as far to describe their meetings as having “the air of a village atheists’ convention” (Powell, 110). Such an allegation gave rise to the popular belief that the motives of the scholars were to get revenge on institutionalized religion for not being accepting to them. I believe the media was too quick to judge the motives of the scholars by attacking their backgrounds. Just because their work was controversial doesn’t mean it was subjective with underlying personal vendettas. It seems unlikely that a group

The name Jesus Christ spawns multiple feelings throughout cultures. Jesus Christ is also a name that has impacted everyone in a monumental way and is impacting all aspects of society. No matter how you feel about Jesus Christ, it is insurmountable to deny the fact that he is not an impactful figure in the world we live in today. The question that is frequently asked about this ponderous figure is “who is Jesus”. This question does not hold only one individual answer, but withholds multiple answers. Depending on the culture, country, time, place, and especially who you ask, you will receive answers that all hold uniqueness. In less of an opinionated stance, the Holy Bible holds the answer to who exactly he is and why is such a conspicuous figure. To understand Jesus Christ and formulate an opinion on him, we must interpret the Holy Bible and construe his impact in not only today’s society, but history. There is no denying that the upbringing of a religious figure has caused mountainous affects in history; both positively and negatively. The destruction and saving of man has inevitably been a result of multiple religions throughout the world. Whether you fathom a mindset of acceptance or denial, Jesus Christ is one of the world’s most notable figures.

The quest for the knowledge on the historical Jesus started as a protest against the traditional dogma of Christianity, but when the neutral historians joined the movement, all they saw was Jesus without features. Even when these scholars decided that other biblical figures such as John the evangelist, John the Baptist, Paul, and others were at home in a symbolic and richly storied world. Jesus himself

Jesus was the focus of unity for Christians and would often be referred to as “son of man” or “son of God”. Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary, and what many Christians believe was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Well they is not any written works by Jesus, biblical accounts of Jesus contribute him as a teacher, he would teach that God’s reign is imminent and it is necessary to watch for the signs and to be prepared the new Godly society that a waits. Those follow Jesus can do this by observing the spirit verses the letter of Jewish Law. Throughout his teaching Jesus was considered a miracle worker, in some of his miracles Jesus healed those who were sick, stop storms, walk on water, and feeding those who did not have food. At this particular time in history many believed that God control all things that happen in the world, and since Jesus could as well control these things it was believed that God was at work in Jesus. At Jesus death, Christians believe that he fulfilled the prophecy and assented to heaven. Now a day’s Christian hold celebrates like Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter that remember the birth and death of

Jesus became proof that the bible can be trusted and that it’s rational. In the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) , It presents an accurate description of the life of Jesus and all the miraculous things that he did, making him an argument for the Bible to be the truth. In John 10:35-36 it says “And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God's message were called 'gods, 'why do you call it blasphemy when I say, 'I am the Son of God'? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world.” Jesus said that the scriptures cannot be altered, in other words, what the Bible records about Jesus, including what he says about God, human nature, salvation and the Old Testament ideals, can then be trusted and is

The Quest for the Historical Jesus was the search for what Jesus was actually like and what He became known for. The hope in this search was to somehow disprove that Christ was the same as who he claimed to be in the scriptures. “Increasingly, the earthly Jesus was depicted as basically a good man, a teacher of great spiritual truths, but not the miracle-working, preexistent Second Person of the Trinity. ”[1] The beginning stages of this approach to Christ was, at the very best, encompassed around a liberal quest for Jesus.

Throughout history, people around the world have had many different views on Jesus Christ. Some people are devoted Christians and claim He is the one who came to save the world from the fall of man introduced by Adam. Other people are not sure who He is and have been trying to figure out who Jesus Christ is. While others just do not believe in the teachings and the life of Jesus Christ. Secular historical texts and looking into the Bible, there is evidence that Jesus Christ was here on earth and not just a made up fictional character. Jesus is God and, in the flesh, came to save the human race from this sinful world.

During the eighth and ninth centuries A.D., a new emphasis began to develop within the religion of Islam. This emphasis was a reaction against the prevailing impersonal and formal nature of Islam. For many Muslims the shari‘a, while seen as necessary, failed to satisfy their deepest spiritual longings and desires. The search for deeper meaning began with a pietistic asceticism, which in turn led to the development of the popular mystical side of Islam - known as tasawwuf or Sufism.

The ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was 30 years old, after his baptism in the river Jordan. Within three and a half years of his ministry Jesus did more miracles than any man in the world could have accomplished. He preached about the ways of changing lives and often gave parables to educate people. Even though he was rejected Jesus continued to spread the gospel in different cities around Israel, including Capernaum and Bethsaida.

Fortunately, many great historians, theologians and scholars have provided a solid basis for believing in a real Jesus of history. Steve Kumar notes that contemporary skepticism about the existence of Christ has come from non-specialists, that is, people who are untrained in