Historical Jesus project

by Susan Polege

INTRODUCTION  [site map] Post a Message in My Message Board! [contact me]

In the beginning...

This project began because I needed an Independent Study that would serve as a replacement for my "capstone" experience for my Comparative Studies in Religion major this semester. I wanted to put together my personal faith questions,  my religious studies undergraduate education at UW-Eau Claire for the past 4 years, and my future goal of going to seminary to become an ELCA pastor. I wanted this capstone replacement to be a bridge between my undergraduate education and my future life plans. Associate professor Steve Spina was kind enough to take me on as a student and we planned a loose curriculum of readings and meeting together to discuss the readings. The books that I  read during the course of the semester were

(bibliographical notes below will be links to the appropriate book review)

In the beginning of my reading, I learned a lot about what issues Christians struggle with when they study the historical Jesus picture alongside their own faith. There are a lot of Christians who get very defensive in the face of any questioning of the accuracy of the historicity of the Bible and the Gospel accounts. These Christians usually are very literal in their interpretation of Scripture, and many do not like the new picture of Jesus that historical Jesus scholars are painting. The fear is that if they take a scientific, critical approach to the Gospels, all the tenets of Christianity will be unraveled. I learned that the Jesus Seminar, a controversial group that discusses and "votes" on the historical accuracy of the Gospel accounts of Jesus, is not that far removed from the mainstream of Biblical scholarship even within theological seminaries.1 

My reason for studying the historical Jesus scholarship is because I wanted to see what Jesus' message seemed to be originally. I wondered if Jesus considered himself divine, and if he considered himself the sole spiritual Messiah for all people. I wondered about the reliability of the texts, the Biblical writings and writings that didn't make it into the canon. I wanted to know the roots of these and other "Christian" views that the Church has clung to for so many years, and often used tyrannically to persecute others.  I wanted to see what was timeless and good in these Christian ideas, or if Jesus turns out to be too historically and culturally entrenched to be of use to the contemporary Christian church in the world.

Links to the issues that I have written about are found on the site map. Of course, I am not even close to encompassing the material I read about in the 4 excellent books in the study. And a disclaimer, though it should be obvious...I am finishing my undergraduate education, and though I read about this topic for a semester, that certainly does not make me an expert. I write from my own perspective, which would be impossible otherwise, but I want to make it very clear that what I'm writing is my own opinion on the things I have read.