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Encyclopedia > Jesus Seminar
A series of articles on

Jesus Christ and Christianity
Chronology
Virgin Birth
Ministry • Miracles • Parables
Death and resurrection
Second Coming
Christology
Names and titles
Relics Image File history File links JesusYeshua. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Christ is the English term for the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ... Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... The chronology of Jesus depicts the traditional chronology established for the events of the life of Jesus by the four canonical gospels (which allude to various dates for several events). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... According to the Canonical Gospels, the Ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was around 30 years old, and lasted a period of 1-3 years, with the Synoptic Gospels generally being considered to argue for it having been a period of 1 year, and the Gospel of John arguing for... According to the canonical Gospels, Jesus worked many miracles in the course of his ministry. ... The parables of Jesus, found in the synoptic gospels, embody much of Jesus teaching. ... The death and resurrection of Jesus are two events in the New Testament in which Jesus is crucified on one day (the Day of Preparation, i. ... The Second Coming refers to the Christian belief in the return of Jesus Christ, an event that will fulfill aspects of Messianic prophecy such as the resurrection of the dead, last judgment and full establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth (also called the Reign of God), including the... Christology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ. ... A large variety of names and titles are used in the New Testament to describe Jesus. ... There are many relics attributed to Jesus that people believe or believed to be authentic relics of the Gospel accounts. ...

Cultural and Historical Background
Aramaic • Greek • Race
This article — a part of the Jesus and history series of articles — discusses the cultural and historical background of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, without regard to his divinity, or to his existence as an actual historical figure. ... Most scholars believe that Jesus spoke both Hebrew and Aramaic, and possibly Greek. ... “Black Jesus” redirects here. ...

Perspectives on Jesus
Biblical Jesus
Religious perspectives
Christian • Jewish • Islamic
Historicity • Non-historicity
Historical perspective
Mythographic perspective
This article presents a description of Jesus life, as based on the four gospels. ... Religious perspectives on Jesus is the specific significance some religions place on Jesus. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Judaism has no special or particular view of Jesus, and very few texts in Judaism directly refer to or take note of Jesus. ... Islam holds Jesus (Arabic: `Īsā) to have been a messenger and a prophet of God. ... This article is about the veracity of Jesus existence. ... The Jesus-Myth is a historical theory usually associated with a skeptical position on the historicity of Jesus, which claims that Jesus did not exist as an historical figure. ... This article is about Jesus the man, using historical methods to reconstruct a biography of his life and times. ... The study of Jesus from a mythographical perspective is the examination of the narrative of Jesus, the Christ (the Anointed) of the gospels, Christian theology and folk Christianity as a central part of Christian mythology. ...

Jesus in culture
Cultural depictions of Jesus
Images
Jesus has inspired artistic and cultural works for nearly two millennia. ... There are no undisputed historical images of Jesus; he sat for no portraits which are preserved and of unquestioned authenticity and undoubted provenance. ...

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The Jesus Seminar is a research team of about 200 New Testament scholars founded in 1985 by the late Robert Funk and John Dominic Crossan under the auspices of the Westar Institute.[1][2] One of the most active groups in biblical criticism,[3] the seminar uses historical methods to determine what Jesus, as a historical figure, may or may not have said or done. In addition, the seminar popularizes research into the historical Jesus. The public is welcome to attend the twice-yearly meetings. They produced new translations of the New Testament plus the Gospel of Thomas to use as textual sources. They published their results in three reports The Five Gospels (1993),[4] The Acts of Jesus (1998),[5] and The Gospel of Jesus (1999).[6] They also run a series of lectures and workshops in various U.S. cities. This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Robert W. Funk (July 18, 1926-September 3, 2005), was founder of the controversial Jesus Seminar and the nonprofit Westar Institute in Santa Rosa, California. ... John Dominic Crossan (born Nenagh, Co. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... The quest for the historical Jesus is the attempt to use historical rather than religious methods to construct a verifiable biography of Jesus. ... This article is about Jesus the man, using historical methods to reconstruct a biography of his life and times. ... The Gospel of Thomas is a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ...


The seminar's reconstruction of Jesus portrays him as a wandering wisdom sage who did not found a new religion or rise from the dead, but preached in startling parables and aphorisms. He often turned common ideas upside down, confounding the expectations of his audience. He preached of "Heaven's imperial rule" (traditionally translated as "Kingdom of God"), which was already present but unseen. He depicts God as a loving father. He fraternizes with outsiders and criticizes insiders. Chokhmah or chochmah or hokhmah, (חכמה) is the Hebrew word for wisdom. A wise man is a chacham (feminine: chachama). ... The word schism (IPA: or ), from the Greek σχίσμα, skhísma (from σχίζω, skhízō, to tear, to split), means a division or a split, usually in an organization or a movement. ... // For a comparison of parable with other kinds of stories, see Myth, legend, fairy tale, and fable. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Kingdom of God or Reign of... In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ...


The seminar treats the gospels as historical artifacts, representing not only Jesus' actual words and deeds but also the inventions and elaborations of the early Christian community and of the gospel authors. The fellows placed the burden of proof on those who advocate any passage's historicity. Unconcerned with canonical boundaries, they asserted that the Gospel of Thomas has more authentic material than the Gospel of John.[7] For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... The Early Christians is a term used to refer to the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth, before the emergence of established Christian orthodoxy. ... The Gospel of Thomas is a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ...


While analyzing the gospels as fallible human creations is a standard historical-critical method,[8] the seminar's premise that Jesus did not hold an apocalyptic world view is controversial. The fellows argue that the authentic words of Jesus indicate that he preached a sapiential eschatology (which encourages his disciples to repair the world) rather than an apocalyptic eschatology (which encourages his disciples to prepare for the end of the world).[9][10] This premise is in contrast to the one of contemporary evangelical scholars who maintain the image of Jesus as an apocalyptic figure preaching an inaugurated eschatology, which attempts to syncretize present and future expressions of the world to come. Higher criticism is a branch of literary analysis that attempts to investigate the origins of a text, especially the text of the Bible. ... For people named Wisdom, see Wisdom (surname). ... In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. ... Tikkun Olam (תיקון עולם) is a Hebrew phrase which translates literally as repairing the world. It is a belief that was made central by the Kabbalah, esoteric Jewish mysticism, which is developed in the Zohar, a classic book of Jewish mysticism. ... For other uses, see Apocalypse (disambiguation). ... For the book by Pope Benedict XVI, see Eschatology (book). ... // In the three Abrahamic Religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity), the End Times are depicted as a time of tribulation that precede the predicted coming of a Messiah figure. ... The word evangelicalism usually refers to a broad collection of religious beliefs, practices, and traditions which are found among conservative Protestant Christians. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Kingdom of God... Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. ... Jewish eschatology is concerned with the Jewish Messiah (Mashiach), the continuation of the Davidic line, and Olam Haba, (Hebrew for the world to come; i. ...

Contents

Use of historical methods

The scholars attending attempt to reconstruct the life of the historical Jesus. They try to ask who he was, what he did, what he said, and what his sayings meant using all the evidence and available tools. Their reconstruction is based on social anthropology, history and textual analysis. The key feature is the rejection of apocalyptic eschatology. They use cross-cultural anthropological studies to set the general background, narrow in on the history and society of first-century Palestine, and use textual analysis (along with more anthropology and history) to focus on Jesus himself. They use a combination of primary sources, secondary sources, and archaeological evidence. Their methodology, which was developed by a team of scholars (who expounded papers for the review of other Fellows and published many in Forum) and is explained in The Five Gospels (the four canonical gospels plus the Gospel of Thomas), involves canvassing the records of the first four centuries for traditions about Jesus and sifting them by criteria such as multiple attestation, distinctiveness, and orality. The quest for the historical Jesus is the attempt to use historical rather than religious methods to construct a verifiable biography of Jesus. ... Anthropology (from Greek: ἀνθρωπος, anthropos, human being; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the comparative study of the physical and social characteristics of humanity through the examination of historical and present geographical distribution, cultural history, acculturation, and cultural relationships. ... The historical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research and then to write history. ... Hermeneutics may be described as the development and study of theories of the interpretation and understanding of texts. ... For other uses, see Apocalypse (disambiguation). ... For the book by Pope Benedict XVI, see Eschatology (book). ... Young people interacting within an ethnically diverse society. ... Iudaea Province in the 1st century Iudaea was a Roman province that extended over Judaea (Palestine). ... A primary source is any piece of information that is used for constructing history as an artifact of its times. ... Secondary sources are texts based on primary sources, and involve generalization, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Methodology is defined as the analysis of the // == Headline text == principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline or the development of methods, to be applied within a discipline a particular procedure or set of procedures. [1]. It should be noted that methodology is frequently used when method... For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... The Gospel of Thomas is a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ... The criterion of multiple attestation or independent attestation is a tool used by some Biblical scholars to help determine whether certain actions or sayings by Jesus in the New Testament are from Jesus or from the Church that followed. ...


"Seven pillars of scholarly wisdom"

The Five Gospels lists seven bases for the modern critical scholarship of Jesus. These "pillars" have developed since the end of the 18th century.

  1. Distinguishing between historical Jesus and the Christ of faith (see Hermann Samuel Reimarus, David Strauss).
  2. Recognizing the synoptic gospels as more historically accurate than John (19th century German tradition, see higher criticism).
  3. The priority of Mark before Matthew and Luke (by 1900)
  4. Identification of the Q document (by 1900)
  5. Rejection of eschatological (apocalyptic) Jesus (1970s and 1980s).
  6. Distinction between oral and written culture
  7. Reversal of burden of proof from those who consider gospel content to be ahistorical to those who consider it historical.

While some of these pillars are noncontroversial, some scholars of the historical Jesus follow Albert Schweitzer[11] in regarding him as apocalyptic. The Five Gospels says that the non-apocalyptic view gained ground in the 1970s and 1980s when research into Jesus shifted out of religious environments and into secular academia. Marcus Borg says "the old consensus that Jesus was an eschatological prophet who proclaimed the imminent end of the world has disappeared," and identifies two reasons for this change[12]. First, since the 1960s, the gospel references to the coming Son of Man have been sometimes viewed as insertions by the early Christian community. Second, many scholars came to see Jesus' kingdom of God as a present reality, a "realized eschatology", rather than an imminent end of the world. The apocalyptic elements attributed to Jesus, according to The Five Gospels, come from John the Baptist and the early Christian community (p. 4). Hermann Samuel Reimarus (December 22, 1694, Hamburg - March 1, 1768, Hamburg), a German philosopher and writer of the Enlightenment who is remembered for his Deism, the doctrine that human reason can arrive at a knowledge of God and ethics from a study of nature and our own internal reality, so... Portrait of David Strauss. ... Markan priority is the hypothesis that the Gospel of Mark was the first written of the three Synoptic Gospels, and that the two other synoptic evangelists, Matthew and Luke, used Marks Gospel as one of their sources. ... The Two-Source Hypothesis is the most commonly accepted solution to the synoptic problem among biblical scholars, which posits that there are two sources to Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke: the Gospel of Mark and a lost, hypothetical sayings collection called Q. The Two-Source Hypothesis was first... Albert Schweitzer, M.D., OM, (January 14, 1875 - September 4, 1965), was an Alsatian theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician. ... Marcus Borg is a contemporary Jesus Scholar and religious author. ... The phrase suck my dick is a primarily Semitic idiom that originated in Ancient Mesopotamia, used to let a woman know how he wants it up the ass. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Kingdom of God or Reign of... Popularized by C.H. Dodd (1884–1973), this eschatological theory holds that the eschatological passages in the New Testament do not refer to the future, but instead refer to the work and life of Jesus himself. ... For the hip-hop producer with the same name, see John the Baptist (producer). ... The Early Christians is a term used to refer to the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth, before the emergence of established Christian orthodoxy. ...


The Scholars translation

The Seminar began by translating the gospels into modern American English, producing the "Scholars Version," (to be found in The Five Gospels). This translation uses current colloquialisms and contemporary phrasing in an effort to provide a contemporary sense of the gospel authors' styles, if not their literal words. The goal was to let the reader hear the message as a first-century listener might have. The translators avoided other translations' archaic, literal translation of the text, or a superficial update of it. For example, they translate "woe to you" as "damn you" because it sounds like something someone today would really say. The authors of The Five Gospels allege that some other gospel translations have attempted to unify the language of the gospels, while they themselves have tried to preserve each author's distinct voice. For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ...


Seminar proceedings

The Jesus Seminar, like the translation committees who created the King James Version and the Revised Standard Version of the Bible and the Novum Testamentum Graece, chose voting as the most efficient means of determining consensus in an assembled group. The system also lent itself to publicity, which the Seminar actively pursued. This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in the mid-20th century. ... Novum Testamentum Graece is the name (in the Latin language) of the Greek language version of the New Testament. ...


The Fellows used a "bead system" to vote on the authenticity of about 500 statements and events. The color of the bead represented how sure the Fellow was that a saying or act was or was not authentic.

  • Red beads – indicated the voter believed Jesus did say the passage quoted, or something very much like the passage. (3 Points)
  • Pink beads – indicated the voter believed Jesus probably said something like the passage. (2 Points)
  • Grey beads – indicated the voter believed Jesus did not say the passage, but it contains Jesus' ideas. (1 Point)
  • Black beads – indicated the voter believed Jesus did not say the passage—it comes from later admirers or a different tradition. (0 Points)

The consensus position was determined by the average weighted score, rather than by simple majority. This meant that all opinions were reflected in the decisions. The voting system means that the reader can second-guess each vote. The Five Gospels defines not only the result of the vote (red, pink, gray, or black) but also how many polls were necessary to reach a conclusion (if any were necessary at all) and why various fellows chose to vote in different ways. This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...


Attendees, however, did more than vote. They met semi-annually to debate the papers presented. Some verses required extensive debate and repeated votes.


Sayings of Jesus

The first findings of the Jesus Seminar were published in 1993 as The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus.[4] Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...


Criteria for authenticity

Like other scholars of the historical Jesus, the Jesus Seminar treats the gospels as fallible historical artifacts, containing both authentic and inauthentic material. Like their colleagues, the fellows used several criteria for determining whether a particular saying or story is authentic, including the criteria of multiple attestation and embarrassment. Among additional criteria used by the fellows are the following: The criterion of multiple attestation or independent attestation is a tool used by some Biblical scholars to help determine whether certain actions or sayings by Jesus in the New Testament are from Jesus or from the Church that followed. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

  • Orality: According to current estimates, the gospels weren't written until decades after Jesus' death. Parables, aphorisms, and stories were passed down orally (30 - 50 CE). The fellows judged whether a saying was a short, catchy pericope that could possibly survive intact from the speaker's death until decades later when it was first written down. If so, it's more likely to be authentic. For example, "turn the other cheek."
  • Irony: Based on several important narrative parables (such as the Parable of the Good Samaritan), the fellows decided that irony, reversal, and frustration of expectations were characteristic of Jesus' style. Does a pericope present opposites or impossibilities? If it does, it's more likely to be authentic. For example, "love your enemies."
  • Trust in God: A long discourse attested in three gospels has Jesus telling his listeners not to fret but to trust in the Father. Fellows looked for this theme in other sayings they deemed authentic. For example, "Ask -- it'll be given to you."

The Expounding of the Law (KJV:Matthew 5:17-48), sometimes called the Antithesis of the Law, is a less well known but highly structured (Ye have heard . ... The Good Samaritan. From a collection of public domain Christian clip art. ... The Antithesis of the Law (Matthew 5:17-48) is a less well known but highly structured (you have heard . ... The discourse on holiness forms the concluding part of the Sermon on the Mount, following immediately from the discourse on judgementalism. ...

Criteria for inauthenticity

The seminar looked for several characteristics that, in their judgment, identified a saying as inauthentic, including self-reference, leadership issues, and apocalyptic themes.

  • Self-reference: Does the text have Jesus referring to himself? For example, "I am the way, and I am the truth, and I am life" (John 14:1-14).
  • Framing Material: Are the verses used to introduce, explain, or frame other material, which might itself be authentic? For example, in Luke, the "red" parable of the good samaritan is framed by scenes about Jesus telling the parable, and the seminar deemed Jesus' framing words in these scenes to be "black."
  • Community Issues: Do the verses refer to the concerns of the early Christian community, such as instructions for missionaries or issues of leadership? For example, Peter as "the rock" on which Jesus builds his church (Matthew 16:17-19).
  • Theological Agenda: Do the verses support an opinion or outlook that is unique to the gospel, possibly indicating redactor bias? For example, the prophecy of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46) was voted black because the fellows saw it as representing Matthew's agenda of speaking out against unworthy members of the Christian community.

Redaction Criticism, also called Redaktionsgeschichte, Kompositionsgeschichte, or Redaktionstheologie. ...

Authentic sayings, as determined by the seminar

The Red sayings (with % indicating the weighted average of those in agreement), given in the Seminar's own "Scholar's Version" translation, are:

1. Turn the other cheek (92%): Mt 5:39, Lk6:29a
2. Coat & shirt: Mt5:40 (92%), Lk6:29b (90%)
3. Congratulations, poor!: Lk6:20b (91%), Th54 (90%), Mt5:3 (63%)
4. Second mile (90%): Mt5:41
5. Love your enemies: Lk6:27b (84%), Mt5:44b (77%), Lk6:32,35a (56%) (compare to black rated "Pray for your enemies": POxy1224 6:1a; Didache 1:3; Poly-Phil 12:3; and "Love one another": John 13:34-35, Romans 13:8, 1 Peter 1:22)
6. Leaven: Lk13:20–21 (83%), Mt13:33 (83%), Th96:1–2 (65%)
7. Emperor & God (82%): Th100:2b–3, Mk12:17b, Lk20:25b, Mt22:21c (also Egerton Gospel 3:1-6)
8. Give to beggars (81%): Lk6:30a, Mt5:42a, Didache1:5a
9. Good Samaritan (81%): Lk10:30–35
10. Congrats, hungry!: Lk6:21a (79%), Mt5:6 (59%), Th69:2 (53%)
11. Congrats, sad!: Lk6:21b (79%), Mt5:4 (73%)
12. Shrewd manager (77%): Lk16:1–8a
13. Vineyard laborers (77%): Mt20:1–15
14. Abba, Father (77%): Mt6:9b, Lk11:2c
15. The Mustard Seed : Th20:2–4 (76%), Mk4:30–32 (74%), Lk13:18–19 (69%), Mt13:31–32 (67%)

The Expounding of the Law (KJV:Matthew 5:17-48), sometimes called the Antithesis of the Law, is a less well known but highly structured (Ye have heard . ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον, Kata Maththaion or Kata Matthaion) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Antithesis of the Law (Matthew 5:17-48) is a less well known but highly structured (you have heard . ... The Beatitudes (from Latin, beatitudo, happiness) is the name given to the well-known, definitive and beginning portion of the Sermon on the Mount of the Gospel of Matthew. ... The Gospel of Thomas is a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ... The Antithesis of the Law (Matthew 5:17-48) is a less well known but highly structured (you have heard . ... The Antithesis of the Law (Matthew 5:17-48) is a less well known but highly structured (you have heard . ... The Oxyrhynchus Gospels are two fragmentary manuscripts (British Library accession numbers 840 and 1224), which throw light on early non-canonical Gospel traditions of Christianity for scholars, but which are ignored by most Christians due to their being extremely fragmentary. ... The Didache (, Koine Greek for Teaching[1]) is the common name of a brief early Christian treatise ( 70–160), containing instructions for Christian communities. ... Polycarp of Smyrna (d. ... The Parable of the Leaven was given by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew and Luke). ... Christ and the tribute by Masaccio “Render unto Caesar…” is a phrase attributed to Jesus in the synoptic gospels. ... The Gospel of Mark (literally, according to Mark; Greek, Κατά Μαρκον, Kata Markon),(anonymous[1] but ascribed to Mark the Evangelist) is a Gospel of the New Testament. ... The Egerton Gospel (British Library Egerton Papyrus 2) refers to a group of fragments of a codex of a previously unknown gospel, found in Egypt and sold to the British Museum in 1934; the physical fragments are now dated to the very end of the 2nd century AD, although the... The Antithesis of the Law (Matthew 5:17-48) is a less well known but highly structured (you have heard . ... The Good Samaritan The Good Samaritan is a famous New Testament parable, that appears only in the Gospel of Luke (10:25-37). ... The Beatitudes (from Latin, beatitudo, happiness) is the name given to the well-known, definitive and beginning portion of the Sermon on the Mount of the Gospel of Matthew. ... The Beatitudes (from Latin, beatitudo, happiness) is the name given to the well-known, definitive and beginning portion of the Sermon on the Mount of the Gospel of Matthew. ... The Unjust Steward was a parable given by Jesus in the New Testament (Luke). ... The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard or the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Parable of the Generous Employer) was given by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew). ... Most scholars believe that Jesus spoke both Hebrew and Aramaic, and possibly Greek. ... The parable of the mustard seed is a story by Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Mark. ...

Some probably authentic sayings, as determined by the seminar

The top 15 (of 75) Pink sayings are:

16. On anxieties, don't fret (75%): Th36, Lk12:22–23, Mt6:25
17. Lost Coin (75%): Lk15:8–9
18. Foxes have dens: Lk9:58 (74%), Mt8:20 (74%), Th86 (67%)
19. No respect at home: Th31:1 (74%), Lk4:24(71%), Jn4:44 (67%), Mt13:57 (60%), Mk6:4 (58%)
20. Friend at midnight (72%): Lk11:5–8
21. Two masters : Lk16:13a, Mt6:24a (72%); Th47:2 (65%)
22. Treasure: Mt13:44 (71%), Th109 (54%)
23. Lost sheep: Lk15:4–6 (70%), Mt18:12–13 (67%), Th107 (48%)
24. What goes in: Mk7:14–15 (70%), Th14:5 (67%), Mt15:10-11 (63%)
25. Corrupt judge (70%): Lk18:2–5
26. Prodigal son (70%): Lk15:11–32
27. Leave the dead (see also But to bring a sword, Nazirite): Mt8:22 (70%), Lk9:59–60 (69%)
28. Castration for Heaven (see also Origen, Antithesis of the Law) (70%): Mt19:12a
29. By their fruit (69%) (see Antinomianism): Mt7:16b, Th45:1a, Lk6:44b (56%)
30. The dinner party, The wedding celebration: Th64:1–11 (69%), Lk14:16-23 (56%), Mt22:2-13 (26%)

The discourse on ostentation, Matthew 6, is a section of the Sermon on the Mount, occurring after the antithesis of the Law, but before the discourse on judgementalism, according to the Gospel of Matthew. ... The Parable of the Lost Coin is a parable told by Jesus in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Despite recording many Miracles of Jesus, particularly in Capernaum, the Gospels also record some Rejection of Jesus. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ... The Parable of the Friend at Night (The Sons Request) was given by Jesus in the New Testament (Luke). ... The discourse on ostentation, Matthew 6, is a section of the Sermon on the Mount, occurring after the antithesis of the Law, but before the discourse on judgementalism, according to the Gospel of Matthew. ... The Parable of the Hidden Treasure was given by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew). ... The Parable of the Lost Sheep is a parable told by Jesus in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7. ... According to the Canonical Gospels, the Ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was around 30 years old, and lasted a period of 1-3 years, with the Synoptic Gospels generally being considered to argue for it having been a period of 1 year, and the Gospel of John arguing for... The Unjust Judge is a story found in the Gospel of Luke, 18:1-8. ... The Return of the Prodigal Son (1773) by Pompeo Batoni The Prodigal Son, also known as The Lost Son is one of the best known parables of Jesus. ... I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword is one of the controversial statements reported of Jesus in the Bible. ... A Nazirite or Nazarite, (in Hebrew: נזיר,Nazir), refers to a Jew who took an ascetic vow described in Numbers 6:1-21. ... Castration (also referred as: gelding, neutering, orchiectomy, orchidectomy, and oophorectomy) is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testes or a female loses the functions of the ovaries. ... Origen Origen (Greek: Ōrigénēs, 185–ca. ... The Antithesis of the Law (Matthew 5:17-48) is a less well known but highly structured (you have heard . ... The discourse on holiness forms the concluding part of the Sermon on the Mount, following immediately from the discourse on judgementalism. ... Antinomianism (from the Greek αντι, against + νομος, law), or lawlessness (in the Greek Bible: ανομια, which is unlawful), in theology, is the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality as presented by religious authorities. ... The Marriage of the Kings Son (Wedding feast, Great Supper) was a parable given by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew, Luke). ...

Overall reliability of the five gospels

The Seminar concluded that of the various statements in the "five gospels" attributed to Jesus, only about 18% of them were likely uttered by Jesus himself (red or pink). The Gospel of John fared worse than the synoptic gospels, with nearly all its passages attributed to Jesus being judged inauthentic[13]. The Gospel of Thomas includes just two unique sayings that the seminar attributes to Jesus: the empty jar (97) and the assassin (98). Every other probably-authentic or authentic saying has parallels in the synoptics. The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ... In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke are so similar that they are called the synoptic gospels (from Greek, συν, syn, together, and οψις, opsis, seeing). ... The Gospel of Thomas is a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ... The parable of the empty jar, also known as the parable of the woman with a jar is a parable attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas. ... The Parable of the assassin is a parable attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas. ...


Gehenna and Hades

The gospels use the terms gehenna and hades for places of fiery punishment and death. The fellows rated Jesus' references to gehenna and hades as gray at best, often black. Some such references (such as the parable of Lazarus and Dives) have features that the fellows might regard as authentic, such as dramatic reversals of fortune. These received gray designations. The fellows regarded other references as inventions of early Christians responding to those who rejected Jesus' message or to "false" Christians within the community. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In some Christian traditions, hades is the abode of the dead where the righteous and unrighteous alike await resurrection and judgment. ... Dives and Lazarus or Lazarus and Dives is a parable[1] attributed to Jesus that is reported only in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 16:19-16:31). ...


Example: the beatitudes

The Jesus Seminar rated various beatitudes as red, pink, gray, and black.


To analyze the beatitudes, they first innovated a nonliteral translation for the formula "blessed are," as in "Blessed are the poor." Modern readers are familiar enough with the beatitudes that this construction doesn't shock or surprise, as the original sayings allegedly did. As the modern equivalent, the Scholar's Version uses "Congratulations!"


Three beatitudes are "paradoxical" and doubly attested. They are rated red (authentic) as they appear in Luke 6:20-21.

Congratulations, you poor!
God's domain belongs to you.
Congratulations, you hungry!
You will have a feast.
Congratulations, you who weep now!
You will laugh.

These beatitudes feature the dramatic presentation and reversal of expectations that the seminar regards as characteristic of Jesus.


The beatitude for those persecuted in Jesus' name might trace back to Jesus as a beatitude for those who suffer, the fellows decided, but in its final form the saying represents concerns of the Christian community rather than Jesus' message. Thus it received a gray rating.


Matthew's version of the three authentic beatitudes were rated pink. The author has spiritualized two of them, so that they now refer to the poor "in spirit" and to those who hunger "and thirst for justice." Matthew also includes beatitudes for the meek, the merciful, the pure of heart, and peace-makers. These beatitudes have no second attestation, lack irony, and received a black rating.


Acts of Jesus

In 1998 the Jesus Seminar published The Acts of Jesus: The Search for the Authentic Deeds of Jesus.[5] According to the front flap summary: "Through rigorous research and debate, they have combed the gospels for evidence of the man behind the myths. The figure they have discovered is very different from the icon of traditional Christianity."


According to the Jesus Seminar:

The 10 authentic ("red") acts of Jesus are: The Nativity by Caravaggio, 1609. ... Herod (‎, Greek: ), also known as Herod I or Herod the Great, was a Roman client king of Judaea (73 BC – 4 BC in Jericho)[1]. Herod is known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and other parts of the ancient world, including the construction of the Second Temple in... Saint Mary and Saint Mary the Virgin both redirect here. ... For other uses, see Saint Joseph (disambiguation). ... Hebrew נָצְרַת (Natzrat) (Standard) Náẓərat Arabic الناصرة (an-Nāṣira) Name Meaning Ancient word in Hebrew Government City District North Population 64,800[1] (2006) Jurisdiction 14 200 dunams (14. ... Central Bethlehem Bethlehem (Arabic بيت لحم   house of meat; Standard Hebrew בית לחם house of bread, Bet léḥem / Bet láḥem; Tiberian Hebrew Bêṯ léḥem / Bêṯ lāḥem; Greek: Βηθλεέμ) is a city in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank under Palestinian Authority considered a central hub of Palestinian cultural and tourism... Look up sage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A psychosomatic illness is one with physical manifestations and supposed psychological cause, often diagnosed when any known or identifiable physical cause was excluded by medical examination. ... Not to be confused with Walk on Water . ... The Feeding of the 5000 redirects here. ... In the Christian New Testament, the Gospel of John refers a number of times to a town called Cana of Galilee. ... Resurrection of Lazarus by Juan de Flandes, around 1500. ... Gethsemane by Wassilij Grigorjewitsch Perow The Arrest of Jesus is a pivotal event recorded in the Canonical Gospels, in which Jesus is arrested. ... Religious depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus typically show him supported by nails through the palms. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Son of God is... entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment - an image from the Pericopes of Henry II In the Gospels, the empty tomb is the first sign of the Resurrection of Jesus. ... The death and resurrection of Jesus are two events in the New Testament in which Jesus is crucified on one day (the Day of Preparation, i. ... The vision hypothesis is a term used to cover a range of theories that question the physical resurrection of Jesus, and suggest that sightings of a risen Jesus were visionary experiences. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ... According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside-down, as shown in this painting by Caravaggio. ... The penitent Mary Magdalene, a much reproduced composition by Titian. ...

  1. The Beelzebul controversy: Luke 11:15-17
  2. A voice in the wilderness: Mark 1:1-8, Matt 3:1-12, Luke 3:1-20, Gospel of the Ebionites 1
  3. John baptizes Jesus: Mark 1:9-11, Matt 3:13-17, Luke 3:21-22, Gospel of the Ebionites 4
  4. Jesus proclaims the good news: Mark 1:14-15
  5. Dining with sinners: Mark 2:15-17, Matt 9:10-13, Oxyrhynchus Gospels 1224 5:1-2
  6. Herod beheads John: Mark 6:14-29, Matt 14:1-12, Luke 9:7-9
  7. Crucifixion: core event considered authentic but all gospel reports are "improbable or fictive" ("black")
  8. The Death of Jesus: core event considered authentic but all gospel reports are "improbable or fictive" ("black")
  9. The first list of appearances: Jesus appeared to Cephas: 1Cor 15:3-5
  10. Birth of Jesus: Jesus's parents were named Joseph and Mary: parts of Matt 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-7

The 19 "pink" acts ("a close approximation of what Jesus did") are: Saint Francis exorcised demons in Arezzo, fresco of Giotto Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure, correctly pronounced exercism) is the practice of evicting demons or other evil spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed (taken control of). ... For the hip-hop producer with the same name, see John the Baptist (producer). ... The Gospel of the Ebionites is a text sharing an affinity with the Gospel of the Hebrews and the Gospel of the Nazarenes. ... In the synoptic gospels, Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist. ... For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The Oxyrhynchus Gospels are two fragmentary manuscripts (British Library accession numbers 840 and 1224), which throw light on early non-canonical Gospel traditions of Christianity for scholars, but which are ignored by most Christians due to their being extremely fragmentary. ... For the hip-hop producer with the same name, see John the Baptist (producer). ... Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead. ... The death and resurrection of Jesus are two events in the New Testament in which Jesus is crucified on one day (the Day of Preparation, i. ... In the Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio depicted the moment the disciples recognise Jesus The Resurrection appearances of Jesus are reported by the Canonical Gospels to have occurred after the discovery of the empty tomb. ... Most scholars believe that Jesus spoke both Hebrew and Aramaic, and possibly Greek. ... The Nativity by Caravaggio, 1609. ...

  1. Peter's mother-in-law: Mark 1:29-31, Matt 8:14-15, Luke 4:42-44
  2. The leper: Mark 1:40-45, Matt 8:1-4, Luke 5:12-16, Egerton Gospel 2:1-4
  3. Paralytic and four: Mark 2:1-12, Matt 9:1-8, Luke 5:17-26
  4. Call of Levi: Mark 2:13-14, Matt 9:9, Luke 5:27-28, Gospel of the Ebionites 2:4
  5. Sabbath observance: Mark 2:23-28, Matt 12:1-8, Luke 6:1-5
  6. Jesus' relatives come to get him: Mark 3:20-21
  7. True relatives: Mark 3:31-35, Matt 12:46-50, Thomas 99:1-3
  8. Woman with a vaginal hemorrhage: Mark 5:24-34, Matt 9:20-22, Luke 8:42-48
  9. No respect at home: Mark 6:1-6, Matt 13:54-58
  10. Eating with defiled hands: Mark 7:1-13, Matt 15:1-9
  11. Demand for a sign: Luke 11:29-30
  12. The blind man of Bethsaida: Mark 8:22-26
  13. Blind Bartimaeus: Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43
  14. Temple incident: Mark 11:15-19, Matt 21:12-17, Luke 19:45-48
  15. Emperor & God: Mark 12:13-17, Matt 22:15-22, Luke 20:19-26, Thomas 100:1-4, Egerton 3:1-6
  16. The arrest: core event not accurately recorded
  17. Before the high priest: core event not accurately recorded
  18. Before the Council: core event not accurately recorded
  19. Before Pilate: core event not accurately recorded

Also 1 red "summary and setting" (not a saying or action): Women companions of Jesus: Luke 8:1-3. for the WW1 tank see Mark I for the type of British railway carriage, see British Railways Mark 1 Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... for the WW1 tank see Mark I for the type of British railway carriage, see British Railways Mark 1 Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The Egerton Gospel (British Library Egerton Papyrus 2) refers to a group of fragments of a codex of a previously unknown gospel, found in Egypt and sold to the British Museum in 1934; the physical fragments are now dated to the very end of the 2nd century AD, although the... Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Mark 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Mark 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Mark 4 is the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Mark 6 is the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Mark 7 is the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The July 1974 issue of Radio-Electronics: Build The Mark-8: Your Personal Minicomputer. The Mark-8 is a microcomputer design from 1974, based on the Intel 8008 CPU (which was the worlds first 8-bit microprocessor). ... Mark 10 is the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The narrative of Jesus and the Money Changers occurs in both the Synoptic Gospels and in the Gospel of John, although it occurs close to the end of the Synoptic Gospels (at Mark 11:15-19, 11:27-33, Matthew 21:12-17, 21:23-27 and Luke 19:45... Christ and the tribute by Masaccio “Render unto Caesar…” is a phrase attributed to Jesus in the synoptic gospels. ... Gethsemane by Wassilij Grigorjewitsch Perow The Arrest of Jesus is a pivotal event recorded in the Canonical Gospels, in which Jesus is arrested. ... The Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus is an event reported by all the Canonical Gospels, in Mark 14:53–65, Matthew 26:57–68, Luke 22:63–71 and John 18:12-24. ... Pontius Pilate (Latin Pontius Pilatus) was the governor of the small Roman province of Judea from 26 until 36? AD although Tacitus believed him to be the procurator of that province. ...


Criticism of the Jesus Seminar

Arguably the single most telling criticism of the Jesus Seminar is that their "Criteria for In/Authenticity" create 'an eccentric Jesus who learned nothing from his own culture and made no impact on his followers'.[14] As others have observed, why would such a Jesus be crucified?[15]


Other criticisms levelled against the Jesus Seminar include charges that:

  • the voting system is seriously flawed,
  • the criteria defining what constitutes red/pink/grey/black are inconsistent,
  • it was an error to exclude apocalyptic messages from Jesus' ministry,
  • the attempt to popularize Jesus research degraded the scholarly value of the effort,
  • the conclusions largely represent the premises of the fellows: 'Beware of finding a Jesus entirely congenial to you.' Funk et al., The Five Gospels;
  • only about 14 of the fellows are leading figures in New Testament scholarship, and
  • the fellows do not represent a fair cross-section of viewpoints.

Some scholars have reasserted Albert Schweitzer's eschatological view of Jesus.[16]
Dale Allison of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, in his 1999 book Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet, cited what he felt were problems with the work of (particularly) Funk, John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg, arguing that their conclusions were at least in part predetermined by their theological positions. He also pointed out the limitations of their presumptions and methodology. Allison argued that despite the conclusions of the seminar, Jesus was a prophetic figure focused to a large extent on apocalyptic thinking. The quest for the historical Jesus is the attempt to use historical rather than religious methods to construct a verifiable biography of Jesus. ... Dr. Dale Allison Dale Allison is a Christian theologian who currently serves as Errett M. Grable Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Early Christianity at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary since 1997. ... Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, founded in 1794, is a graduate theological institution associated with the Presbyterian Church USA. It is located in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and houses one of the largest theological libraries in the nation. ... John Dominic Crossan (born Nenagh, Co. ... Marcus Borg is a contemporary Jesus Scholar and religious author. ...


The voting system has been heavily criticised by among others NT Wright, who says '... I cannot understand how, if a majority ... thought a saying authentic or probably authentic, the "weighted average" turned out to be "probably inauthentic". A voting system that produces a result like this ought to be scrapped.'[17] Nicholas Thomas Tom Wright (b. ...


Many conservative scholars, including Evangelical scholars, have questioned the methodology, assumptions and intent of the Jesus Seminar. One of the Seminar's tests for inauthenticity is that it "matches closely with beliefs of the early Church community". Matthias Zahniser, Asbury Theological Seminary criticizes this saying that it prohibits the possibility that Jesus would be concerned with anything the early Church is concerned with.[citation needed] The word evangelicalism usually refers to a broad collection of religious beliefs, practices, and traditions which are found among conservative Protestant Christians. ... Asbury Theological Seminary was founded in Wilmore, Kentucky in 1923 by its first president, Henry Clay Morrison. ...


Luke Timothy Johnson[18] of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, in his 1996 book The Real Jesus, voiced concerns with the seminar's work. He criticized the techniques of the Seminar, believing them to be far more limited for historical reconstruction than seminar members believe. Their conclusions were "already determined ahead of time," Johnson says, which "is not responsible, or even critical scholarship. It is a self-indulgent charade." He further argued that while many members of the seminar are reputable scholars (Borg, Crossan, Funk, others), others are relatively unknown or undistinguished in the field of biblical studies. One member, Paul Verhoeven, holds a Ph.D. in mathematics and physics,[19] not biblical studies, and is best known as a film director. Johnson also critiqued the seminar for its attempts to gain the attention of the media for the 2000 ABC News program "The Search for Jesus" hosted by news anchor Peter Jennings. Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson is the R.W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. ... One of 13 seminaries of the United Methodist Church, the Candler School of Theology is one of the nine academic divisions of Emory University. ... Emory University is a private university located in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. ... Paul Verhoeven (IPA: [pʌul vɛrhuvən]) (born July 18, 1938 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch film director, screenwriter, and film producer. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ABC News Special Report ident, circa 2006 ABC News is a division of American television and radio network ABC, owned by The Walt Disney Company. .