Jeff MacDonald, a good journalist has written an article for the Religious News Service which has now appeared in the Huffington Post about the impact of the Jesus Seminar 25 years later, and what they are up to now. Here is the link to the article…..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/31/jesus-seminar-celebrates-_n_701396.html
You will discover that my friend Richard Hays at Duke and I were interviewed for the article about the conservative reaction to the Jesus Seminar. See what you think.
BW3
posted September 1, 2010 at 2:23 pm
While I have some problems with the Seminar’s methodology (voting as opposed to following a deterministic set of principles), I think they brought new interest to the Gospels. At least for me that’s what happened.
Also, the debates that followed were stimulating (e.g. Robert Miller’s “The Jesus Seminar and Its Critics”). This (third?) quest was probably inevitable considering the archeological discoveries and technological advances in the last half of the 20th century, which seemed to make earlier analysis of the Gospels obsolete, or possibly so.
My hope was that, somehow, a deeper analysis would reveal patterns that would enlighten and clarify points of dispute or doubt. Alas, the Gospels lack the sort of ancillary “color”, such as an extended narrative about how the disciples went about obtaining food, that could have increased our understanding of their economic and social status. The Gospels (I’m confining myself to the Synoptics) are much more concerned with the teachings of Jesus and his special capabilities. His siblings and parents are mostly a cipher. As is his education and even profession before he began his ministry.
Yes, I thought the Jesus Seminar might bring us closer to the Historical Jesus, even though barrels of ink have been spilled saying it’s just not possible. But the effort strikes me as worthwhile and I still hold out hope that new documents will emerge that will help on that score.
posted September 1, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Knowing JESUS CHRIST as a living, real,
personal Savior is a life-transforming
experience !!