While some archeologists are scholarly, there are also a great number of contra-scholarly academics who, whenever it contradicts their set-in-concrete positions, evade and dismiss irrefutable scientific evidence contributed by impeccable scientists (like Prof. Andrey Feuerverger and Prof. Wolfgang Krumbein), even when corroborated by the findings of a court of law (which found the charges of forgery of the Yaaqov ossuary baseless).

These contra-scholarly academics, secular Jews in concert with Christians, are committed to maintaining the status quo of Christian Hellenist perceptions, which date no earlier than Paul, to the exclusion and contradiction of documented history: the Judaic context demonstrated, inter alia, by Prof. Elisha Qimron in his work on Dead Sea Scroll 4Q MMT.

From at least the 4th century C.E., the world has accepted the Church’s definition of Jesus as their divine Son of God displacing (superseding) the Torah with himself as “grace,” as described in the Christian NT. Thus, Jesus is intractably anti-Torah (antinomian) and contradictory to documented history: the Judaic context, which defines the historical Jew as a Torah-teaching (pro-Torah) Pharisee Ribi: Yehoshua. Playing games with these names changes neither character any more than switching the names of a rose and an onion would change the characteristics of either. Jesus is the intractably contradictory polar opposite of Ribi Yehoshua. Thus, the very phrase “Historical Jesus” is an intractable oxymoron, pre-ensuring that any quest for it is impossible.

If there are any real scholars in this field, let them acknowledge the historically-documented Judaic context that defines and constrains the very real, historical Jew who was a Torah-teaching Pharisee Ribi — and let that, instead of Paul and post-135 C.E. Hellenist Roman fabrications, mold their conclusions about him and his teachings.

Instead of looking for the oxymoronic “Historical Jesus,” start looking, for the first time, for “Historical Pharisee-Ribi Yehoshua.” You can start your search, and find an enormous amount of information, at http://www.netzarim.co.il.

Paqid Yirmeyahu (member of Mensa)
Paqid 16, The Netzarim, Ra’anana, Israel
Israeli Orthodox Jew (Teimani Baladi Dardai)
Advancing Logic as Halakhic Authority
Welcoming Jews & non-Jews
http://www.netzarim.co.il

From Anders Branderud

What the Jesus Project could do is help atheists clean house and finally discourage the bad scholarship that mythicists have put out, instead of having academics and amateurs and cranks hash it out on FRDB.

That’s an interesting perspective. The quality of atheist argument does have to improve considerably if it is to have much influence on the opinions of skeptical people brought up as Christians.

Can God be less than all powerful and still be God? If God is all powerful, how then could he/she/it ‘want’ anything? By the same token, if I can make God angry, haven’t I exercised power over God, leaving he/she/it less than all powerful?

Oh yeah….now I remember, God moves in mysterious ways.

My impression is that the published “findings” will consist of a lot of scholarly papers that lay out the range of arguments. There will be no single conclusion.

Well that’s no fun

My impression is that the published “findings” will consist of a lot of scholarly papers that lay out the range of arguments. There will be no single conclusion.

Price is interviewed about the project here.

If there is favorable evidence for the existence of Jesus, Christians around the world will praise the Jesus Project for their open-mindedness, hard work & dedication to the Truth(tm).

If there is unfavorable evidence for the existence of Jesus, Christians around the world will condemn the Jesus Project for being closed minded, biased, liberal-media-loving Secularists.

vjack: “It isn’t like the religious are susceptible to things like science and reason!”

Holy overgeneralization, Batman!

You do know that higher criticism, like, oh, Wellhausen’s JEDP hypothesis, came from religious scholars, right? Don’t be too quick to reject what the liberal scholars have to offer.

However, I think it could be worthwhile for those of us in the reality-based community if it ends up strengthening the case either for or existence Jesus. Suppose they find compelling evidence that Jesus did exist. I’d certainly accept this and stop referring to him as a fiction.

The mythic elements of the story — from virgin birth to ressurection — are all taken from wildly popular near-eastern Mystery Religions, from the cult of Osiris in Egypt (and beyond) to the mysteries at Eleusis and Ephesus….

This is the parsimonious answer.

Until you actually have a look at the actual stories to which the accounts of Jesus are being compared. It’s interesting, for example, to see Osiris’ story being massaged into “Ascended to heaven after being resurrected” when the original story is more like “Went to the underworld after his body was put back together and temporarily revived after having been ripped apart.”

What the Jesus Project could do is help atheists clean house and finally discourage the bad scholarship that mythicists have put out, instead of having academics and amateurs and cranks hash it out on FRDB. Having the Jesus Project last five years and having it be open will be helpful, I hope, since that will allow for both opportunity and time to reply.