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$\"christ-1618197_640_opt\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Real Jesus\u201din National Geographic
\nby larryhurtado
\nI noticed when making a hurried visit to a local supermarket last evening that (just in time for Christmas) the current issue of National Geographic (Dec 2017) has its cover story: \u201cThe Real Jesus.\u201d \u201cMythicists\u201d will be disappointed, as the author (Kristin Romey) dismisses the option in one paragraph.<\/p>\n

She writes: \u201cMight it be possible that Jesus Christ never even existed, that the whole stained glass story is pure invention? It\u2019s an assertion that\u2019s championed by some outspoken skeptics\u2013but not, I discovered, by scholars, particularly archaeologists, whose work tends to bring flights of fancy down to earth\u201d (pp. 41-42). Ouch!!<\/p>\n

Or how about her quote of Eric Meyers (archaeologist and emeritus Professor in Judaic Studies, Duke University): \u201cI don\u2019t know any mainstream scholar who doubts the historicity of Jesus. . . The details have been debated for centuries, but no one who is serious doubts that he\u2019s a historical figure\u201d (p. 42).<\/p>\n

And then she cites Byron McCane (Florida Atlantic University), and John Dominic Crossan (co-chair of the Jesus Seminar) to the same effect.<\/p>\n

This, of course, is more a journalist\u2019s report on scholarly views, not an original judgement. But it reflects what many of us have been saying when asked about the \u201cmythical Jesus\u201d claim. No real traction among scholars.<\/p>\n

[P.S. from BWIII, the Meyers are mainstream Jewish scholars, and of course Crossan was a leader of the Jesus Seminar, not a conservative scholar]<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"