I have often heard fellow scholars exclaim in frustration that the criterion of dissimilarity yields such meager results that no one could ever write Jesus\u2019 biography based upon it. But that isn\u2019t the criterion\u2019s purpose. It was designed to help sift through the Gospels for indisputable facts so that scholars could be sure that the stories are, at least in part, historical. It seems to me, as a Jew and so as an outsider, that the criterion also has developed a secondary important function: It cautions Christians of different denominations about getting overconfident about their particular beliefs. Almost all Christians see their own beliefs as grounded in the authentic New Testament facts; the criterion suggests that very few facts are actually undisputable.<\/p>\n
For all the rigor of the standard it sets, the criterion demonstrates that Jesus existed\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A healthy antidote to mythicism is particularly welcome at this time of year, when stories from the Gospels that are at least mostly mythical are to the fore in people\u2019s minds. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
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