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Definition:
The title "Quest for the Historical Jesus" is given to various attempts through history
to determine the actual charcter, nature and teachings of Jesus. The phrase itself stems
from the title of an influential work by H.S. Reimarus (1694-1768)
As mentioned above, the industry for finding an original Jesus really took off during the Enlightenment as more and more people attempted to dissect religious traditions with the tools of historical and literary analysis. Allen reveals for us an interesting cast of characters - philosophers, ministers, scholars, politicians, lay people, and more who all attempted to describe who they though the "real Jesus" was.
Hermann Reimarus was considered by many to be the father of German textual criticism of the Bible and wrote that Jesus deliberately deceived his followers into thinking that he was some sort of miracle worker. In America, Thomas Jefferson anticipated the actions of the Jesus Seminar by almost 200 years in extracting from the gospels all the parts which he decided were mostly likely "authentic." The result is a relatively uninteresting collection of sayings.
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Related Resources:
What is Christianity?
What are the various Christian groups, denominations, sects and heresies? What are some key concepts in Christian theology? What are some of the most important events in Christian history? All of this and more are covered in the Christianity FAQ.What is the Philosophy of Religion?
Sometimes confused with theology, the Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical study of religious beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and religious history. The line between theology and the philosophy of religion isn't always sharp, but the primary difference is that theology tends to be apologetical in nature, committed to the defense of particular religious positions, whereas Philosophy of Religion is committed to the investigation of religion itself, rather than the truth of any particular religion.What is Theism?
What is the difference between monotheism and monolatry? Between pantheism and panentheism? How about between animism and shamanism? Or theism and deism? What the heck is henotheism?What is Religion?
A system of human beliefs, ideals and practices which is harder to define than it may at first appear. Read more about how dictionaries, scholars and others have tried to define and explain religion.
Further Reading:
Daughters of Light: Quaker Women Preaching
What role and influence did Christian women have in 17th and 18th century America? Most people's answer to this question would be heavily colored by the image of Puritan women, who practiced a religion which idealized female submission to men in both this world and the next. These were not, however, the only Christian women in America - there were also many Quaker women, and they lead dramatically different lives. Read Review...
