Posted: Oct 18, 2010 1:24 pm
quas
I don't think many people say that the 'bits about Jesus' are written purely historically. They are surely theological documents with a historic baseline; this is one reason that we find differences between them, as different communities and editors had different emphases, for example, pro-Jewish, or less Jewish, more Christological, and so on. This can be used as an argument against a historical Jesus, although historians who study ancient history are accustomed to studying non-historical documents to glean historical evidence.
Well, of course, some Christians insist that it is all historical. But 'In the beginning was the Word' strikes me as a theological statement!
I don't think many people say that the 'bits about Jesus' are written purely historically. They are surely theological documents with a historic baseline; this is one reason that we find differences between them, as different communities and editors had different emphases, for example, pro-Jewish, or less Jewish, more Christological, and so on. This can be used as an argument against a historical Jesus, although historians who study ancient history are accustomed to studying non-historical documents to glean historical evidence.
Well, of course, some Christians insist that it is all historical. But 'In the beginning was the Word' strikes me as a theological statement!