5 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
American New Testament scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary who is a leading authority on the historical Jesus and the Gospel of Matthew — and whose work on eschatology and the historical Jesus is foundational for contemporary Jesus scholarship.
German theologian who wrote The Life of Jesus Critically Examined (1835) — arguing that the Gospels are not historical records but mythological expressions of the early Christian community's faith — effectively launching the modern historical Jesus enterprise and destroying his academic career.
American scholarly group founded by Robert Funk in 1985 that used colored beads to vote on the historical authenticity of Jesus's sayings and deeds — publishing The Five Gospels (1993) — and which became the most publicly visible and controversial enterprise in historical Jesus scholarship.
Irish-American New Testament scholar who co-founded the Jesus Seminar and wrote The Historical Jesus — arguing that Jesus was primarily a Jewish peasant social revolutionary and Cynic sage rather than an apocalyptic prophet — making him one of the most prominent and controversial historical Jesus scholars.
American New Testament scholar and progressive Christian theologian who wrote Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time — arguing for a non-literal reading of the Gospels that recovers Jesus as a Spirit-filled social prophet — and who was a key figure in the Jesus Seminar.