The Quest for the Historical Jesus

The quest for the historical Jesus
is an academic exercise that
has been going on since the 18th century,
according to Wikipedia.

The usual approach is that
the author has a hypothesis
about who Jesus really was,
which he elaborates upon.

Then he highlights passages
in the gospels which seem
to prove his point.
He ignores evidence to the contrary.

Then he adds material not connected
with Jesus that adds to his hypothesis.
He blames the church fathers for not
writing history as he sees it.

His book is published,
to great acclaim, because most people
would rather not believe that Jesus
was who he was, and did what he did.

Debunking the life of Jesus
is still a pastime of academics
in theological schools, who must
publish something to attain tenure.

Marcus Borg, Dominic Crossan, and
Bart Ehrman come to mind.  Then there
is the grand naysayer, former Episcopal
Bishop John Shelby Spong.

I prefer "The Gospel According to Biff,
Christ's Childhood Pal."  It's a lot of fun,
yet still respectful of Jesus,
And is admired by real believers.