1F Two views of Jesus

Question 1

What is a worldview?

Answer 1

• The lens through which a culture looks at the world

Question 2

What does N.T. Wright say about how our worldview has been affected?

Answer 2

• We have all been affected by an enlightenment worldview
- Naive realism: only sense perceptions give us certain + knowledge about the world
- History + faith = split from each other: H = public discussion about evi.; faith = private realm of spiritual beliefs
• Forces ppl to either live in:
- the “attic” of faith that is divorced from history (faith becomes highly personal + less attached to pub. life)
- the “dungeon” of history (a sterile activity in which we find no meaning)
• Too many C.tians accept an enlightenment worldview: keep faith to themselves

Question 3

Explain Wright’s view of the worldview behind the New Testament.

Answer 3

• An enlightenment wv = completely diff. from a wv in NT
• A NT wv allows us to see a G who cares passionately about the world in general and Israel in particular, who established a covenant w/ his ppl
• History, faith, politics, spirituality ≠ separated
• J was born into the NT wv and speaks from it ∴ when C.tians turn J into a spiritual, inspirational figure who speaks only privately to human hearts, they will be distorting his message

Question 4

What is critical realism?

Answer 4

• Idea that there are real objects beyond ourselves, and we know them through our own p.o.v, which biases our exp. of them

Question 5

What is phenomenalism?

Answer 5

• The view that what we think are material objects are really our perceptions of sense data (pessimistic side to modern narrative about knowledge)

Question 6

According to Wright, what is an important insight about our worldview?

Answer 6

• Our Postmodern wv has allows us to realise that ‘certain knowledge’ is coloured by biases

Question 7

According to Wright, what is the optimistic aspect of our worldview?

Answer 7

• Positivism + naive realism - the view that you can make judgements on ‘raw data’

Question 8

How does Wright combine the insights from the pessimistic and optimistic views?

Answer 8

• Critical realism…

i) Accepts that things can be known as something different from ourselves (realism)
ii) Recognises that we can only know things from our own p.o.v. We bring our own biases to anything we know ∴ must be critical about the objectivity of our p.o.v

Question 9

According to Wright, how do we know the truth?

Answer 9

• 1st step = recognising that a worldview precedes facts
- Instead of dismissing other p.o.v.s (e.g. in NT), we must accept that there might be truth beyond our viewpoint
- There is no such thing as a completely neutral, detached observer
• 2nd step = be willing to enter into dialogue btwn our p.o.v and the object we are encountering. Three things can happen to our worldview
- My story might need to be confirmed, modified, or abandoned
• History involves a hypothesis-verification process where, over time, stories are confirmed, modified, or abandoned
- We need to be willing to enter into this process as we study Jesus

Question 10

What does Wright say is necessary when studying Jesus?

Answer 10

• Realising that entering into his process of dialogue means that one’s faith in J must meet the facts of history: C.tians cannot build images of J that are divorced from info gleaned from historical sources
• But, we must not assume that history will disprove C.tian claims

Question 11

When Wright enters into a historical study of Jesus, what four points does he find significant?

Answer 11

• J was a Jewish prophet announcing the KoG
• Eschatological expectation plays a key role
• He was the Messiah
• He a Messiah who gave his life

Question 12

Elaborate on Wright’s view that Jesus was a prophet announcing the Kingdom of God.

Answer 12

• This should be the starting point for any historical study of J
• Jewish context + perception of those around him that he was a prophet + political declaration of the coming of KoG
• J should not be seen as a “wandering preacher giving sermons” but as someone who was initiating a movement

Question 13

Elaborate on Wright’s view of eschatological expectation.

Answer 13

• J’s agenda for society came out of his sense that the kingdom was about to come

Question 14

Elaborate on Wright’s view that Jesus was the Messiah.

Answer 14

• Many other Jewish figures announced KoG (e.g. Simeon ben Kosiba) and were considered to be messiahs - J showed that he was the true Messiah through his res.

Question 15

Elaborate on Wright’s view that Jesus was a Messiah who gave his life.

Answer 15

• The Jewish Messiah = popularly thought of as a victorious figure
• Two imp details in J’s life that reveal he was re-interpreting the meaning of Messiah:
i) Rejected violent revolutionary behaviour
ii) Drew upon Jewish traditions about G using the suffering of his ppl to bring about redemption. He began to think of his death as a part of the messianic task
• All of the other movements around ‘messiahs’ of J’s era ended w/ their death but not w/ J
• J’s reinterpretation of messiahship to include the idea of dying for sins caught on

Question 16

According to Wright, why should we take his four points seriously?

Answer 16

• The Gospel writers were convinced that these were historical events

Question 17

What three areas does Crossan pursue to attempt to find the historical Jesus?

Answer 17

1) Cross-cultural anthropology
- What can we know about the ancient Mediterranean culture?
- Any insights = helpful to understand J and his world
2) Jewish and Greco Roman history
- Many sources can be used to understand what Jewish life was like under Roman rule
- Most were written by elite, wealthy, powerful men ∴ one has to think critically to understand what life might have been like for lower classes
3) Literary/textual study of NT + books outside of NT that inform us about J’s life

Question 18

How does Crossan complete the following statement? Jesus was a _ _ _.

Answer 18

• Mediterranean
• Jewish
• Peasant

Question 19

Why are each of the following terms important to Crossan’s work? ‘Mediterranean’, ‘Jewish’, ‘peasant’

Answer 19

• They reflect cross-cultural anthropology, Jewish and Greco Roman history, and literary/textual study of NT + books outside NT

Question 20

Why is it important to Crossan that Jesus is Mediterranean?

Answer 20

• One must understand the social/psychological r.ships in J’s Mediterranean time

Question 21

Why is it important to Crossan that Jesus is a peasant?

Answer 21

• His status as a peasant gives insight on his life and teaching

Question 22

What are Crossan’s two main strategies when working with texts that appear to report directly on Jesus’ life?

Answer 22

1) To only use materials between 30 + 60 CE

2) To never base any insight on J’s life that only has a single, independent attestation

Question 23

What is the Church’s view of apocryphal Gospels?

Answer 23

• Term given to non-canonical Gospels rejected by the C.tian C.ch ∵ considered heretical, legendary, or of 2ndary importance
• Many of these = pseudepigrapha (‘falsely inscribed’) ∵ written by anonymous authors who gave the name of an Apostle in their writing
• C.ch + many NT scholars believe these do not give reliable info on life of J, nor independent sayings from J
- John P Meier: “imaginative Christians reflecting popular piety and legend.” (Crossan disagrees)

Question 24

Give some examples of Apocryphal gospels.

Answer 24

• In their present form, they are from 2nd-4th centuries, much later than NT writings e.g. Gospel of Thomas (found in Nag Hammadi library) reflecting Gnosticism
• Others e.g. The Gospel of the Hebrews = preserved in quotations of Church Fathers
• Others e.g. Oxyrhynchus 1224 exist in fragments

Question 25

Why does Crossan advocate the use of apocryphal Gospels?

Answer 25

• Even though many of these sources = later than NT, may contain traditions independent of NT
• He believes there may be early layers within these books that predate the four Gospels.”

Question 26

According to Crossan, which two sources should especially concern those who wish to know about the historical Jesus?

Answer 26

1) Q (based on the German ‘Quelle’ - ‘source’)
- ‘Hidden’ in Matthew and Luke
- A hypothetical collection of sayings from J
- Should be privileged ∵ predates Gospels + has no birth/res. narratives
2) Gospel of Thomas
- Believed to have been from a much earlier period

Question 27

What is Crossan’s view of the birth and resurrection narratives?

Answer 27

• He does not see them as having happened in history
• They are traditions to express the importance of J for his followers + est. a community leadership after the crucifixion

Question 28

According to Crossan, what are the six reasons why the Jesus movement continued after his death?

Answer 28

Jesus...
• Intended a social revolution
• Advocated a kingdom lifestyle
• Served at an open table
• Performed miracles of social healing
• Practised an itinerant lifestyle
• Can be compared to the Cynics

Question 29

Elaborate on Crossan’s view that one reason why the Jesus movement continued after his death was because he intended a social revolution.

Answer 29

• May have begun as an apocalyptic preacher, but did not stay this way
• Instead of being ascetic, he became known for sharing meals

Question 30

Elaborate on Crossan’s view that one reason why the Jesus movement continued after his death was because he advocated a kingdom lifestyle.

Answer 30

• J turned from an apocalyptic future to the idea that the KoG can be exp. now through a wise lifestyle that even peasants could live out
• Would lead to an open community w/o distinction of gender status

Question 31

Elaborate on Crossan’s view that one reason why the Jesus movement continued after his death was because he served at an open table.

Answer 31

• J disrupted social boundaries by eating w/ ppl regardless of gender, rank, etc

Question 32

Elaborate on Crossan’s view that one reason why the Jesus movement continued after his death was because he performed miracles of social healing.

Answer 32

• Rather than medical cures, we should see his miracle as healing the impure/socially ostracised
• Healed illness w/o curing disease by welcoming outcasts back into society

Question 33

Elaborate on Crossan’s view that one reason why the Jesus movement continued after his death was because he practised an itinerant lifestyle.

Answer 33

• Kept on the move to prevent individuals/villages from profiting from his activity by becoming ‘brokers’
• He wanted others to become itinerant to introduce others to the kingdom lifestyle.

Question 34

Elaborate on Crossan’s view that one reason why the Jesus movement continued after his death was because he can be compared to the Cynics.

Answer 34

• Cynicism = a school of Greek philosophers who rejected social convention, to live a simple life in tune w/ nature/reason
• Cynics often operated in urban areas + were largely individualistic; J, by contrast, was active in rural areas + was dedicated to growing a community w/ like-minded individuals

Question 35

What is Constantinian Christianity and what is Crossan’s issue with it?

Answer 35

• When J = put to death, these ideas lived on in many of his followers, who exp. the continuing ‘power’ of Christ as they lived his lifestyle
• Some followers were changing his ideas to modes of power/authority more familiar in a Greco-Roman world, inc. having clear c.ch leaders
• Later, Constantine = a ‘Christian’ emperor who presided over an all-male clergy who helped him unite a C.tian kingdom
• For Crossan, nothing could be more opposed to J’s lifestyle of radical equality [what about the Pope…?]