November
2011
“Historical Jesus” Debate: An Unexamined Premise?
My own response is: Says who? What is the justification for the premise I’ve described? Why should a difference between what Jesus taught about himself and what believers subsequently came to assert about him be a problem?
More good stuff from Hurtado, and well work a read.
August
2009
Q and the Historical Jesus
A good example of current work on the Historical Jesus can be found at the Thoughts on Antiquity site, and in particular the short, ongoing series on Q by Chris Zeichmann.
I mention this as it is interesting to see the thought processes and methods behind this strand of New Testament work, regardless of your confidence in attempts to reconstruct a Christ who does not reflect current sensibilities!
June
2008
Imitating Christ
Therefore, although it is true that perfection consists in imitating Christ and reproducing him in our own lives, it is not enough merely to imitate the Christ we have in our imaginations.
We read the Gospels not merely to get a picture or an idea of Christ but to enter in an pass through the words of revelation to establish, by faith, a vital contact with the Christ who dwells in our souls as God.
Thomas Merton, Seeds of Contemplation, Chapter 21
May
2008
Christological Controversy Study Area
There is a useful collection of texts on the early Christological debates over on Monachos.net. You can get an overview at the Christological Controversy Study Area.