Courtesy BAS Library
In the first part of our series about the Gospel of Thomas we saw that Robert Funk, The Jesus Seminar and Westar Institute proposed a fifth gospel to the original Four Gospels in the New Testament. They also believe that the Gospel of Thomas may be more accurate than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Are they right? Should we accept the Gospel of Thomas into the Canon of the New Testament?
I don’t think so.
Courtesy BAS Library
Robert Funk, The Jesus Seminar and Westar Institute would have us believe that the Gospel of Thomas is the 5th Gospel account of the life of Jesus – and may be more accurate than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Are they right?
In the last part of our report, we looked at the founder of The Jesus Seminar and Westar Institute, Robert Funk. He was a leader in the new “quest” for the historical Jesus until his death in 2005.
Westar Institute’s “mission” statement claims that the organization “is dedicated to fostering and communicating the results of cutting-edge scholarship on the history and evolution of the Christian tradition, thereby raising the level of public discourse about questions that matter in society and culture.”
Question: how “cutting-edge” is Westar’s scholarship?
In part one of our report, we looked at The Jesus Seminar and its impact on other “seminars” conducted as part of the Westar Institute.
I admit to being slightly amused at this statement on the Westar Institute website –
“Westar is not affiliated with any religious institution and does not advocate a particular theological point of view.”
That’s an interesting statement in light of their stated point of view about Christian theology, as you read in our previous report.
In part two, we will look at the founder of The Jesus Seminar and Westar Institute and his stated purposes for “rewriting” the history of Christianity.
The Jesus Seminar was a group of “scholars and specialists” interested in renewing “the quest of the historical Jesus.” The name Jesus Seminar would imply that this group had good credentials and would reveal something important about the real life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. That didn’t happen.
According to The Jesus Seminar –
“Among the findings is that, in the judgment of the Jesus Seminar Fellows, about 18 percent of the sayings and 16 percent of the deeds attributed to Jesus in the gospels are authentic.”
Another way of understanding that statement is that 82 percent of the sayings and 84 percent of the deeds attributed to Jesus in the Gospels are NOT authentic.
Let that sink in for a minute ….
The Jesus Seminar would have us believe that the vast majority of what’s written about the sayings and deeds of Jesus Christ in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) are NOT authentic – not true – never said – never done.
Was The Jesus Seminar right?
“Rediscovering Jesus: An Introduction to Biblical, Religious and Cultural Perspectives on Christ” (IVP Academic, 2015) will get you thinking seriously about how both Christians and non-Christians view Jesus Christ.
The authors (David B. Capes, Rodney Reeves and E. Randolph Richards) present a variety of views about Jesus from both biblical and non-biblical perspectives. They include the views of several individuals and groups including each of the Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), the Apostle Paul, the Gnostics, Muslims, Mormons, Liberals, Jesus Seminar, and Americans. Which one is right? Which view answers this question best: “Who is your Jesus?”
