The Jesus Seminar and Historical Jesus Research

The Jesus Seminar, founded in 1985 by a group of scholars led by Robert W. Funk, marked a pivotal moment in biblical scholarship and the quest for the historical Jesus. The Seminar's work was groundbreaking, not only in its methods but also in its audacious challenges to traditional Christian views of Jesus. The focus of this group, composed primarily of biblical scholars, historians, and theologians, was to sift through the sayings and actions attributed to Jesus in the Gospels, scrutinizing them through the lens of historical authenticity.
What they sought was a clearer, more accurate portrayal of Jesus as a figure grounded in the historical context of first-century Palestine, distinct from the theological and doctrinal layers that had built up around him over centuries.