Author: Alan Z.

Hello again. I’ve still been busy reading about recent research and taking notes for reference. In the last couple of days I did an extensive revision on the page about the execution of Jesus, adding some information, correcting a few errors, and clarifying various points. The basic thrust of it is the same, but I think it is a better explanation of the reasons for my conclusions.

I also did some minor editing of the pages on Jesus and history, 1st century Galilee and Judea, and the home page, which I’ve retitled “Welcome to my webiste & blog” to distinguish it from the page on Jesus and history.

Tomorrow I plan to return to working on my draft for the next page, one on the resurrection. It necessitates me doing more research on an unfamiliar argument in order to better assess it, but I expect to have a complete draft ready to publish relatively soon.

Hope this finds you well!

Alan

Today I rewrote the page now re-titled “Jesus and history,” adding some more about my overall view of the historicity of Jesus and clarifying a few points. I also slightly edited two more pages, the homepage “What can we know about Jesus” and the page “1st century Galilee and Judea.”

I haven’t been working on the blog much lately because I’ve been doing a lot of reading and listening to recent podcasts and online lectures about the historical Jesus. New research keeps on being published!

A page on the resurrection appearances was almost ready for me to publish when I came across something I had not heard of before–or if I had, I did not remember it. I hope to get back to that page soon and get it out for your perusal.

Today I uploaded a new page on the circumstances surrounding the execution of Jesus, trying to answer the questions of who was primarily responsible for the decision and what their motivations were. In the course of writing it I carefully re-read and compared the relevant passages of the four canonical Christian gospels and re-read a 2022 book by a Jewish scholar that I originally read sometime in the last couple of years.

I surprised myself with the some of the conclusions I arrived at, particularly that Jesus actually may have seen himself as a Messiah who suffered to atone for the sins of others. This was not the dominant Jewish conception of the Messiah at the time, but it was one mentioned in the famous Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947. I also decided that the relevant passages in the gospels were based on a widely disseminated oral narrative that developed very soon after the death of Jesus.

In addition to publishing the new page, I revised and added to the page on whether Jesus was a real person, and slightly revised the home page.

Next up: the resurrection.

–Alan

Hello.

My production of new pages for this website is now slowing somewhat because I am getting to the meatier topics. After completing the page featuring a brief background on life in 1st century Galilee and Judea, I did not want to jump right into Jesus’ life and teachings. First I need to discuss his execution and resurrection, as the authors of our main sources for Jesus’ life–the four gospels of the canonical Christian scriptures–had these very much in mind as they composed their narratives.

I hope to have the page on Jesus’ execution up within a week, followed not too long after by a page on the resurrection.

In the meantime I put up a page with some recent sources I will be referencing on the site or that I am consulting to update my knowledge. Also, a friend noted that I neglected to provide a way to subscribe to this blog! So I added a subscription box at the end of the text on each page. Please subscribe if you would like to keep informed of my progress in adding to and revising the site.

Speaking of revisions, I want to revise the Was Jesus a Real Person? page to make some sections a little clearer. I am waiting until after Saturday, when I will be listening to an online lecture from Bart Ehrman on that very topic. We’ll see if I learn anything new or change my mind about anything.

Today I uploaded a new page sketching out some information about the place and time where Jesus’ public life was conducted. This background is important to understanding what Jesus said and did and how he was received in the society he lived in.

–Alan

I launched this website today with three pages,What Can We Know About Jesus? (the home page), Was Jesus a Real Person?, and the Blog posts page. I intend to add to and update these pages over time, as well as to add new pages when I have them ready. Check them out and stay tuned for future developments. Any pertinent comments you have on the pages (or the posts) are appreciated.

–Alan