Describe two contemporary challenges to the New Testament portrayal of Jesus. How important is accurate historical information in providing a foundation for believing and accepting the gospel message? How would you respond to these views if brought up in a conversation with a non-Christian?

Forum 2 Discussion

You must answer 2 sections of the questions below. Support your answers with the information found in your textbooks, but also feel free to use critical outside sources to add to the conversation as needed. Cite all sources using current Turabian format. Restate the questions to which you are responding at the beginning of each thread. Post a single thread; do not post a separate thread for each section of questions. Then reply to the threads of 2 different classmates by Sunday evening. Do not duplicate your replies to different classmates; each reply must be original to the specific thread of the student with whom you are interacting.

1. Give a brief description of the primary focus of each of the three quests for the historical Jesus. Be sure to explain how they are different and how they ended. Describe two contemporary challenges to the New Testament portrayal of Jesus. How important is accurate historical information in providing a foundation for believing and accepting the gospel message? How would you respond to these views if brought up in a conversation with a non-Christian? How important are sources outside of the Gospels for this discussion?
2. List and describe the four criteria of authenticity according to the textbook. How are these criteria used in studies of the Gospels? Where do critical scholars assign the burden of proof regarding the authenticity of Jesus material in the Gospels? How would you defend the historical accuracy of the Gospels to a skeptic?
3. According to your textbook, what are the dates for Jesus’ birth and death? What are the critical datum we use to attain these dates? Give a short chronology of Jesus’ life. How does the Gospel of Matthew depict the birth and youth of Jesus. What is the primary purpose of Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus?

Your thread is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Thursday of Module/Week 2. Your replies are due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of the same module/week.

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