Seeing 'Jesus' from Below #24

[March 1999 journal entry]

For a ‘non-religious’ image/interpretation of ‘Jesus’ –

1. a method is needed that distinguishes ‘Jesus’ from the prima facie impressions left by the four Gospels (e.g., Fischer’s Historians’ Fallacies or Maccoby’s The Myth Maker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity),
   
   
2. the place of ‘religion’ in the time ‘Jesus’ lived must be delineated (e.g., birth place, family, synagogue upbringing, religious ceremonies/habits, custom of attending synagogue services, interest in the Temple, familiarity with Jewish scripture, . . .),
   
   
3. the ‘non-religious’ dimensions in the life of ‘Jesus’ must be delineated (e.g., inward presence of ‘God’, open-air settings in which to meet/teach, Sermon on the Mount themes, consideration of nature, confrontation with ‘religious’ leaders/institutions, the link between his values/vision and his /persecution/death, . . .).