The McJesus Seminar
Marsha West
May 25, 2007

Excerpt: "The Jesus Seminar (JS) was founded by the late Robert Funk of Westar Institute in 1985. What was Funk's purpose for forming the group? To quote from Greg Koukl's article, The Jesus Seminar Under Fire , Funk said, "It is time for us [scholars] to quit the library and study and speak up....The Jesus Seminar is a clarion call to enlightenment. It is for those who prefer facts to fancies, history to histrionics, science to superstition."

Included in those who "prefer facts to fancies" are 135 "unbiased scholars," mostly men and a handful of women, who meet twice a year to "evaluate the historical significance of every shred of evidence about Jesus from antiquity." Basically their goal is "distinguishing historical fact from rumor & speculation."

The diverse group includes Protestants, Catholics, Jews, atheists, university and seminary professors, even a Hollywood film director whose scholarly films include Basic Instinct, Showgirls and Total Recall.

The JS reject 82% of the teachings attributed to Jesus and say that only two words, "Our Father," of the Lord's Prayer are authentic. They also reject: The virgin birth; Christ's resurrection from the dead; the Gospel miracles. They claim the historical evidence for these beliefs is lacking. the rest