The Quest for the Historical Jesus after the Demise of Authenticity: Toward a Critical Realist Philosophy of History in Jesus Studies (The Library of New Testament Studies, 540)

third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author. Th is study is concerned with reassessing the possible contributions that the work of Ben F. Meyer and his teacher, the philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan, might yet off er for historical Jesus studies. I am not a philosopher or a theologian, and thus learning about Bernard Lonergan has been a steep learning curve. Th is curve has been greatly aided by interactions with the faculty and studies at Regis Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Philosophy and Method Some Ancillary Matters Part I: Philosophy Chapter 1. Critical Realism 101 Critical Realism and its Procedural Derivatives Subjectivity and Objectivity Bias and Conversion Decline and Progress Functional Specialization Chapter 2. Research and Interpretation Research Interpretation The Aims of the Synoptic Tradition Chapter 3. History and Dialectic History Dialectic Part II: Historiography Chapter 4. Dominical Situation The Bethany/Bethphage Complex The Missional Complex The Festival Complex The Jesus Network and its Diversity The Messiah Complex The Seeds of the End Illness and Cure Chapter 5. The Ecclesiastical Situation Regional Case Study 1: Jerusalem and the Judean Church Regional Case Study 2: Antioch Regional Case Study 3: Ephesus and Asia Regional Case Study 4: Corinth Chapter 6. The Evangelical Situation The Gospel of Mark and Media Dynamics of the Gospel Tradition The Gospel of Matthew and the Geography of Tradition The Gospel of Luke and the Emergence of the Gentile Mission The Gospel of John and the Others Conclusion Subjectivity and Objectivity Data and Reality Continuity Between Judaism, Jesus, and the Church Bibliography Index "For two centuries scholars have sought to discover the historical Jesus. Presently such scholarship is dominated not by the question 'Who was Jesus?' but rather 'How do we even go about answering the question, "Who was Jesus?"?' With this current situation in mind, Jonathan Bernier undertakes a two-fold task: one, to engage on the level of the philosophy of history with existing approaches to the study of the historical Jesus, most notably the criteria approach and the social memory approach; two, to work with the critical realism developed by Bernard Lonergan, introduced into New Testament studies by Ben F. Meyer, and advocated by N.T. Wright in order to develop a philosophy of history that can elucidate current debates within historical Jesus studies"-- Provided by publisher