Terminology Tuesday: Historical Jesus
The reconstructed portrait that is the goal of historical study dealing with Jesus of Nazareth. Beginning in the late eighteenth century and continuing through the present, with some starts and stops, there has proceeded a movement called the quest for the historical Jesus, an attempt to recover by objective historical inquiry the so-called Jesus of history, who is presumed to have been distorted by church dogma. The “historical Jesus” is sometimes contrasted with the theologically interpreted “Christ of faith,” but the church has always affirmed the historicity of the Christ it worships, and it thus has good reasons to welcome genuine historical study. It is, however, unlikely that any historical portrait will not in some ways reflect the “faith” of the historian constructing the portrait.
Evans, C. Stephen, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002).
Richard Porter
Richard Porter is apologetics ministry leader at Calvary Church of West Hartford in Connecticut and a Chapter Director with Ratio Christi. Richard has studied apologetics for over a decade. Prior to his conversion, apologetics was a huge part of what God used to reel him in to the faith. From the popular works of Lee Strobel to the more academic defenses of Christianity by William Lane Craig, apologetics has always caught his eye. He has a passion for equipping Christians to defend the faith and hopes to one day be in full-time ministry. He also has aspirations to pursue an academic career of his own if the Lord permits. In his spare time Richard enjoys exploring New Testament studies and analytic philosophy. In addition to his intellectual pursuits, Richard also enjoys kettlebell and martial arts training – particularly Brazilian and Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. He also has two sons that are being trained as young apologists and martial artists.
