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The Once and Future Jesus
The Once and Future Jesus Conference took the quest of the historical Jesus to a new level. At this unprecedented gathering, leading thinkers turned their attention from the past to the future and asked: What do new understandings of Jesus mean for the church, the faith, and the world of tomorrow? Their answers can be found in the pages of this book.
- GenresReligion
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Robert W. Funk
60 books11 followersRobert Walter Funk (July 18, 1926 – September 3, 2005), was an American biblical scholar, founder of the controversial Jesus Seminar and the non-profit Westar Institute in Santa Rosa, California. Funk, an academic, sought to promote research and education on what he called biblical literacy. His approach to hermeneutics was historical-critical, with a strongly sceptical view of orthodox Christian belief, particularly concerning historical Jesus. He and his peers described Jesus' parables as containing shocking messages that contradicted established religious attitudes.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 24, 2024
A COLLECTION OF KEYNOTE ADDRESSES FOR A "JESUS SEMINAR" PROGRAM
Contributors to this 2000 book include Robert Funk ['Honest to Jesus: Jesus for a New Millennium'], Marcus Borg ['Jesus: A New Vision: Spirit, Culture, and the Life of Discipleship'], John Shelby Spong ['Jesus for the Non-Religious'], Karen King ['The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle'], John Dominic Crossan ['The Historical Jesus'], Gerd Lüdemann ['Jesus after 2000 Years'], and others.
The Introduction explains, "This collection brings together in a single volume the various keynote addresses---all by Fellows of the Jesus Seminar---from the 'Once & Future Jesus' celebration at Santa Rosa, California in October 1999. Like the panel sessions that were interspersed through the program, those addresses were organized around three themes: The Future of Jesus, The Future of the Church, and The Future of the Faith."(Pg. 1) It adds, "These essays celebrate the scholarship and the results of the Jesus Seminar. More than that, they probe the character and the significance of the Jesus tradition." (Pg. 4)
Robert Funk states, "Scholars of religion are exiting Christian precincts at an alarming rate in order to gain the right to think unorthodox thoughts. Biblical scholarship and theology are moving into a wholly profane, secular setting. Many scholars have elected the safe route, which is to abandon the theological ship and seek refuge in a humanistic harbor. The departure of scholars is matched, or perhaps exceeded, by the loss of clergy. The clergy have been caught in the tension between the churches they have taken oaths to serve and the scholars who were their mentors in the seminaries... some have opted for the safe course, which is not to offend patrons of the parish in order to protect their pensions. This intellectual sacrifice has made them theological eunuchs in the temple of the Lord. Others have given up and quit the service of the church altogether. Still others---a few---have dared to broach the fundamental issues and behave like prophets, at great expense to themselves." (Pg. 6)
He adds, "My experience in the On-the-Road programs has led me to conclude that scholarly debate will not determine which reconstructed picture of Jesus is more accurate. The resolution of the argument regarding the historical Jesus will not take place finally in learned books but in the public market place of real needs and viable ideas." (Pg. 23)
Marcus Borg says, "when we do not make the distinction between the pre-Easter Jesus and the post-Easter Jesus, we risk losing both. When we do make the distinction, we get both---and both matter. And this is why historical Jesus scholarship is important: it helps us to see the distinction between the human Jesus and the divine Christ, and to glimpse the utterly remarkable person Jesus of Nazareth was." (Pg. 55)
Another essayist suggests, "Perhaps the recovery of the human Jesus of the past is the very stimulus we need today. It is the faculty of self-criticism which has enabled the Christian cultural stream to reach the secular global sea now spreading round the world. Self-criticism needs to be exercised more than ever if this cultural stream is to continue to evolve for the full benefit of humankind in a way consistent with its long-term hopes." (Pg. 144)
This volume will be of great interest to anyone concerned about the contemporary church, and modern theology.
Contributors to this 2000 book include Robert Funk ['Honest to Jesus: Jesus for a New Millennium'], Marcus Borg ['Jesus: A New Vision: Spirit, Culture, and the Life of Discipleship'], John Shelby Spong ['Jesus for the Non-Religious'], Karen King ['The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle'], John Dominic Crossan ['The Historical Jesus'], Gerd Lüdemann ['Jesus after 2000 Years'], and others.
The Introduction explains, "This collection brings together in a single volume the various keynote addresses---all by Fellows of the Jesus Seminar---from the 'Once & Future Jesus' celebration at Santa Rosa, California in October 1999. Like the panel sessions that were interspersed through the program, those addresses were organized around three themes: The Future of Jesus, The Future of the Church, and The Future of the Faith."(Pg. 1) It adds, "These essays celebrate the scholarship and the results of the Jesus Seminar. More than that, they probe the character and the significance of the Jesus tradition." (Pg. 4)
Robert Funk states, "Scholars of religion are exiting Christian precincts at an alarming rate in order to gain the right to think unorthodox thoughts. Biblical scholarship and theology are moving into a wholly profane, secular setting. Many scholars have elected the safe route, which is to abandon the theological ship and seek refuge in a humanistic harbor. The departure of scholars is matched, or perhaps exceeded, by the loss of clergy. The clergy have been caught in the tension between the churches they have taken oaths to serve and the scholars who were their mentors in the seminaries... some have opted for the safe course, which is not to offend patrons of the parish in order to protect their pensions. This intellectual sacrifice has made them theological eunuchs in the temple of the Lord. Others have given up and quit the service of the church altogether. Still others---a few---have dared to broach the fundamental issues and behave like prophets, at great expense to themselves." (Pg. 6)
He adds, "My experience in the On-the-Road programs has led me to conclude that scholarly debate will not determine which reconstructed picture of Jesus is more accurate. The resolution of the argument regarding the historical Jesus will not take place finally in learned books but in the public market place of real needs and viable ideas." (Pg. 23)
Marcus Borg says, "when we do not make the distinction between the pre-Easter Jesus and the post-Easter Jesus, we risk losing both. When we do make the distinction, we get both---and both matter. And this is why historical Jesus scholarship is important: it helps us to see the distinction between the human Jesus and the divine Christ, and to glimpse the utterly remarkable person Jesus of Nazareth was." (Pg. 55)
Another essayist suggests, "Perhaps the recovery of the human Jesus of the past is the very stimulus we need today. It is the faculty of self-criticism which has enabled the Christian cultural stream to reach the secular global sea now spreading round the world. Self-criticism needs to be exercised more than ever if this cultural stream is to continue to evolve for the full benefit of humankind in a way consistent with its long-term hopes." (Pg. 144)
This volume will be of great interest to anyone concerned about the contemporary church, and modern theology.
December 8, 2015
The Jesus Seminar. The Once and Future Jesus. Santa Rosa CA: Polebridge Press, 2000. 180 pages plus brief bios of contributors.
Contributors:
Robert W. Funk, “the Once and Future Jesus”
Thomas Sheehan, “from Divinity to Infinity”
Marcus J. Borg, “Re-visioning Christianity”
John Shelby Spong, “Christ and the Body of Christ”
Karen L. King, “Back to the Future”
John Dominic Crossan, “a Future for the Christian Faith”
Lloyd Geering, “the Legacy of Christianity”
Gerd Ludermann, “from Faith to Knowledge”
Walter Wink, “the Son of Man”
“This collection brings together into a single volume the various keynote addresses—all by theFellows of the Jesus Seminar—from the Once & future Jesus celebration at Santa Rosa, California, in October, 1999. Like the panel sessions that were interspersed through the program, those addresses were organized around three themes: The Future of Jesus, The Church of the Future, The Future of the Faith.” p. 1 of Introduction by Gregory C. Jinks
After hearing of the Jesus Seminar for years, I finally stumbled into an opportunity to start getting a little better acquainted with the project and some of the work that came out of it. It was my first time to read anything by Robert Funk. I found him pretty readable and accessible; I’ll look forward to reading more of his work. I had already read multiple things by Borg and Spong and Crossan, so I found their pieces familiar-sounding. Sheehan, King, Geering, and Ludermann were all new to me; as I become more familiar with their themes, concepts, and expression, I expect I may find them easier to follow and understand/absorb. Wink impressed me favorably—he really dug into the phrase, “the Son of the Man.”
I had an opportunity to borrow this book while on a trip to check it out. I found it fairly compelling reading, and I will at some point order my own copy to keep in my library. (Maybe I should have given it a 5-star.)
Contributors:
Robert W. Funk, “the Once and Future Jesus”
Thomas Sheehan, “from Divinity to Infinity”
Marcus J. Borg, “Re-visioning Christianity”
John Shelby Spong, “Christ and the Body of Christ”
Karen L. King, “Back to the Future”
John Dominic Crossan, “a Future for the Christian Faith”
Lloyd Geering, “the Legacy of Christianity”
Gerd Ludermann, “from Faith to Knowledge”
Walter Wink, “the Son of Man”
“This collection brings together into a single volume the various keynote addresses—all by theFellows of the Jesus Seminar—from the Once & future Jesus celebration at Santa Rosa, California, in October, 1999. Like the panel sessions that were interspersed through the program, those addresses were organized around three themes: The Future of Jesus, The Church of the Future, The Future of the Faith.” p. 1 of Introduction by Gregory C. Jinks
After hearing of the Jesus Seminar for years, I finally stumbled into an opportunity to start getting a little better acquainted with the project and some of the work that came out of it. It was my first time to read anything by Robert Funk. I found him pretty readable and accessible; I’ll look forward to reading more of his work. I had already read multiple things by Borg and Spong and Crossan, so I found their pieces familiar-sounding. Sheehan, King, Geering, and Ludermann were all new to me; as I become more familiar with their themes, concepts, and expression, I expect I may find them easier to follow and understand/absorb. Wink impressed me favorably—he really dug into the phrase, “the Son of the Man.”
I had an opportunity to borrow this book while on a trip to check it out. I found it fairly compelling reading, and I will at some point order my own copy to keep in my library. (Maybe I should have given it a 5-star.)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews