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Line 46: ==New Testament/Greek Bible== '' ===Historicity of beliefs=== A number of scholars have argued that although there may well have been a real person named [[Jesus]], the Jesus we know from the Bible today has many elements that come from myths and religions current at the time, for example [[Mithraism]]. It is suggested that this process of assimilation is similar to the way in which peoples in Latin America and Africa have often incorporated elements of their traditional faiths into their newly-adopted Christianity. Nevertheless, from what is known of Roman Mithraism, it bears little resemblance to the features of Christianity until a few centuries afterward possibly suggesting the borrowing was in the other direction.▼ Most scholars believe that there may well have been a real person named [[Jesus]]. The earliest texts which refer to him, [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]]'s letters, are usually dated from the mid-[[1st century]], a generation or less since Jesus's death. It should be noted that Paul himself saw Jesus only in visions (though he writes that he spoke directly with those who knew Jesus). Most modern scholars hold that the works describing Jesus (primarily the [[Gospel]] accounts) were communicated by oral tradition and were not committed to writing until later that century, and therefore state that the historical reliability of those works, and even more so, of works which post-date the 1st century, is disputable. They also point out that even in European traditions, such fundamentals as the traditional date of Jesus' birth (midnight 24th December) and death (Easter) are taken from pre-existng pagan practices (the winter [[solstice]] and the fertility rites of the goddess Eostre). It should be pointed out that the Bible nowhere claims that Jesus was born on Christmas Day, and Jesus most certainly did not die during Easter, since Easter is not exactly the date of the Passover, although the two do occur close together.▼ At the extreme, some scholars, most notably [[Earl Doherty]], have suggested that Jesus never existed at all, that the character is a gestalt of numerous individuals who lived and myths that were common currency during the late Hellenistic age. The early secular references ([[Tacitus on Jesus]], [[Josephus on Jesus]]) can be disputed, and once these are discounted little extra-biblical support for Jesus' existence remains (see [[Jesus]]). Other scholars <!-- such as Bruce Metzger, Gregory Boyd, and Craig Blomberg - put a paragraph about them, with quotes in historicity section -- too much detail for lead --> argue that there was not enough time between the estimated years of Jesus' death and the writing of the [[Gospels]], for a Jesus of legend-only to develop. ===Historicity of traditions=== ▲ ▲ ==Marginal views== | |||