One Bible scholar will tell you we know A about Jesus, and another will tell you we know not A. They have the same evidence to arrive at these contradictory conclusions. Something's not right here. What's the problem with trying to know Jesus?
To answer this question, it's important to know the evidence for Jesus. All we have is a set of documents that originated with the early Christian sect. These documents are comprised of stories and testimonies about a figure named Jesus. Scholars study these documents and come to their own often contradictory conclusions. For example, while most scholars now say Jesus was born in Nazareth, some still maintain he was born in Bethlehem. It is my opinion that without supporting corroborative evidence, documents are very weak evidence, and these contradictory conclusions should come as no surprise being based on documents alone.
Most Bible scholars won't avow that the evidence for Jesus is this weak. If they did admit it, then their work would be seen for what it is: It is educated guesswork at best and misleading at worse. As Hector Avalos a Bible scholar himself has said, Biblical studies amounts to a specious liberal Christian apologetic.
To answer this question, it's important to know the evidence for Jesus. All we have is a set of documents that originated with the early Christian sect. These documents are comprised of stories and testimonies about a figure named Jesus. Scholars study these documents and come to their own often contradictory conclusions. For example, while most scholars now say Jesus was born in Nazareth, some still maintain he was born in Bethlehem. It is my opinion that without supporting corroborative evidence, documents are very weak evidence, and these contradictory conclusions should come as no surprise being based on documents alone.
Most Bible scholars won't avow that the evidence for Jesus is this weak. If they did admit it, then their work would be seen for what it is: It is educated guesswork at best and misleading at worse. As Hector Avalos a Bible scholar himself has said, Biblical studies amounts to a specious liberal Christian apologetic.