Part I
In A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jesus, Fisk details the exploits of “Norm,” a recent college graduate who embarks on a journey to Israel to learn more about Jesus and Christian origins. The first chapter recounts Norm’s experiences on the plane. As he enters into conversation with nearby passengers, Norm 1) notes that historical Jesus research has approached the gospels as faith documents rather than as accurate “historical” reports (Reimarus, Strauss, Wrede, Bultmann, Schweitzer) (15-18); 2) introduces Pliny’s letter to Trajan and Tacitus’ report of Christians dying under Nero as examples of Rome’s negative evaluation of Christianity; and 3) shows that the Jewish writer Josephus provides evidence that Jesus was a historical figure.
Part II
As a college student, Norm majored in Religion and focused on New Testament studies. His academic training exposed him to historical Jesus research, a field that raised questions for him as a person of faith. With an interest in academic learning and a commitment to Christianity, Norm envisions his journey to Israel as a “quest” to determine “how the future is tied to the past,” or how his faith might be tested through an engagement with historical questions about Jesus (33). Norm thus sees his trip as an extension of the academic development he received in college (16), an education that 1) exposed him to scholarship that challenged the veracity of the gospels (15-18); 2) made him question the possibility of objective reporting (22, 27); and 3) introduced him to the tensions between scholarly and faith-based approaches to reading the gospels (27). On the plane Norm speculates upon his quest with trepidation and cautious optimism, hoping that he will be able to use his travel experiences to bridge the gap between the critical inquiry expressed in academic halls and the inspired celebrations found in church pews (17, 27).
Question: Why does the academic study of the New Testament and Jesus often represent a threat to people of faith?
In A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jesus, Fisk details the exploits of “Norm,” a recent college graduate who embarks on a journey to Israel to learn more about Jesus and Christian origins. The first chapter recounts Norm’s experiences on the plane. As he enters into conversation with nearby passengers, Norm 1) notes that historical Jesus research has approached the gospels as faith documents rather than as accurate “historical” reports (Reimarus, Strauss, Wrede, Bultmann, Schweitzer) (15-18); 2) introduces Pliny’s letter to Trajan and Tacitus’ report of Christians dying under Nero as examples of Rome’s negative evaluation of Christianity; and 3) shows that the Jewish writer Josephus provides evidence that Jesus was a historical figure.
Part II
As a college student, Norm majored in Religion and focused on New Testament studies. His academic training exposed him to historical Jesus research, a field that raised questions for him as a person of faith. With an interest in academic learning and a commitment to Christianity, Norm envisions his journey to Israel as a “quest” to determine “how the future is tied to the past,” or how his faith might be tested through an engagement with historical questions about Jesus (33). Norm thus sees his trip as an extension of the academic development he received in college (16), an education that 1) exposed him to scholarship that challenged the veracity of the gospels (15-18); 2) made him question the possibility of objective reporting (22, 27); and 3) introduced him to the tensions between scholarly and faith-based approaches to reading the gospels (27). On the plane Norm speculates upon his quest with trepidation and cautious optimism, hoping that he will be able to use his travel experiences to bridge the gap between the critical inquiry expressed in academic halls and the inspired celebrations found in church pews (17, 27).
Question: Why does the academic study of the New Testament and Jesus often represent a threat to people of faith?
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