The Jesus Seminar sought to determine the historical authenticity of Jesus’s sayings and deeds using a voting system and concluded that only a fraction of His recorded words and actions were genuine. The Seminar’s methods and conclusions have been widely criticized for their biased interpretative approach; the Bible warns against false teachers who distort the truth to fit their own agendas.
The Jesus Seminar, established in 1985, sought to determine the historical authenticity of Jesus’s sayings and deeds. Using a voting system, it concluded that only a fraction of His recorded words and actions were genuine. The Seminar’s methods and conclusions have been widely criticized for their biased approach and departure from traditional biblical interpretation. The Bible consistently affirms the reliability and divine inspiration of its accounts, including the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and many biblical interpreters have found the Bible to be accurate to its claims. Scripture presents Jesus not only as a historical figure but as the divine Son of God, whose life and words were carefully preserved by His followers through divine inspiration (2 Peter 1:20–21).
The Bible also warns against false teachings and those who distort the truth to fit their own agendas. Galatians 1:8 cautions, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." The conclusions of the Jesus Seminar, which claim that Jesus neither was, nor claimed to be, divine, directly contradict the clear testimony of Scripture, undermining its authority and reliability.
The Jesus Seminar was organized by Dr. Robert Funk through the Westar Institute in 1985. Its goal was to determine the truth about the historical Jesus. Starting with about 30, and sometimes having as many as 150 people involved, the Seminar covered three different areas of Jesus's recorded history: His sayings, His deeds, and "profiles" of Jesus. The Jesus Seminar not only scrutinized the four canonical gospels, but it also included the Gnostic gospels. This group of meetings used a weighted voting system to determine which of Jesus's purported sayings and actions were historically real, using a system of colored beads to indicate levels of authenticity, ranging from red (authentic) and pink (likely authentic) to gray (not likely authentic) and black (not authentic).
Regarding Jesus's sayings, the Seminar approved as likely authentic or authentic only 18% of the over 1,500 versions of 500 sayings from the Bible, Gnostic gospels, and other sources. Of His deeds, the approved number was 29 of 176, only 16%.
By "profiles," they meant scrutinizing scholarly papers from 20 Fellows of the Seminar, which contained suggested character and life sketches of Jesus. They published nine of these profiles, plus three which had been presented and published elsewhere. The published profiles agreed on certain central points, such as that Jesus neither was, nor claimed to be, divine; that His teachings were pictures of what life would be like if we all followed God's goodness as a model; and that rather than being apocalyptic when discussing the future kingdom of God, Jesus was presenting how life could be on earth without God's intervention.
How should we respond to these men and women, who have come to conclusions that are so far from what we believe about Jesus, our Savior? Or is it possible that they are right?
Many scholars, both Christian and not, have questioned both the methods and conclusions of the Jesus Seminar. While there are many technical and complex reasons, a few basic examples include the Seminar's choice of texts, their "weighting" of the voting system, which is suspect, and, most importantly, their process of essentially beginning with the conclusions they desired and working to "prove" texts based on those desires. There have been a number of books written about the Jesus Seminar. J.P. Moreland and Mike Wilkins have co-authored one titled Jesus Under Fire, which explains further the issues with the Seminar's methods.
The Jesus Seminar’s conclusions about Jesus deviate significantly from biblical teaching, emphasizing a humanized version of Jesus that aligns with their preconceived notions. This approach undermines the gospel message and challenges the central tenets of Christianity, such as Jesus’s divinity, His role as Savior, and His teachings about the kingdom of God. As 1 Peter 3:15 urges, believers should be prepared to defend their faith with gentleness and respect, offering a biblically sound response to skepticism. Christians can stand firm in the truth of God’s Word, knowing that Jesus is who He says He is.