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This table shows a systematic taxonomy of views about Jesus.
There are now 8 categories, paradigms, or views, based on 3 axes or criteria:
The supernaturalism question (or axis or criterion):
o Do you include and allow
supernaturalism in your thinking? [yes
or no]
The esotericism question (or axis or criterion):
o Do you strongly include and allow
esotericism, such as a mystic experience of Jesus, in your explanation of the
origin of Christianity and what Jesus was about? Is your theory of Christian origins largely driven by an interest
in esotericism? [yes or no]
The Literalism question (or axis or criterion):
o Was there a historical Jesus, where
historical Jesus is defined as a uniquely distinctive man who was the basis for
the Christian religion and without whom Christianity would not exist? [yes or no]
I sometimes say "esoteric versus Literalist supernaturalist". The three criteria above correlate to supernaturalism, esotericism, and literalism. I distinguish Literalism from supernaturalism; most HJ researchers are Literalists though not supernaturalists -- that's Literalism with a lower-case "L", so to speak. Freke and Gandy draw the main distinction between esotericism and Literalism, but I dislike how they conflate supernaturalism and mundane literalism into the term "Literalism". So I differentiate between "supernaturalism" and "Literalism". One can be a supernaturalist literalist or a non-supernaturalist literalist.
If esotericism is correlated with the no-HJ position, we'd expect to see many theorists categorized in {esoteric, no-HJ}, and many in {non-esoteric, HJ}. I found 7 and 16 scholars, respectively, so far, indicating that to some extent, esotericism and HJ tend to be opposing options. Many esotericists reject the HJ assumption, and many researchers who assume HJ are non-esoteric.
These three questions, axes, or criteria, or polarities, span a very wide space of diverse views, whereas most debate about Jesus is limited to one eighth of that space: the only scholars who are respected are those that publically toe the line of {non-supernaturalism, non-esotericism, literalism (HJ)} -- the position I characterize and label as "moderate demythologizers".
|
Label/ characterization |
Includes supernaturalism? |
Includes strong esotericism? |
HJ- based? |
Description of position/view/paradigm |
Example scholars |
|
Radical secular humanist debunking |
Non-supernaturalist |
Non-Esoteric |
No HJ |
Classic scientific humanists, neglect or belittle esoteric religious experiencing. Religion is bad; it's all superstition and deceptive myth to manipulate weak and irrational minds. This approach equates all religion with exoteric religion, and dismisses religion, without giving special coverage of esoteric religion and its claims to provide transcendent knowledge, insight, or wisdom beyond what scientific humanism provides. When Jesus is proven to be mythical, Christianity automatically vanishes altogether ("good riddance") for such scorched-earth debunkers. |
Michael Conley |
|
Moderate demythologizers |
Non-supernaturalist |
Non-Esoteric |
HJ |
Today's mainstream Jesus scholars and liberal Christians, who focus on Historical Jesus studies to uncover a supposed liberal ethical teacher or someone who was received as a role model. They assume there was a real, single, unique, distinctive Jesus, upon whom many myths were piled. They treat Jesus as a largely unique figure, though not a unique holy savior. |
Bernard
Muller |
|
Skeptical hyperpluralism |
Non-supernaturalist |
Non-Esoteric |
Can't know |
Interested in exploring our inability to choose among the plethora of Jesuses and Christs rather than promoting a particular Jesus. They acknowledge the mythic-only Christ hypothesis, but don't treat that any more seriously than any particular proposed Historical Jesus. |
|
|
Fully allegorical mysticism |
Non-supernaturalist |
Esoteric |
No HJ |
Esoteric, allegorical, usually mystic-experiencing theory of the origin of Christianity. Scientific history refutes the Historical Jesus hypothesis, which should be replaced by a positive alternative hypothesis of the Jesus figure as an allegorical mythic personification of esoteric initiation experience that, with the Holy Spirit, conveys transcendent knowledge, enlightenment, an experiential core of religious insight, spiritual, mental, and ethical transformation, and the revealing of hidden wisdom. |
Timothy
Freke & Peter Gandy |
|
Modernist mysticism |
Non-supernaturalist |
Esoteric |
HJ |
Jesus was a mystery-religion initiator and spirituality expert who was unfortunately crucified. This approach so well explains mythic allegorical Christianity, an actual Jesus tends to become an unnecessary hypothesis, though by habit of tradition, such theorists try to find something for the supposed Historical Jesus to do as part of the mystery religion: he spent time with the Essenes as the Teacher of Righteousness, or was an even more towering and ethically influential man. |
Andrew Welburn |
|
n/a |
Supernaturalist |
Non-Esoteric |
No HJ |
Inconceivable? Atheist superstitious witches? |
? |
|
Orthodox literalism |
Supernaturalist |
Non-Esoteric |
HJ |
Worship the Christ of Faith. There was a real, single, towering supernatural Historical Jesus who performed miracles, was resurrected from death, and is God. Even if they let go of some or all miracles, they maintain that Jesus is holy, is uniquely God, and is the Savior. The very existence of Christianity depends on an actual, single, uniquely holy Jesus. |
|
|
Spiritualist psychics |
Supernaturalist |
Esoteric |
No HJ |
Superstitious mystics, new agers who consider Jesus strictly a spirit being, psychics |
? |
|
Orthodox mysticism |
Supernaturalist |
Esoteric |
HJ |
Seek direct mystical experiences of the supernatural Christ, which manifested as the actual Historical Jesus. Jesus was supernatural and also can be experienced mystically. |
Medieval Catholic mystic writings |
HJ = Historical Jesus. "No HJ" means this way of thinking assumes there was no historical Jesus. A "historical Jesus" here means a man upon whom Christianity is based and without whom there wouldn't be Christianity.
More details about fully allegorical mystics, the view I am developing: The Jesus that became canonical was a mythical, allegorical figure loosely based on a variety of political, ethical, and religious figures of the era. The canonical Jesus is a socio-political rebel, liberator of those oppressed by the power establishment, whose storyline also allegorizes the mystic experiences of Hellenistic mystery-religion initiation. Jesus is an allegorical mythic dying/rising savior figure as in Hellenistic mystery-religions. His dramatic mystery-ritual storyline is set in the historical rather than mythic realm; it is about political rebellion against the power establishment that tried to use religion to justify the oppressive status quo. The power establishment took over this politically and mystically popular religion of Jesus to defuse it by making it a supernaturalist exoteric-only religion.
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