I think that the principle of logic, that existence is not a predicate, ought always to be remembered. ‘Did x exist?’ is an informal way of asking ‘Did anything (anyone) exist having predicates a,b,c etc.?’.
What predicates need to apply if someone is to be recognised as ‘a Jesus’? Maybe, for the sake of argument, we say ‘a) taught in a pacifist spirit b) was believed to have worked miracles c) suffered under Pontius Pilate’. At that rate, did any such person exist? The answer to this form of question can in some senses be a matter of degree - perhaps several people who suffered under PP were alleged miracle workers but none were pacifists. Even if our answer at this stage is close to Yes it is a further question whether only one such person existed - possibly there were many who qualified as ‘a real Jesus’ and ‘the real Jesus of history’ is a conflation of some of them.
We talk of one Jesus or no Jesus but the third logical possibility, more than one Jesus, ought not to be ruled out without a minute’s consideration. At that rate the real story would be less about an individual teacher than about a school of thought, perhaps one that suffered violent repression.
The question ‘Did Jesus exist?’ is a richer question than is always recognised. The next analytic step is to identify the predicates that are relevant - what would someone have to have done in order to have been Jesus? - and that in itself is not the easiest question.
I think that the principle of logic, that existence is not a predicate, ought always to be remembered. ‘Did x exist?’ is an informal way of asking ‘Did anything (anyone) exist having predicates a,b,c etc.?’.
What predicates need to apply if someone is to be recognised as ‘a Jesus’? Maybe, for the sake of argument, we say ‘a) taught in a pacifist spirit b) was believed to have worked miracles c) suffered under Pontius Pilate’. At that rate, did any such person exist? The answer to this form of question can in some senses be a matter of degree - perhaps several people who suffered under PP were alleged miracle workers but none were pacifists. Even if our answer at this stage is close to Yes it is a further question whether only one such person existed - possibly there were many who qualified as ‘a real Jesus’ and ‘the real Jesus of history’ is a conflation of some of them.
We talk of one Jesus or no Jesus but the third logical possibility, more than one Jesus, ought not to be ruled out without a minute’s consideration. At that rate the real story would be less about an individual teacher than about a school of thought, perhaps one that suffered violent repression.
The question ‘Did Jesus exist?’ is a richer question than is always recognised. The next analytic step is to identify the predicates that are relevant - what would someone have to have done in order to have been Jesus? - and that in itself is not the easiest question.