Editing Jesus Seminar (section)

===Composition of the Seminar and qualifications of the members===

[[Luke Timothy Johnson]], a historian of the origins of Christianity,<ref name="Luke Timothy Johnson"/> argued that while some members of the seminar are reputable scholars (Borg, Crossan, Funk, others), others are relatively unknown or undistinguished in the field of biblical studies.<ref>''The Real Jesus'', 1996.</ref> One member, [[Paul Verhoeven]], holds no Ph.D. but a M.Sc. in mathematics and physics,<ref>[http://meer.trouw.nl/nieuws-en-debat/verhoeven-niet-echt-zeer-geleerd#bodyanchor-8504 Paul Verhoeven's Ph.D. claims refuted] in Dutch national newspaper Trouw</ref> not biblical studies, and is best known as a [[film director]]. Johnson also critiqued the seminar for its attempts to gain the attention of the media for the 2000 [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] program "The Search for Jesus" hosted by news anchor [[Peter Jennings]].

Seminar critic [[William Lane Craig]] has argued that the self-selected members of the group do not represent the consensus of [[New Testament]] scholars.  He writes:

<blockquote>Of the 74 [scholars] listed in their publication ''The Five Gospels'', only 14 would be leading figures in the field of New Testament studies. More than half are basically unknowns, who have published only two or three articles. Eighteen of the fellows have published nothing at all in New Testament studies. Most have relatively undistinguished academic positions, for example, teaching at a community college.<ref>[http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/rediscover1.html Rediscovering the Historical Jesus] by William Lane Craig</ref></blockquote>
Others have made the same point and have further indicated that thirty-six of those scholars, almost half, have a degree from or currently teach at one of three schools: [[Harvard University|Harvard]], [[Claremont Graduate University|Claremont]], or [[Vanderbilt University]], all of which are considered to favor "[[Liberal Christianity|liberal]]" interpretations of the New Testament.<ref name="blomberg">Craig A. Blomberg, "Where Do We Start Studying Jesus?" in ''Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus'', Zondervan, 1995, p. 20. {{ISBN|0-310-21139-5}}</ref> To [[open theism|open theist]] [[Greg Boyd (theologian)|Greg Boyd]], a prominent [[evangelism|evangelical]] pastor and theologian, "The Jesus Seminar represents an extremely small number of radical-fringe scholars who are on the far, far left wing of New Testament thinking. It does not represent mainstream scholarship."<ref>Strobel, Lee. (1998). ''The Case for Christ''. Zondervan. p. 122. {{ISBN|9780310339304}}</ref> New Testament scholar [[Mark Allan Powell]] has stated: "The Jesus Seminar is not representative of the guild of New Testament historical scholarship today. Rather, it is representative of one voice within that guild, a voice that actually espouses a minority position on some key issues."<ref>Powell, Mark Allan. (1998) ''Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man From Galilee''. Westminster John Knox. p. 78.
{{ISBN|9780664234478}}</ref>

In the first chapter of his 2010 book ''Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of his Life and Teaching'', [[Maurice Casey]], an [[Irreligion|irreligious]] British scholar of the New Testament, criticizes the Seminar for having not included "some of the best scholars in the USA, such as [[E. P. Sanders]], [[Joseph Fitzmyer|J. A. Fitzmyer]], and [[Dale Allison]]."<ref name="Casey2010">{{cite book|last=Casey|first=Maurice|date=2010|title=Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXK0auknD0YC&q=Mary+Magdalene+supported+Jesus%27s+ministry&pg=PA194|location=New York City, New York and London, England|publisher=T & T Clark|isbn=978-0-567-64517-3|pages=18–21}}</ref> He states that these glaring omissions were compounded by the fact that many of the supposed "experts" at the Seminar were young, obscure scholars who had only just completed their [[doctorate]]s.<ref name="Casey2010"/>