Criterion of dissimilarity
The criterion of dissimilarity (also called criterion of discontinuity)[1] is used in Biblical criticism to determine if a statement attributed to Jesus may be authentic. It is often used as a shorthand for the criterion of double dissimilarity.[2] The criterion states that if a saying attributed to Jesus is dissimilar to the Jewish traditions of his time and also from the early Church that followed him, it is likely to be authentic.[2]
This criterion was introduced by Ernst Käsemann who in 1953 started the second quest for the historical Jesus.[3]
The criterion has received criticism for leading to reconstructions of Jesus as being in implausible discontinuity with the early Jewish traditions that preceded him and the early Christian traditions that followed from him. One such critic writes: "The problem of the Criterion of Double Dissimilarity is that the more we know about early Jewish traditions and the more we know about early Christian post-Easter traditions, the less space there is for a reconstruction of the authentic sayings of Jesus, as by definition they have to differ from early Jewish and early Christian traditions. Therefore, in the end, no trace of a historical Jesus remains."[4]
See also
References
- ↑ Who Is Jesus? by Thomas P. Rausch (Jul 1, 2003) ISBN 0814650783 page 36
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Historical Jesus and the Final Judgment Sayings in Q (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen Zum Neuen Testament) by Brian Han Gregg (Jun 30, 2006) ISBN 3161487508 page 29
- ↑ The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria by Gerd Theissen and Dagmar Winter (Aug 30, 2002) ISBN 0664225373 page 122
- ↑ Oegema, Gerbern S. Apocalyptic Interpretation of the Bible. 2012. pg. 79.
