George Albert Wells
Encyclopedia
George Albert Wells usually known as G. A. Wells, is an Emeritus Professor of German at Birkbeck, University of London
. He is best known as an advocate of the idea that Jesus
is a largely mythical rather than a historical figure.
Wells is a former Chairman of the Rationalist Press Association. He is married and lives in St. Albans, near London. He studied at the University of London
and Bern, and holds degrees in German
, philosophy
, and natural science
. He has taught German at London University since 1949, and has been Professor of German at Birkbeck College since 1968.
of these earliest Christians is not based on a historical character, but a pure myth
, derived from the mystical speculations based on the Jewish Wisdom tradition. According to Wells, the Gospel tradition was a later stage of the development of the Jesus myth, which was given a concrete historical setting and subsequently embellished with more and more details.
Wells allows for the possibility that certain elements of the Gospel traditions might be based on a historical figure from the first-century Palestine
: "[T]he Galilean and the Cynic elements ... may contain a core of reminiscences of an itinerant Cynic-type Galilean preacher (who, however, is certainly not to be identified with the Jesus of the earliest Christian documents)." However, Wells insists that this line of first-century traditions is separate from the sacrificial Christ myth of Paul's epistles
and other early documents, and that these two traditions have different origins. Wells concludes that the reconstruction of this historical figure from the extant literature would be a hopeless task.
In his book The Jesus Myth (1999), Wells departed from his earlier insistence that there was no historical figure at the basis the Jesus of the gospels, acknowledging the Q document as early historical evidence. However, Wells still argues that Paul's Jesus was "a heavenly, pre-existent figure who had come to earth at some uncertain point in the past and lived an obscure life, perhaps one or two centuries before his own time."
has called Wells "the most articulate contemporary defender of the non-historicity thesis." Wells' claim of a mythical Jesus has received support from Earl Doherty
, Robert M. Price
and others. The classical historian R. E. Witt, reviewing The Jesus of the Early Christians in the Journal of Hellenic Studies, offered some criticisms but concluded that "Hellenists should welcome the appearance of this challenging book.", while Wells' conclusions have been criticized by biblical scholars and ecclesiastical historians such as W. H. C. Frend
and Robert E. Van Voorst
. After reviewing criticisms from several authors, atheist philosopher Michael Martin
said that although "Wells's thesis is controversial and not widely accepted," his "argument against the historicity of Jesus is sound".
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
. He is best known as an advocate of the idea that Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
is a largely mythical rather than a historical figure.
Wells is a former Chairman of the Rationalist Press Association. He is married and lives in St. Albans, near London. He studied at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and Bern, and holds degrees in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
. He has taught German at London University since 1949, and has been Professor of German at Birkbeck College since 1968.
Work on early Christianity
Wells suggested that the earliest extant Christian documents from the first century, most notably the New Testament epistles by Paul and some other writers, show no familiarity with the Gospel tradition of Jesus as a preacher and miracle-worker who lived and died in the recent decades. Rather, they present him "as a basically supernatural personage only obscurely on Earth as a man at some unspecified period in the past". Wells believed that the JesusJesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
of these earliest Christians is not based on a historical character, but a pure myth
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
, derived from the mystical speculations based on the Jewish Wisdom tradition. According to Wells, the Gospel tradition was a later stage of the development of the Jesus myth, which was given a concrete historical setting and subsequently embellished with more and more details.
Wells allows for the possibility that certain elements of the Gospel traditions might be based on a historical figure from the first-century Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
: "[T]he Galilean and the Cynic elements ... may contain a core of reminiscences of an itinerant Cynic-type Galilean preacher (who, however, is certainly not to be identified with the Jesus of the earliest Christian documents)." However, Wells insists that this line of first-century traditions is separate from the sacrificial Christ myth of Paul's epistles
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents...
and other early documents, and that these two traditions have different origins. Wells concludes that the reconstruction of this historical figure from the extant literature would be a hopeless task.
In his book The Jesus Myth (1999), Wells departed from his earlier insistence that there was no historical figure at the basis the Jesus of the gospels, acknowledging the Q document as early historical evidence. However, Wells still argues that Paul's Jesus was "a heavenly, pre-existent figure who had come to earth at some uncertain point in the past and lived an obscure life, perhaps one or two centuries before his own time."
Reception
Co-author R. Joseph HoffmannR. Joseph Hoffmann
R. Joseph Hoffmann is a historian of religion, and was chair of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, Associate Editor of the journal Free Inquiry from 2003-2009. He was founding editor of CSER's Review, CAESAR: A Journal of Religion and Human Values...
has called Wells "the most articulate contemporary defender of the non-historicity thesis." Wells' claim of a mythical Jesus has received support from Earl Doherty
Earl Doherty
Earl J. Doherty is a Canadian author of Challenging the Verdict , The Jesus Puzzle and Jesus: Neither God Nor Man...
, Robert M. Price
Robert M. Price
Robert McNair Price is an American theologian and writer. He teaches philosophy and religion at the Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary, is professor of biblical criticism at the Center for Inquiry Institute, and the author of a number of books on theology and the historicity of Jesus, including...
and others. The classical historian R. E. Witt, reviewing The Jesus of the Early Christians in the Journal of Hellenic Studies, offered some criticisms but concluded that "Hellenists should welcome the appearance of this challenging book.", while Wells' conclusions have been criticized by biblical scholars and ecclesiastical historians such as W. H. C. Frend
William Hugh Clifford Frend
The Reverend Professor William Hugh Clifford Frend was an English ecclesiastical historian, archaeologist, and Anglican priest.-Academic career:* Haileybury College...
and Robert E. Van Voorst
Robert E. Van Voorst
Robert E. Van Voorst is a Professor of New Testament Studies at Western Theological Seminary, in Holland, Michigan, and has published scholarly works in early Christian writings and New Testament Greek. He received his B.A. in Religion from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, his M.Div. from...
. After reviewing criticisms from several authors, atheist philosopher Michael Martin
Michael Martin (philosopher)
Michael L. Martin is an American philosopher and professor emeritus at Boston University. He obtained his PhD from Harvard University in 1962....
said that although "Wells's thesis is controversial and not widely accepted," his "argument against the historicity of Jesus is sound".
German intellectual history
His major works in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century German language thought and letters are- Herder and After: A Study in the Development of Sociology (Gravenhage, Mouton, 1959)
- The Plays of Grillparzer (Pergamon PressPergamon PressPergamon Press was an Oxford-based publishing house, founded by Paul Rosbaud and Robert Maxwell, which published scientific and medical books and journals. It is now an imprint of Elsevier....
, 1969) ISBN 0-08-012950-1 - Goethe and the Development of Science, 1750-1900 (Sijthoff & Noordhoff, 1978) ISBN 90-286-0538-X
- The Origin of Language: Aspects of the Discussion from Condillac to Wundt. (Open Court Publishing CompanyOpen Court Publishing CompanyThe Open Court Publishing Company is a publisher with offices in Chicago and La Salle, Illinois. It is part of the Carus Publishing Company of Peru, Illinois.-History:...
, 1987) ISBN 0-8126-9029-X
Early Christianity
- The Jesus of the Early Christians, (Pemberton, 1971) ISBN 0-301-71014-7
- Did Jesus Exist?Did Jesus Exist?Did Jesus Exist? is a 1975 book written by the modern German historian George Albert Wells who speculated on the evidence of Jesus Christ. Wells argues there was no historical evidence of Jesus existing. A revised second edition was published in 1986. Wells' views were criticized by the James...
(Prometheus BooksPrometheus BooksPrometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by Paul Kurtz, who also founded the Council for Secular Humanism and co-founded the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He is currently the chairman of all three organizations. Prometheus Books publishes a range of books, including many...
, 1975; second edition 1986) ISBN 0-87975-086-3 (first edition), ISBN 0-87975-395-1 (second edition) - The Historical Evidence for Jesus (Prometheus Books, 1982) ISBN 0-87975-180-0
- Religious Postures: Essays on Modern Christian Apologists and Religious Problems (Open Court, 1988) ISBN 0-8126-9070-2
- Who Was Jesus? A Critique of the New Testament Record (Open Court, 1989) ISBN 0-8126-9096-6
- Belief and Make-Believe: Critical Reflections on the Sources of Credulity (Open Court, 1991) ISBN 0-8126-9188-1
- What's in a Name? Reflections on Language, Magic and Religion (Open Court, 1993) ISBN 0-8126-9239-X
- The Jesus Legend (foreword by R. Joseph HoffmannR. Joseph HoffmannR. Joseph Hoffmann is a historian of religion, and was chair of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, Associate Editor of the journal Free Inquiry from 2003-2009. He was founding editor of CSER's Review, CAESAR: A Journal of Religion and Human Values...
) (Open Court, 1996) ISBN 0-8126-9334-5 - The Jesus Myth (Open Court, 1999) ISBN 0-8126-9392-2
- Can We Trust the New Testament?: Thoughts on the Reliability of Early Christian Testimony (Open Court, 2004) ISBN 0-8126-9567-4
- Cutting Jesus Down to Size: What Higher Criticism Has Achieved and Where It Leaves Christianity (Open Court, 2009) ISBN 0-8126-9656-5
External links
- G. A. Wells at the Secular Web
- Jesus - History or Myth? (debate about Wells' ideas)