Theses on the Nature of the Leben-Jesu-Forschung

Criticisms addressed to the historiographical paradigm of the so-called ‘three quests’ by several scholars with different ideological backgrounds and who have worked independently have debunked it by proving its untenable character. The present paper makes a proposal for a new paradigm which allows us to understand the quest of the historical Jesus in a more comprehensive, lucid and explanatory way. This proposal has been articulated through a set of theses, accompanied in each case by an explanation (and, sometimes, by corollaries), accomplishing a threefold task: a broader characterization of historical Jesus research, a summary discussion of the main distortions contained in the ‘three-quests’ model, and, more importantly, an exposition of the basic principles of a new paradigm.