Because of its emphasis on historical foundations over dogmatic faith, Westar Institute has been criticized by evangelical and fundamentalist-leaning organizations. This criticism has appeared "almost from the moment that they published their first paper on the life and death of Jesus Christ." Moderators of the faith-based site AllAboutReligion.org provide a relevant example: "Critics of the Jesus Seminar [cry] foul because they say that the Jesus Seminar is not subjective in their findings. This criticism is based on the knowledge that the Jesus Seminar eliminates any evidence they cannot explained [sic] using modern scientific principles." by definition incongruous with faith-based assertions. Beyond online forums, books have been published that criticize the work of the Westar Institute, particularly the Jesus Seminar, from the above perspective.
Reasons for Our Hope: An Introduction to Christian Apologetics, published in 2011 by H. Wayne House and Dennis W. Jowers, serves as an example. As with the above-cited website, House and Jowers argue that the historical-critical approach of Fellows is problematic: "The starting point [of the Jesus Seminar] is a total rejection of the supernatural, a throwback to the first quest [of the historical Jesus]. ... Any miracle is considered a myth, added later to reflect later beliefs. Thus, there can be no virgin birth, walking on water, or resurrection. Before they even begin their work, the Jesus Seminar decided that anything in the Gospels that supports Jesus being more than just human cannot possibly be true." House and Jowers describe Westar Institute as "a think tank set up by several liberal academics" and "radical critics of the Bible" among whom, House and Jowers claim on less credible terms, are "only a handful are well-known scholars in the field of New Testament studies" (319). In fact, most Westar Fellows are affiliated in some manner with leading organizations in the field of biblical studies and generally respected academic honors, as is evident in any survey of Fellow biographies on the Westar website. For example, publications and activities of the Fellows frequently include involvement with the leading organization of biblical research, the
Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). The SBL published an obituary for Westar founder Robert W. Funk in 2005, in which Funk is credited for his service as the Executive Secretary for the SBL. Likewise another Westar Fellow, Daryl D. Schmidt, was remembered in an obituary on the site in 2006. Furthermore, an article by John Dart, originally a paper presented at the 2006 SBL International Meeting in Edinburgh published in
Forum, also in 2006, is featured on the SBL website. As Dart explains: "Unfortunately, there is built-in resistance to popularizing biblical research findings for the general public. First, it is believed that complex, nuanced scholarly arguments tend to get 'lost in translation' to readers and audiences unfamiliar with the terminology and background." This is not to say Westar has escaped criticism from other scholars. "The most bitter and outspoken critic of the Seminar,
Luke Timothy Johnson, published
The Real Jesus: The Misguided Quest for the Historical Jesus and the Truth of the Traditional Gospels in 1996." To clarify, Johnson does not come from a fundamentalist perspective; he critiques that perspective as neither modern nor self-critical enough. Nevertheless, he problematizes the deeply unsettling experience of viewing the Bible through an historical-critical lens: "First-year students, who often come to seminary with deeply conservative convictions concerning the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, are exposed at once to the 'shock therapy' of the historical critical method." While Schüssler Fiorenza does not criticize the use of the historical-critical method, she does critique a lack of emphasis on the fact that all historical work is a form of re-construction which "must open up its historical models or patterns to public reflection and critical scrutiny." In other words, in spite of the highly public format of the Westar seminars, Schüssler Fiorenza advocates for greater involvement in explaining and opening methods up to public scrutiny. == See also ==