The Historical Jesus, the Kerygmatic Christ, and the Eschatological Community

We are about to discuss a subject that is quite difficult - if not impossible - to treat in completely detached or neutral fashion. For this is a subject which forces a man, every man, to take a position and to make a decision. The earnestness of this decision is to be found in the fact that this is not merely a subject for academic disputation. It is a question of theology and faith. The subject historically has been treated in terms of a question, or a riddle, as one English scholar has called it. The question or riddle is basically this: \u27What is the relation between the actual historical person and career of Jesus of Nazareth and the description of Him given by the Evangelists and authors of the New Testament