c. 1998 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ Scholars have been investigating the origins of Christianity for more than a century, and classes on the”historical Jesus”have been standard fare at colleges and seminaries for decades.

But most people in the pews know next to nothing about the recent work of archaeologists, historians and language scholars who have been applying the tools of the humanities to questions lurking behind the chapters and verses of the New Testament.

That all could change in early April when”Frontline,”the award-winning PBS show, launches its groundbreaking, four-hour series”From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians,”which airs 2 hours on April 6 and 2 on April 7 (check local listings).”This is the greatest story never told,”said Michael White, the series’ principal academic consultant.”It’s a very important enterprise to try and communicate these issues in a popular medium, because there is such a general lack of knowledge.” The tone of the series is respectful, if not always reverential. And as its title suggests, a distinction is made between the historical person named Jesus and the Christ, who is seen as a more complex and abstract figure resulting from centuries worth of theology and tradition.”There was a Jesus of history, but the tradition about him develops over time,”said White.”We take that tradition very seriously, but we’re also willing to explore how things evolve over time.””Pax Romana,”the series’ opening one-hour segment, covers Jesus’ ministry and death, placing him firmly within the Roman social structure and Jewish culture of his day. Using archaeological evidence from the recently excavated city of Sepphoris, located four miles from Nazareth, the segment shows that Jesus’ youth may have included more urban sophistication than one usually associates with traditions about a humble, rural carpenter.

Succeeding episodes examine conflicting views of the meaning of Jesus’ life and teaching, the gradual emergence of distinct Christian doctrines and rituals that differed radically from their Jewish antecedents, and the transformation of Jesus’ followers from a despised, persecuted minority to an established and officially sanctioned segment of Constantine’s Roman Empire.

Throughout the series, ancient history is brought to life through beautiful film footage, ancient works of art, and models of first-century cities and buildings.

But what really drives these programs is the insightful comments from series consultant White, director of the religious studies program at the University of Texas at Austin, and 11 other scholars, including Princeton’s Elaine Pagels, DePaul’s John Dominic Crossan, Brown’s Shaye Cohen, and Harvard’s Allen Callahan.

The scholars’ concise (and carefully edited) comments are a far cry from the polysyllabic prose many people often associate with subjects like ancient history. More complete versions of the scholars’ interviews can be found on the show’s Web site (http://www.pbs.org/frontline), where one can also access an interactive map of Palestine and the Roman Empire, a collection of ancient texts, and information on important archaeological discoveries.

One thing you can’t find in the series or the Web site are the voices of evangelical scholars who would differ with some of the series’ conclusions. For example, the series argues that some New Testament Gospels were written half a century or more after Jesus’ death, while conservative scholars say they were written much earlier, and that the Christian tradition didn’t change all that much over time.

Unlike Raymond E. Brown’s recently published 878-page”An Introduction to the New Testament”(Anchor Bible Reference Library), which interacts with both liberal and conservative scholarship, the”From Jesus to Christ”series”does not acknowledge distinctively evangelical perspectives at any point,”said Craig Blomberg, professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary.

The series does quote Crossan, a former co-chair of the liberal Jesus Seminar, and the Web site features articles by and about the group, whose members have voted on what portions of the Gospels are reliable. But White said he”doesn’t agree with the Jesus Seminar’s conclusions,”even though he thinks its scholars are asking”legitimate questions.” Blomberg said”From Jesus to Christ”gives a more balanced presentation of scholarly material”which would be accepted by evangelical scholars, though some of it may come as a surprise to the average evangelical layperson.” And just about everyone agrees that”From Jesus to Christ”can help non- academicians understand the broad strokes of a debate that has engaged scholars for decades.”Some people are going to be made aware that the Bible doesn’t say exactly what they say it does”said White.”These people are going to find this a challenge to their traditional assumptions. But this is a conversation that needs to take place.”

DEA END RABEY