George Albert Wells (22 May 1926–23 January 2017), usually known as G. A. Wells, was a Professor of German at Birkbeck, University of London. After writing books about famous European intellectuals, such as Johann Gottfried Herder and Franz Grillparzer, he turned to the study of the historicity of Jesus, starting with his book The Jesus of the Early Christians in 1971.[1]He is best known as an advocate of the thesis that Jesus is essentially a mythical rather than a historical figure, a theory that was pioneered by German biblical scholars such as Bruno Bauer andArthur Drews. Since the late 1990s, Wells has said that the hypothetical Q document, which is proposed as a source used in some of the gospels, may "contain a core of reminiscences" of an itinerant Galileanmiracle-worker/Cynic-sage type preacher.[2] This new stance has been interpreted as Wells changing his position to accept the existence of a historical Jesus.[3] In 2003 Wells stated that he now disagrees with Robert M. Price on the information about Jesus being "all mythical".[4] Wells believes that the Jesus of the gospels is obtained by attributing the supernatural traits of the Pauline epistles to the human preacher of Q.[5] Wells was Chairman of the Rationalist Press Association. He was married and lived in St. Albans, near London. He studied at the University of London and Bern, and holds degrees in German,philosophy, and natural science. He taught German at London University from 1949, and was Professor of German at Birkbeck College from 1968. He died on 23 January 2017 at the age of 90.[6][7]
Wells's fundamental observation is to suggest 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 figure of Jesus as a preacher and miracle-worker who lived and died in the recent decades. Rather, the early Christian epistles present him "as a basically supernatural personage only obscurely on Earth as a man at some unspecified period in the past".[2] Wells believed that the Jesus of these earliest Christians was not based on a historical character, but a pure myth, derived from mystical speculations based on the Jewish Wisdom figure.[8] In his early trilogy (1971, 1975, 1982), Wells denied Jesus’ historicity by arguing that the gospel Jesus is an entirely mythical expansion of a Jewish Wisdom figure—the Jesus of the early epistles—who lived in some past, unspecified time period. And also on the views of New Testament scholars who acknowledge that the gospels are sources written decades after Jesus's death by people who had no personal knowledge of him. In addition, Wells writes, the texts are exclusively Christian and theologically motivated, and therefore a rational person should believe the gospels only if they are independently confirmed.[9] Wells clarifies his position in The Jesus Legend, that "Paul sincerely believed that the evidence (not restricted to the Wisdom literature) pointed to a historical Jesus who had lived well before his own day; and I leave open the question as to whether such a person had in fact existed and lived the obscure life that Paul supposed of him. (There is no means of deciding this issue.)"[10] In his later trilogy from the mid-1990s, The Jesus Legend (1996), The Jesus Myth (1999), and Can We Trust the New Testament? (2004). Wells modified and expanded his initial thesis to include a historical Galilean preacher from the Q source
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th century movement that altered the course of European and world history in a number of different ways.
This movement led to the eventual influence and demise of the previously powerful Catholic Church.
Most importantly, people began to leave the religious strife that was taking place in their European homelands and they headed west to America to worship God as they pleased.
Religious Differences
Even though people were worshiping as they believed, the Protestant Reformation brought about a new set of problems.
People all throughout Europe began to engage in bloody conflicts over their religious disagreements.
Catholics fought against the Protestants and rulers fought against various Christian sects that did not affiliate with their particular beliefs.
Religion in the New World?
Spanish explorers discovered the Americas and some people began to migrate to the new world to find fame and fortune.
Exploration expeditions began to spring up in England and other European countries and the age of exploration was established. This development was important because it allowed many early settlers to leave Europe and travel to the Americas.
Religion and the Constitution
The Reformation not only drove people to found America, but it also helped to establish the Constitution which is the living document that governs the United States.
After the religious dissenters from Europe arrived in America, society was dominated by a clash of various religious beliefs. Those beliefs continued to dominate America for hundreds of years, up until the latter half of the 20th century.
Religion was so strong in America that it dictated the lives of millions of settlers that lived in the colonies. People in America can now worship as they believe but no state religion is to be endorsed. Many different Christian denominations are being worshipped in America today.
The final stage of apartheid<span>'s demise happened so quickly as to have taken many people in South Africa and throughout the world by surprise. The release of </span>Nelson Mandela<span> in February 1990 and the lifting of the ban of the </span>African National Congress<span> (ANC) and other liberation movements led to a protracted series of negotiations out of which emerged a democratic constitution and the first free election in the country's history. Democracy did not emerge spontaneously; it had to be built laboriously, brick by brick. This was a complex process, following years of multifaceted struggle and accompanied in the 1990-1994 period by convulsive violence as vested interests resisted change. Probably unique in the history of colonialism, white settlers voluntarily gave up their monopoly of political power. The final transfer of power was remarkably peaceful; it is often is described as a "miracle" because many thought that South Africa would erupt into violent civil war. </span>
The five freedoms outlined in the First Amendment are: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to assembly and the right to petition the government.
As with most any civilization, Islamic civilization was significantly spread through military power. Strong armies, as well as a strong Muslim belief in spreading the faith, led to the conquering of many surrounding areas and lands.
