A Critical Evaluation of Hal Childs' The Myth of the Historical Jesus and the Evolution of Consciousness

The purpose of Childs' book an is integration of historical criticism and analytical psychology. I share Childs' interest in analytical psychology and his concern about the way historical criticism is practiced within the Jesus Seminar. However, I consider his proposed integration to be neither necessary nor desirable, particularly if integration really means amalgamation. Rather than adopting the concerns of analytical psychology, the historical critic would do well to emulate the procedures and rules of evidence of the secular historian.