The Jesus Seminar is a consultation of historical scholars that meets regularly in America. They are best known for a project undertaken from 1985 to 1996, when they considered the historical authenticity of sayings and deeds attributed to Jesus in all documents before a.d. 300. They published their findings in two major works, The Five Gospels (1993) and The Acts of Jesus (1998). The work was controversial in that it challenged or denied the historicity of many biblical traditions, and the ensui…