This course will examine the life, message, and mission of the historical Jesus. The course will consist of several components: 1) a survey of modern historical Jesus scholarship and its various difficulties; 2) a survey of primary, canonical, extracanonical, and non-Christian sources; 3) the acquisition of scholarly methods for isolating "authentic" Jesus material; and 4) a serious consideration of the leading scholarly reconstructions of the historical Jesus. This course is appropriate for all Saint Mary's students who have completed the core requirement in Religious Studies and satisfies the RLST Major for Biblical.