GEZA VERMES attended the Balzan Foundation's international Symposium on "The Truth" in Switzerland, speaking on "The Truth about the Historical Jesus." He is interviewed by the National Catholic Reporter.

Bible scholar rips pope's book, warns of chilling effect
Posted on May 19, 2008 01:40am CST.

By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Lugano, Switzerland

A leading New Testament scholar, and former Catholic priest, has criticized Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 book on the Gospels, Jesus of Nazareth, saying that its insistence on identifying the historical Jesus with the Christ of traditional Christian faith has “turned back the clock” on modern scholarship.

The comments from Geza Vermes, author of the acclaimed book Jesus the Jew and a longtime professor at Oxford, came during a summit of leading Western intellectuals May 16-17 in Lugano, Switzerland, devoted to the theme of “truth.” The gathering was sponsored by the Balzan Foundation, which awards the Swiss-Italian equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

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