The struggle for the historical Jesus continues in the secular media today with the Sydney Morning Herald publishing a historian who suggests Bishop John Spong's style makes him popular in the press but a loner amongst academics.

Dr John Dickson, an Honorary Associate of the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University, says well respected historians are tiring of the colourful claims about Jesus that are being magnified by the media.

He describes how a world renowned expert told him he was "sick of the sensationalist approach to this topic."

"The more airtime the controversial fringe gets, the more reticent mainstream scholars will be to get involved in discussions marked by speculation and novelty rather than evidence," Dr Dickson says.

Even Non-Christian critics critical

Bishop Spong is in Sydney to promote the release of his new book, Jesus for the Non-Religious, which suggests the bulk of Jesus' life is a collection of fictional add-ons.

However Dr Dickson has told the Herald Bishop Spong hasn't much company amongst main-stream scholars, even those sceptical of Christian writers.

"Even a scholar as critical as Professor Ed Sanders of Duke University, one of the leading names in the field and no friend of Christian apologetics can write: "There are no substantial doubts about the general course of Jesus life,'" Dr Dickson quotes.

"The fact that Bishop Spong would have us believe that virtually everything in the Jesus story is up for grabs betrays his disengagement from mainstream scholarship of the last two decades."

Why no uproar?

Dr Dickson says when it comes to global warming, claims that run counter to good research are analysed and rejected by a sceptical media.

But the popular idea that "nothing hinges on the Jesus-question' means there is little interest in correcting his mangled history.

"With no ecosystems in the balance we are unlikely to hear from a panel of historians following the next sensationalist documentary or book on Jesus"”there just isn't the sense of importance," Dr Dickson says.

However he hopes an increasing awareness of the "incredible mismatch between popular perception and academic consensus' will encourage readers to bring more than a grain of salt to Bishop Spong's latest release.

Click here to read Dr Dickson’s article, If only Jesus were an ecosystem