Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University. / Cadbury's basic contribution regarding the historical Jesus involves the conviction that he was a product of his own Jewish environment and, as such, is not to be thought of as unique. His method of teaching can be paralleled with the rabbis of his time. His moral earnestness is comparable to that of the Old Testament prophet. Only in his "excess of virtue" can any originality be attributed to him. Jesus' religious experience is no different from that of any other pious Jew. Revelation came to him through the normal cognitive processes. Nor should one assign to Jesus a conscious plan or well-defined program; his teachings were casual and occasional. The unique theological portraits which successive generations have painted of Jesus are not based upon historical evidence. The scholar must rid himself of such Christological presuppositions. [truncated]