Scholars have concluded that 82 percent of the sayings in the Bible written before the year 300 are attributed to the voice of the community and not Jesus himself, an Oregon State University professor said Friday afternoon.

The findings were the result of votes cast among members of the Jesus Seminar, said Marcus Borg, OSU professor of religion and culture, who spoke to about 45 people in Modern Languages Room 310. At the conclusion of the talk, people were able to ask questions. The majority of attendees were students.

Using red, pink, gray and black beads, members of the Jesus Seminar vote to determine how much and to what degree material from the Scriptures can be legitimately attributed to Jesus.

Voting red means scholars feel nearly certain that the saying can be attributed to Jesus, and pink means the same, only to a lesser degree. A vote for gray represents uncertainty about attribution. Sayings given a black vote are not the voice of Jesus.

"Black is very interesting material, because it puts us into the voice of the community. To be able to hear the voice of the community and of Jesus ... leads to a much deeper reading with the Gospel. (The Jesus Seminar) is the first systematic and collaborative analysis of the Jesus tradition," Borg said.

Steven Dunham, philosophy senior, asked Borg if voting is subjective or objective. Borg's answer was two-fold. First, a saying "needs double independent attestation in early material," to be considered for a red vote. This means it must be mentioned in at least two separate places by different people. However, he said, a scholar's own judgment about what is believed does play a part in the voting decision.

Richard Greenwell, a former University of Arizona researcher and a self-proclaimed amateur historian, said voting is rarely done to determine a scientific conclusion.

"(It's) a strange way of trying to reach scientific truths," he said, "It has a certain appeal I like."

However, it is important to realize that the result is subjective - it represents the consensus of scholars at a specific point in time.

"Voting is a common sense way of discerning a consensus," Borg said.

The seminar, which began 11 years ago, consists of about 200 scholars.

"(The scholars) are specialists in the historical scholarship of Jesus," he said.

Even though Borg said the Jesus Seminar is not a religious organization, he estimated the membership to be evenly split between Protestants, Catholics and the non-religious. The only prerequisite of seminar membership is for its members to hold a doctorate in a relevant field of study. Borg said Jewish homeland is an example of a relevant field.

Although the group consists of 200 members, only 40 attend and vote at meetings that are held twice a year. Borg said the main reason only 20 percent of the seminar's members attend the meetings is because of scheduling conflicts.

The Episcopal Campus Ministry, the English Department and the Campus Christian Center sponsored Friday's talk.

Allen Breckenridge, chaplain of the Episcopal Campus Ministry, said by bringing Borg to the UA, the three entities were trying to raise consciousness that these types of "stimulating" and "interesting" groups exist on campus.

Breckenridge said Borg was not paid for his talk at the UA.

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