1. -Romans 1:19-20
19For all that may be known of God by men lies plain before their eyes; indeed God himself has disclosed it to them. 20His invisible attributes . . . have been made visible . . . in the things he has made. [NEB
1. Silences in passage/challenge to a historical Jesus:
Jesus' role on earth reflected God's attributes, and knowledge of God.
2. Relevancy within context:
Doherty has left out vital parts in verses in the .. of verse 20 above, which help reveal the context more clearly, as do the verses before and after this passage.
Here is verses 18-23
"18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20For SINCE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. "
Paul is writing to believers in Rome (1:7). Paul states that "14I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish." He states in 1:16 that his gospel is to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The above passage follows these opening statements and represents the beginning of a long message from Paul regarding guilt of all men before God, then more specifically that of the Jews. This portion of his message is from 1:18 to 3:20. The next portion is his message of salvation through faith in chapters 3:21-8:39. Then there is more discussion along these lines and the future in 9:1-11:36.
So clearly, the verses Doherty quotes are the beginning of this entire discussion, and they are focusing on the guilt of all men for not recognizing since the creation of the world God's power and authority over them. This is NOT the place to discuss the arrival of Jesus on earth only recently.
Doherty not only ignores the time period explicitly stated by Paul, he appears to be leading the reader to focus on the phrase "ALL that may be known", as though if Jesus had lived recently that surely would have been included. As Doherty has pointed out Paul states elsewhere of knowledge through scriptures, the prophets, visions, and personal revelation--not just on the world around us, so Paul isn't providing a complete list of all of the ways in which all of God can be known. This emphasis is not valid given the context.
Rather, the focus is on the guilt of all men since creation for not perceiving God in nature--followed by a discussion of the guilt of the Jews specifically. This sets up the discussion for a solution to the problem of guilt for both Jews and Gentiles: Salvation NOW AVAILABLE through faith, which is Paul's gospel. The time to mention Jesus as God's revelation to man is not during the "guilt discussion", but during the "salvation discussion", which Paul does in each and every chapter from 3 to 11 except for chapter 10.
3. Related information in other early writings
Paul elsewhere does address Jesus' godly attributes: Selflessness (Rom 15:3), sinless (2 Cor 5:21), meek and gentle (2 Cor 10:1), role as Son-referring to God as Father (Gal 4:6), obedient (Phil 2:8), God dwelt in his body (Col 2:9). In addition, Paul may (depending on the interpretation of "Lord") have referred to Jesus as having foretold the future (1 Thess 4:15), having been a teacher (Rom 14:4, 7:10, 1 Cor 9:14), and an initiator of tradition (denoting authority) (1 Cor 11:23).
The author of 1 Peter describes Jesus as having been as a lamb unblemished and spotless (1:19), sinless and without guile, not vengeful, and trusting in God (2:22-23).
The author of Hebrews may have referred to Jesus as having declared salvation, and performed signs, and wonders and various miracles (2:3-4). He says he was without sin (again) (4:15), was a man of prayer, obedient in the days of his flesh (5:7-8), had an indestructible life (7:16) and had endured before hostility (12:3). This author says of Christ in 1:3 "3And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.."
The author of 1 John says he was a man who appeared to destroy the devil's work (3:8), gave a message about purity (1:5) possibly promised eternal life (2:25), was righteous (2:1), maybe gave a message that people should love one another (3:9,3:23), maybe imparted his spirit to others (3:24)
The author(s) of the Didache says he gave a command in his gospel to pray (the Lord's prayer) (8:2), and said other things worth remembering (9:5), and possibly gave other commands found in his Gospel (15:3, 15:4), he was a source of knowledge (unclear as to whether this was before or after his death) (9:3), his nature reflected the spirit of a true prophet (11:8).
The author of 1 Clement says Jesus spoke and taught about forbearance and longsuffering, quoting teachings we find in the gospels (13:1-2, 46:8), referring to his words as holy (13:3) and as commandments(49:1), and his nature as lowly (humble) (13:3,16:2). He also quotes from the OT in 16:3-16 to illustrate his humble righteousness. He says Jesus was of the flesh (49:6), sent from God, who imparted the gospel to the Apostles (42:1), and that he (the author) has been instructed, sanctified, and honored through Christ (59:3).
I might add that a very clear reference is made in 1 Tim 6:3 "if any one be teaching otherwise, and do not consent to sound words -- those of our Lord Jesus Christ -- and to the teaching according to piety he is proud, knowing nothing." Although Pauline authorship is rejected by many Doherty has said that it reflects much of Paul's thinking.
4. Conclusion
The context of the passage is not appropriate for a mention of Jesus as having reflected God's attributes, and knowledge of God, since it is referring to the guilt of Gentiles prior to the time of Christ (since the creation of the world) from not honoring God when his nature is plainly seen in his creation. The other early writings which Doherty gives attention to in his top 20 appear to portray an earthly Jesus as having had godly attributes, knowledge of and authority from God via his teachings, the spirit of a true prophet, the authority to establish traditions and to appoint apostles, and possibly as having performed wonders and miracles, including that of his own indestructibility (presumably referring to the resurrection). None of these non-gospels emphasize these qualities, but they all do reveal (or appear to) some evidences for the conception Doherty says is missing.
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