An impressive array of speakers is on the menu, from Marcus Borg to Desmond Tutu, along with representatives of a variety of religious faiths. It is a fact that the basis of modern biblical scholarship was actually known in the last part of the 1900 s. The amazing thing is that the whole 20th century went by without the average lay person having a clue about what is generally known by biblical scholars. Literalism and fundamentalism remain the most common understandings of biblical material. The literal understanding of the Bible has become more common as fewer people go to church.
Biblical illiteracy lends itself to a sort of mystical understanding of the Bible in a literal way.
The result is a 19th century biblical understanding. This leads to a similar understanding of Jesus. He is portrayed as a superhuman figure that performs miracles and wonders that prove his divinity. While scholars agree that Jesus was historical, apparently charismatic, a spiritual teacher and healer, they also generally agree that most of the major things people believe about him did not happen historically. I refer to the stories of his virgin birth, physical resurrection and physical ascension, not to mention some of the lesser miracles.