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But whether or not it is historically authentic, the earliest stratum of witness is the primary existential-historical authority for the community of faith and witness constituted by it; and, as such, it expresses the meaning of Jesus for us to which this community exists to bear witness, and it is by it, accordingly, that the faith and witness of anyone who would belong to this community and represent it must be authorized, causatively as well as normatively. On the other hand, whether or not a witness that conforms to this earliest witness is also true or credible is an existential-historical, rather than an empirical-historical ," question; and so any reasoned answer to it requires not only empirical-historical inquiry to reconstruct the witness and existentialist interpretation to determine its meaning, but also metaphysical and ethical reflection on the necessary presuppositions and implications of the witness for belief and action.

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