Criterion of dissimilarity

The criterion of dissimilarity (often used as a shorthand for criterion of double dissimilarity; it is also called criterion of discontinuity, originality or dual irreducibility) is used in Biblical criticism to determine if a statement attributed to Jesus may be authentic. The criterion states that if a saying attributed to Jesus is different from both the Jewish traditions of his time and the early Church that followed him, it is likely to come from the historical Jesus.