Doubts?Talking with a friend, the subject of historical evidence outside the New Testament for Jesus' existence came up. She said that since the Romans kept meticulous records (and she was unaware of any documenting Him) He must not have existed. Rather Jesus was a mythical invention of a people who longed deeply for God among them.
There are historical references to Jesus outside the New Testament. A 1-minute Google search will tell you that. Some of the best by historian Flavius Josephus are recognized by scholars to have been corrupted in part over the centuries. There is consensus by experts of both Ancient and Biblical History that Josephus did write about Jesus. The likely corruption is the statement that Jesus "was the Christ" - something that Josephus, a Jewish historian, would not have said or he would be known as a Christian historian.
With modern perspective and most of the world familiar with Jesus and His teachings it seems unfathomable that the Romans wouldn't have documented His life more fully. But in proper historical context, a poor, Jewish carpenter's son in this forgotten corner of a sprawling empire; who was killed for His teachings at the demand not of Romans, but of His people (the local Jewish leaders) would not have drawn the attention of contemporary Roman historians.
There's also documentation of Christian martyrs who held to their belief in Christ and His teachings right up to death by crucifixion, being eaten by wild animals, burning, etc... Would any of us today so stubbornly uphold faith in a myth? If you answer no, why would they? What would have made them different?
Another point that intrigued me as I researched the historicity of Jesus is this. Some historians observe that while proof of Christ's existence in the form of historical writings is thin, we actually know more about His ideas that we do about those of Alexander the Great.
What stirred me as we talked was not a desire as a Christian to evangelize but alarm at the sheer untruth. When we begin to assume things on important questions without taking a single minute to educate ourselves, to discover that there are historical, non-biblical accounts of Him as a real person, we are in trouble.
Question all you like whether Jesus was who He said He was, whether or not He has been a positive influence on humanity or the value of His teachings. But don't say that he never existed without knocking the dust off of your mouse pad. That is a knowable fact.
There are historical references to Jesus outside the New Testament. A 1-minute Google search will tell you that. Some of the best by historian Flavius Josephus are recognized by scholars to have been corrupted in part over the centuries. There is consensus by experts of both Ancient and Biblical History that Josephus did write about Jesus. The likely corruption is the statement that Jesus "was the Christ" - something that Josephus, a Jewish historian, would not have said or he would be known as a Christian historian.
With modern perspective and most of the world familiar with Jesus and His teachings it seems unfathomable that the Romans wouldn't have documented His life more fully. But in proper historical context, a poor, Jewish carpenter's son in this forgotten corner of a sprawling empire; who was killed for His teachings at the demand not of Romans, but of His people (the local Jewish leaders) would not have drawn the attention of contemporary Roman historians.
There's also documentation of Christian martyrs who held to their belief in Christ and His teachings right up to death by crucifixion, being eaten by wild animals, burning, etc... Would any of us today so stubbornly uphold faith in a myth? If you answer no, why would they? What would have made them different?
Another point that intrigued me as I researched the historicity of Jesus is this. Some historians observe that while proof of Christ's existence in the form of historical writings is thin, we actually know more about His ideas that we do about those of Alexander the Great.
What stirred me as we talked was not a desire as a Christian to evangelize but alarm at the sheer untruth. When we begin to assume things on important questions without taking a single minute to educate ourselves, to discover that there are historical, non-biblical accounts of Him as a real person, we are in trouble.
Question all you like whether Jesus was who He said He was, whether or not He has been a positive influence on humanity or the value of His teachings. But don't say that he never existed without knocking the dust off of your mouse pad. That is a knowable fact.
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