If Jesus appeared to 500 people upon His resurrection, why is there not a single contemporary written account?

Question

Surely a man rising from the dead - especially after being publicly crucified - would have elicited some mention in the historical records.

Yes David, I am sure I could find a contemporary historical account of Herod and Pontius Pilate, for two.

My point being that rising from the dead would be a historical remarkable achievement surely worth mention somewhere, no?

tacitus is not a contemporary account. it is not even a contemporary account of the event referred to (the fire in Rome in 64 A.D. that was blamed on Christians)!

Serving Jesus: and what about the earthquake, the sudden darkening. No one saw that either?? c'mon!

Answer 1

Actually, that is amazingly simple. If you saw Jesus raise from the dead, chances are you became a Christian! There are plenty of contemporary written accounts that acknowledge that this was the claim of the Christians. Why would someone NOT become a Christian if they saw Christ raised from the dead?

That being said, what written accounts did the church (the Christians) decide to preserve? The Bible. The fact that we have the Bible is a great testimony to the fact that these events took place. It was written during the time that these events took place, and was circulated amongst the people who had witnessed these events. Instead of being rejected, these books were further copied and further distributed.

We have mention of the fact that so many people believed and preached that he had raised from the dead in both Jewish and Roman histories.

Of these sources, Josephus is the most undeniable. He wrote about 60-80 A.D. and clearly states the beliefs of the Christians that Christ arose on the 3rd day alive again.

***EDIT***

Thallus confirms that the 3 hours of darkness was historical, so c'mon yourself. Also, those that are opposed to Christianity aren't likely to be recording all the things that are most likely to make someone believe, now, are they?

The fact is there are several contemporary authors that all bear witness to these events. Just because they are in the Bible does not mean they should be dismissed. No other documents of antiquity have ever been able to stand up to half the scrutiny of the Bible. Anywhere we can verify the testimonies of these authors, it is verified. These men all died for their testimonies. Why would they have lied if it led to nothing but imprisonment and death?

That is a MUCH bigger question than why didn't some history survive that recorded an earthquake.

Answer 2

Considering that the 4 gospel post ressurrection accounts do not come close to agreeing with each other (read them and see - I am not gonna bother placing every detail showing so here - well they do in the general sense of the tomb being empty, etc.), I am skeptical that anyone counted 500 people - probably was an estimate. The evidence does support a crucifixion and to a lesser extent ressurrection though - so many people probably did see him. Thus I think much of those accounts is factual.

Who other than the followers would know about it? Would the Romans who worshipped other Gods than the Jews' care or write about it at the time? Would the Jewish authorities who to a large extent opposed "Jesus" want to mention that?

Answer 3

You would think that the martyrdom of thousands of Christians by the hands of the Romans would be enough to suffice for you. Outside of the four Gospel accounts there are the writings of Josephus Flavius, Tacitus, Caesar's Gallic Wars, Herodotus, and Thucydides.

Tacitus, a Roman historian who lived during the latter part of the first century C.E., wrote: “Christus [Latin for “Christ”], from whom the name [Christian] had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.”—The Complete Works of Tacitus (New York, 1942), “The Annals,” Book 15, par. 44.

With reference to early non-Christian historical references to Jesus, The New Encyclopædia Britannica states: “These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and on inadequate grounds by several authors at the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the 20th centuries.”—(1976), Macropædia, Vol. 10, p. 145.

There is plenty of evidence if your willing to do your homework and look for it.

Answer 4

So, are you excluding the Bible from the "historical record."?
Can you find a "historical record" of any other man who lived in Palestine during the time of Christ?
If Jesus had died and stayed dead, there would not be a single person on earth today who calls himself a Christian.

Answer 5

There are. Here's a link to a paper on the subject, written by Dr. Simon Greenleaf, one of the founders of Harvard Law School. He literally wrote the book on testimonial evidenciary rules and their admissability in court. Dr. Greenleaf was a Jew (I say "was" only because he's now dead), who set out to disprove the resurrection actually occured. At the end of his extensive research, not only did Dr. Greenleaf admit the evidence shows the resurrection is one of the most documented events in ancient history, he also accepted Jesus Christ and became a Messianic Jew.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/jesus/greenleaf.html For additional information, go to the trial Homepage and read through the links: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/jesus/jesus.html

It takes awhile to read, but if you TRULY wish to learn about this subject, I urge you to read it. It may change your life.

Peace.

Answer 6

Ever hear of CENSORSHIP? Book burning? That's why many
scrolls were hidden in caves. We're lucky we have anything
regarding history. Since every conquering army destroyed all the
knowledge of the civilizations they conquered.

Answer 7

The stuff written about the 500 people witnessing was written decades after he supposedly died, if he existed at all. It wasn't written about any real people. It was just a general claim that there were witnesses, blown up, of course, to make it more believable.

Answer 8

The Bible, Josephus' writings etc.

Answer 9

Your question contains the answer to your question!

Answer 10

AND IF THERE WERE, WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT???