Are you familiar with Flavius Josephus?

Question

This is copied from a website. Please give me your thoughts on this guy:
Flavius Josephus (37 - 100 AD), a Jewish general and member of the priestly aristocracy of the Jews. He wrote:
At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders. 1

There is more: http://www.allaboutthejourney.org/flavius-josephus.htm

I would like to hear honest opinions on him and his writings. Thanks.

Answer 1

cooll this shows that other poeple heard of him and that there were peole who witnessed it and passed it down beisde apostols

Answer 2

Josephus, a Jewish historian, mentioned Jesus in his writings toward the end of the first century C>E>, roughly 60 years after Jesus' death.
As a non-Christian, Josephus would have no reason to accept the historical reality of Jesus unless there was some sound basis for it.
In one of his works, Josephus discusses disturbances that were caused by the Jews during the time Pontius Pilate was governor of the region of Judea (26-36 C.E,) The disturbance centered around a man named Jesuss and his followers, Josephus identifies Jesus as "a wise man....a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of men who received the truth with pleasure," and he notes that Jesus was later condemned by Pilate to crucifixion. While this mention of Jesu does not suggest that Josephus himself accepted Jesus or the claim made about Jesus by his followers, it does seem clear that Josephus recognized Jesus to be a historical person who had a profound impact on the people he encountered.

Read also about Tacitus, a Roman historian.....Pliny the Younger another Roman source and Suetonius a Roman historian and lawyer.
All these writers prove the historical existence of Jesus......rather than biblical sources.

Answer 3

Josephus is usually quoted as one of the earliest witnesses of teh historical Jesus and one who wasn't a Christian himself. His main purpose was to give an account of the wars of resistance that the Jews waged against the Roman empire in wat's today Palestine at the begginning of the Christian era. He was more for cooperation with the empire in order to guarantee the survival of the Jewish nation in today's Israel and the occupied territories. This doesn't mean that was a traitor but that he was aware of the unequal footing Rome and Jerusalem stood on at that time.

Answer 4

a million. Josephus grew to become into, as suggested, born after the time-physique in many cases promoted for the alleged existence and death of "Jesus." 2. The *earliest* date for any gospel is *around* 70 CE and might have been later; others variety to as previous due as one hundred fifty-2 hundred CE. 3. The passages in Josephus xians element to as "information" in the present day are a forgery extra by the Church around 3 hundred CE. Badly. And genuine pupils be attentive to this.

Answer 5

Josephus is a well known and respected historian who wrote of the events surrounding the life of Jesus and more.

Answer 6

Are you kidding me?

Flavius Josephus?

Don't talk about Flavius Josephus. Are you kidding me.

Flavius Josephus?

Answer 7

He is relating a story he has heard, probably in all good faith. Notice that a no point does he indicate he witnessed any of this.

In a modern court of law, it would go down as heresay.

Answer 8

Yes.
He is often cited by believers as an "independent" eye witness outside the bible, corroborating Jesus existence.

Unfortunately, you yourself acknlowldge that he wasn't even born until 4 years after Jesus putative death. This makes EVERYTHING he wrote at best, hearsay and second hand. Not exactly an eye witness to history.

I've copied the following from this site, if you want to read in more detail
http://www.nobeliefs.com/exist.htm

NON-CHRISTIAN SOURCES

Virtually all other claims of Jesus come from sources outside of Christian writings. Devastating to the claims of Christians, however, comes from the fact that all of these accounts come from authors who lived after the alleged life of Jesus. Since they did not live during the time of the hypothetical Jesus, none of their accounts serve as eyewitness evidence.

Josephus Flavius, the Jewish historian, lived as the earliest non-Christian who mentions a Jesus. Although many scholars think that Josephus' short accounts of Jesus (in Antiquities) came from interpolations perpetrated by a later Church father (most likely, Eusebius), Josephus' birth in 37 C.E., well after the alleged crucifixion of Jesus, puts him out of range of an eyewitness account. Moreover, he wrote Antiquities in 93 C.E., after the first gospels got written! Therefore, even if his accounts about Jesus came from his hand, his information could only serve as hearsay.

Pliny the Younger, a Roman official, got born in 62 C.E. His letter about the Christians only shows that he got his information from Christian believers themselves. Regardless, his birth date puts him out of the range of eyewitness accounts.

Tacitus, the Roman historian's birth year at 64 C.E., puts him well after the alleged life of Jesus. He gives a brief mention of a "Christus" in his Annals (Book XV, Sec. 44), which got written around 109 C.E. He gives no source for his material. Although many have disputed the authenticity of Tacitus' mention of Jesus, the very fact that his birth happened after the alleged Jesus and wrote the Annals during the formation of Christianity, shows that his writing can only provide us with hearsay accounts.

Suetonius, a Roman historian, born in 69 C.E. mentions a "Chrestus," a common name. Apologists assume that "Chrestus" means "Christ" (a disputable claim). But even if Seutonius had meant "Christ," it still says nothing about an earthly Jesus. Just like all the others, Suetonius' birth occurred well after the purported Jesus. Again, only hearsay.

Talmud: Amazingly some Christians use brief portions of the Talmud, (a collection of Jewish civil a religious law, including commentaries on the Torah), as evidence for Jesus. They claim that Yeshu (a common name in Jewish literature) in the Talmud refers to Jesus. However, this Jesus, according to Gerald Massey actually depicts a disciple of Jehoshua Ben-Perachia at least a century before the alleged Christian Jesus. [Massey] Regardless of how one interprets this, the Palestinian Talmud got written between the 3rd and 5th century C.E., and the Babylonian Talmud between the 3rd and 6th century C.E., at least two centuries after the alleged crucifixion! At best it can only serve as a controversial Christian and pagan legend; it cannot possibly serve as evidence for a historical Jesus.

Answer 9

i have read the complete works of Josephus in which the passage quoted is found it is one of more facts about Jesus found in other than scriptures in effect showing he did truly exist!

Answer 10

What's to say other than he was a historian that proved Jesus indeed existed.

Answer 11

Please realize that Josephus wrote in Hebrew. There was no "J" until 1400 A.D. The name of the Savior MEANT YHVH is my Savior. Thus it was (and is) YAHOSHUA! (which is the same name from which we "translate" Joshua) Basically Josephus was a good person, who wrote the truth.