Does anyone actually dispute the fact that Jesus existed?

Question

I am aware that most, if not all, of the world considers Jesus as a good teacher. Even I can appreciate the idea of "treat your neighbor the way you want to be treated" and "treat your enemies the way you would treat your friends". Jesus makes a lot of good points in his teachings.

However, Islam is the only religion I know of that recognizes Jesus as an important prophet, and Christianity is the only religion that sees him as the son of god.

But I have heard people on hear deny the actual existence of Jesus. Come on, guys, you are making us look stupid! Just because there is no god doesn't mean there was no Jesus.

We might as well start denying the existence of other men. Do we deny the existence of Muhammad? Not that I know of.

What I am trying to say is, does anyone have evidence to suggest that Jesus did not exist? If there is no evidence, then it is as proven as the claim that Catholics eat his flesh, or that God exists.

Answer 1

During the Nineteenth century, there arose a philosophy called Skepticism, which is based on the assumption that nothing can be known with any degree of certainty. Before that time, there was absolutely no doubt that Jesus was a person in history. One such writer was a man by the name of Albert Schweitzer. In his book The quest for the historical Jesus, he wrote, "A great deal of writing about Jesus was simply imaginative fantasy". This skepticism of Jesus as a historical figure has survived into the present time.

In addition to Skeptics who deny there ever was a Jesus, there are others who acknowledge that he was a historical person, but deny His miracles and bodily resurrection. One of the first was Arius, a teacher at Alexandria, who taught that Jesus was an ordinary man, who did not rise from the grave. It was because of his teaching that the Council of Nicea, the first Ecumenical council, was called. As a result, the churches formed a creed, which served as a statement of their beliefs. Also, the man Arius was found to be a heretic.

In modern times, a group of revisionist scholars known as the Jesus Seminar claims that "Jesus never said 80% of what is attributed to him." Founded by Robert Funk, this group has officially dismissed the Gospel of John and has said the gospel of Thomas (a Gnostic heresy) is a missing gospel. Other speculations include a 'Q' document, which is supposedly a source of Matthew and Luke. These interpretations are not based on factual evidence, but on the individual interpretation of the scholar. The 'Jesus' presented by the Jesus Seminar reflect their own personal views and opinions.

Many modern skeptics claim that Jesus never existed; or if he did exist, did not perform miracles or rise from the dead. Some claim that Jesus was an Escene, which was a Jewish sect who lived near Qumran and had practices similar to those of the early church. They dismiss the virgin birth, saying he was an illegitimate child. At the heart of all modern skepticism concerning the Bible is the notion that the Bible contains errors.

Answer 2

How can you say that someone who claimed to be God could be a "good teacher"? Think about what that claim would do to Dr. Phil's career today. Yeah, he seems like a smart guy that has lots of great ideas, but if he came on Oprah and said that he was God people would write him off as crazy.
There are only three logical conclusions you can draw from what the Bible says about Jesus.
1. You believe what the Bible says about the life and teachings of Jesus and that He was exactly who he claimed to be, which is God.
2. You believe what the Bible says about the life and teachings of Jesus and that he was a crazed lunatic who thought that he was some sort of God.
3. You don't believe the Bible at all and therefore cannot believe that Jesus taught or said anything that is recorded there.
I hate it when people give me this junk about how they believe that Jesus was a wise man who taught great things but was not the Son of God. Just the fact that he made that claim means that he was the Son of God or he was crazy. What do you believe?

Answer 3

Since there are no contemporary writings about a jewish 'messiah' called yeshua during that period, it's difficult to define any later writings as accurate. If indeed, he DID do all these miracles, why didn't a contemporary write in down. Josephus wrote much later, and the gosples came generations afterwards.
There IS a historical 'Jesus' who was sort a a military figure who is dated at about 100-150 years before, but little else.
Paul, who never met the Jesus in question, adapted current pagan and greek man-gods myths into a collaborative following. The whole of christianity appears to be solidly built on Mithra (and others), and not Pat Robertson.
Keep searching - the facts are pretty intersting.

Answer 4

I think that It is reasonable to question the existence of Jesus based on the apparent lack of eyewitness, archaeological evidence, the lack of extra-biblical accounts of such an important religious figure and the similarities between Christianity and other mythologies.

There are some works outside of the Bible that can be used to back up at least that he exists though. These mostly include Roman accounts of the time, usually as if a passing mention of his execution and nearly always excluding the details of it. The few that do go into the cause merely mention he was executed for heresy and/or crimes against what would have been the state.

However, there are huge inconsistencies in the details of his life from different parties. It isn't entirely certain that what is reported to have been his words were his teachings or whether they were tacked on afterwards to make it sound pretty. It's been said before and I think it's still valid - "If the facts regarding his immortality are questionable then what makes any of it unquestionable?"

Answer 5

There is actually some good evidence that He did exist (not just the Bible!). The historian Josephus' writings talk about Him, as well as those of Iraneus. There's actually more historical evidence about His life than there was about the individual Roman Caesars of the time. Nobody is trying to prove they never lived!

Answer 6

Speaking as a semi-expert on Augustan Rome, I must say that the evidence for Jesus having been crucified is actually quite slim.
Ignoring Jesus altogether, we are told that he was hung up beside thieves, and on a hill.

this would've been a very nonstandard execution, and it's weird that Augustus never mentions it in his writings.

Crucifiction was for enemies of the state, for the most part, and was nearly always done in huge amounts (making the end of Life of Brian, sans singing, more likely) or singularly.

The lack of this being mentioned, especially if he had 50,000 people gathered to worship him at one point, is pretty shocking.

Answer 7

I don't deny Jesus existed. Whether he was a man, or the literal son of god, is a different question.

Answer 8

This board is infested with people that are full of denial. They have a desperate need to put out the Light anywhere they can find it because it convicts them. It's just the same group of wordly people that have existed through the centuries.

Answer 9

Not me. Even if he wasn't the Son of God, he was still a remarkable man. Who else could have done the things that he did. Even so, I believe he is the Son of God.

Answer 10

And there is no reliable evidence that He never existed... It works both ways... ;)