What is the proof of Jesus's existence?

Question

A Christian I was speaking to was saying that there was proof that Jesus lived but when I asked what the proof was he became rather vague.
As an agnostic I am not trying to say he did or did not exist I just wondered is there actual solid proof of his existence?

Answer 1

I stopped to answer your question, partly because of the well intentioned and respectful way it is asked!
Not many evidences, really...
Even though Romans created this monster called "burocracy", they did not keep records on everything. The only non-christian (independent) sources are the comments of F Josephus (some years after the events, though), and those from Plinius, a traveller.
Unfortunately, some 20 years after the crucifixion, Israel exploted in a revellion (The zealot's revolt) that led to a blood-shed, so the events related to Jesus' life acquired a second-hand interest for the politicians of those days.
In resume, not much...
I supposse is part of my faith, mostly.

Answer 2

There are a number of sources for Jesus' existence; the Christian scriptures, the letters of Apostle Paul and the writings of Flavius Josephus.

1. The Four Canonical Gospels
They are the principal sources for the Christ's life. They were all written by the year 110 CE. They give by and large similar accounts of the Jesus' life and ministry

2. The Pauline Epistles (The New Testament)
Paul, an educated Jew, wrote letters to various Churches, which specifically speak of the person of Jesus, and predate the Gospels. Though he did not meet Jesus personally he met many of Jesus' disciples

3. Flavius Josephus
Josephus was an educated Roman Jew who wrote a history of the Jewish people. As part of that history he mentions Jesus (in one paragraph), the rise of Christianity and the curcifixion. He was not a Christian. He was only writing secular history. So, we cannot accuse him of fabricating a myth.

Answer 3

No. I had four years of Latin in high school; the priest who taught it said that the Vatican has done exhaustive studies and cannot find any proof of Jesus' existence. Most versions of Josephus' work don't mention any Jesus, and the ones that do don't mention 'Jesus' but 'Christ' which was a generic term. It appears to have been inserted later, about 350 AD. So the Josephus references is now considered bogus.The Church asks us to go on 'faith' and 'inspiration' of the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD as the definitive moment when it was decided that Jesus, in fact, had been a real person 300 or so years before because different factions of Christian theologians had battled over whether Jesus had ever existed from the start of the religion.

The fact remains that the four gospels are the only references to Jesus, and none of these texts meet any of the standards of a historical document; all of them are in the same category as the stories of Zeus, Thor, the Egyptian gods, etc.

Constantine needed a war standard to use as a loyalty check in order to consolidate his power over the Roman Empire. He convened the Council of Nicaea to leverage the fanaticism of Christianity to suit his purpose, and with typical Roman efficiency, whipped the mystical faith into a model of Roman ruthlessness and bureaucratic efficiency.

In effect, the Roman Empire still rules the world via the Vatican and its offshoots.

Answer 4

Not only that He lives in me, but Jesus had 12 witnesses who spoke and wrote about Him. They were called disciples. His existence was so powerful that even today over 2000 years later He has a large following. Not only did His disciples write about Him, but Josephus and a few other historians wrote about Jesus. There is more evidence of Jesus than a normal court trial receives every day with 12 jurors.

Answer 5

no proof
just whitnesses of long dead
an old cave
and text in a very old book
personally i don't think he ever existed physically
he was proberbly sent as a sort of guide to those who really needed a light to lead them through dark times
it's only human nature to see such a figure an myth up some kind of explanation
the fact that he must have lived once and when or if he did he was as much as a guiding light as he is in the spirit world
this myth is so old who's to say that it hasn't been changed or misinterpreted in that time though i suppose no-one will ever know for sure until they die

Answer 6

the romans have left no direct record of jesus, all of the roman records refer to christians as followers of christ or some derivation of christ. and all of them are some time after jesus is supposed to exist, none of them testify to the existence of jesus as an historical figure. the josephus reference in the 'antiquities of the jews' is highly controversial on two main counts. firstly the existing copy dates from the 10th century and there is some doubt as to whether josephus actually wrote that as the language of his reference when he refers to jesus is a bit too reverential for a pharasee. secondly the early church father, origen, never mentions the passage in his commentaries of josephus's work, which seems strange as it would have helped confirm his beliefs. one telling fact is that no historian contemporary to jesus actally mentions him when they are writing a history of that period, that includes the jewish historian philo of alexandria, if jesus had made any real impression then philo should have written about him. there are various mentions of people called jesus in the talmud, but the facts do not quiet tie up with the gospels and they are far from complementary. in total there are no real reliable extra-biblical sources that confirm the existance of the historical jesus, i guess that is why people are often shy about giving exact and verifiable sources as when they are checked out the are pretty flimsy.

Answer 7

The proof of the historical existence of Jesus and the authenticity of the founding of his church is a good starting point for a non-believer. Denials of the historical existence of Jesus have frequently been attempted.

NON-CHRISTIAN sources attest to the historical existence of Jesus. The statements of Tacitus around 117 (Annales XV,44), of Pliny the Younger around 112/113 (letter to the emperor Trajan), and of Suetonius around 120 (Vita Claudis, ch. 25) are reliable and historically conclusive and we may admit them as trustworthy evidence. We also possess statements by the Jewish writer Josephus Flavius from around 93/94 which permit us to accept his knowledge of the historical personality of Jesus.

As far as I am concerned, the best proof that Jesus is for real is the fact that he answers my prayers. I am not trying to pull your leg, it is true. He has also revealed himself in countless ways to believers so he is truly risen.

Peace!

Answer 8

A bit like King Arthur or Robin Hood,,,,,,, man or myth?

In 2000 years where will the proof be that you have exsisted except for a bit of paper, which some people may question?

Answer 9

Duh??? Jesus is the most documented person to have ever walked on this planet. No other subject has been written about any more than Jesus. Go to any library in a free country, you will find more books on him than any other person or subject. You will find lots of opinions, fantasies, denials, and thousands of historical research articles written by educated men and women working on their theses or dissertations. To say there is no evidence for Jesus is to throw away all the recorded history ever gathered. Only a complete fool could say there was no Jesus.

Answer 10

There are 4 non-Christian authors that refer to Jesus the one who suffered and died under pontius pilate. Josephus is one of them I know. Not to mention the flood of Christian writings afterwards.

His existence is historical fact. The Q is, do you have the faith to believe the words he spoke and be saved?