Other then the Bible and the writings done since it about it, what evidence is there for Jesus?

Question

just curious so please don't blast me for asking an honest question

Answer 1

Cornelius Tacitus (born A.D. 52-54) - A Roman historian, in A.D. 112, Governor of Asia, son in law of Julius Agricola, who was Governor of Britain A.D. 80-84. Writting of the reign of Nero, Tacitus alludes to the death of Christ and to the existence of Christians in Rome:
"But not all the relief that could come from man....availed to relieve Nero from the infamy of being believed to have ordered the conflagration, the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished with the most exquisite of tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius...."

Tacitus has a further reference to Christianity in a fragment of his "Histories", dealing with the burning of Jerusalem Temple in A.D. 70, preserved by Sulpicius Severus.

Lucian of Samosata - A satirist of the second century, who spoke scornfully of Christ and the Christians. He connected them with the synagogues of Palestine and alluded to Christ as:
"the man who was crucified in Palestine because He introduced this new cult into the world....Furthermore, their first lawgiver persuaded them that they were all brothers one of another after they have transgressed once for all by denying the Greek gods and by worshipping that crucified sophist Himself and living under His Laws." Lucian also mentions the Christians several times in other writings.

Flavius Josephus (born A.D. 37) - A Jewish historian, became a Pharisee at age 19; in A.D.66 he was the commander of the Jewish forces in Galilee. After being captured, he was attached to the Roman headquarters. He says in a hotly contested quotation:
"Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call Him a man, for He was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to Him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned Him to the cross, those that loved Him at the first did not forsake Him; for He appeared to them alive again in the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning Him. And the tribe of Christians so named for Him are not extinct at this day."

The Arabic text of this passage is as follows:
"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." The above passage is found in a Arabic manuscript. Bishop Agapius in the tenth century writes: We have found in many books of the philosophers that they refer to the day of the crucifixion of Christ" We also find from Josephus a reference to James the brother of Jesus, in Antiquities XX 9:1.

There are at least five more ancient secular historians who wrote about Christ, Pilate, and the events of the crucifixion. Giving us more than enough written proof, outside of the Bible, if that is what you are looking for - that Christ did walk the earth, performed miracles, was crucified, and rose again in three days.

Answer 2

Not really much of anything. The biblical writings and the writings of other historians is about all there really is. Now recently it has be presented that the bones of Jesus may have been found in a crypt in the location where he was supposed to have been burried. The problem with this is that if people actually accept that these are indeed the bones of Jesus, then the part in the bible that says that he ascended into heaven would have to be false since his bones could not be in two places at once. On the other hand the same people will claim that heaven is not a physical place and that the angels, god, jesus etc are not physical but spirit which if that is true then how could a physical body ascend into a non-physical place to begin with? Go figure.

Answer 3

It has been said that there is more evidence that Jesus existed for Socrates, Plato, or even Caesar. The New Testament has eye-witnesses of Him.

However, in the Works of Josephus, he writes: 3. (63) Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works—a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; (64) and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross,b those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day,c as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.

Josephus, Flavius ; Whiston, William: The Works of Josephus : Complete and Unabridged. Peabody : Hendrickson, 1996, c1987, S. Ant 18.62-64

Answer 4

The Shroud of Turin

The Sudarium

Archeological evidence for the existence of Pontius Pilate; 1961 at Caesarea Maritima.

The excavation of Gergesia which is mentioned in he New Testament but was thought not to exist prior to discovery of it's ruins.

The discovery of the existence of Lysanias of Abilene. When Lysanias was "tetrarch of Abilene", John the Baptist began his ministry.

Excavations by Bellarmino Bagatti in 1955 have shown that there was an agricultural settlement on the site identified in the New Testament as Nazareth. The site dates back as far as 900 years before Christ. Evidence of use during the Roman occupation has been found.

The writings of Flavius Josephus (37 A.D. (?) - 100 A.D.) John the Baptist, James the Just (brother of Jesus), and Christ are all mentioned in his "Jewish Antiquities".

The writings of Thallus, Phlegon, Pliny the Younger, Cornelius Tacitus, Suetonius, and Mara Bar-Serapion who were all contemporaries of the beginnings of Christianity wrote about Jesus in secular historical context.

Answer 5

(1) The Bible is a collection of writings, not a single work. It already contains multiple sources.

(2) There are loads of writings from that time period about Jesus. The Bible simply contains the four that the Church Councils determined were reliable enough to be considered authoritative.

Answer 6

There is one Extremely hard piece of evidence that he did exist that is physical to this world. It is called the Shroud of Turin. All though it can never be proven 100% this article is the strongest physical evidence that Jesus did live, at least to those who believe in him. Check out the Wikipedia article there is a link below.

Answer 7

This might help:


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Letter from Pliny the Younger to Trajan (c. 110)

Tacitus (Annals, c.115-120) [The best current discussion on this passage is in my friend JP Holding's site]

A fragment of Tacitus, with implications for the existence of
the "Nazarene"

Suetonius (Lives of the Caesars, c. 125)

Lucian (mid-2nd century)

Galen (c.150; De pulsuum differentiis 2.4; 3.3)

Celsus (True Discourse, c.170).

Mara Bar Serapion (pre-200?)

Talmudic References( written after 300 CE, but some refs probably go back to eyewitnesses)

There are other references to "Christians" in this period, but I am not concerned with those--although some would offer supporting evidence for someone named 'Christ'. For example, Marcus Aurelius (Meditations 11.3) calls the believers 'Christians', but Epictetus (Discourses 4.7.6) calls them "Galileans". ...

Answer 8

If you go to church and follow his word, be baptized in the holy spirit, lay hands on the sick so they shall recover by the power of God and faith of man. You will see evidence other than the bible but you just sit back and do nothing.

Take electricity for example; you can not see it, touch it or taste it but you learn how to use it and you see the effects of it. If you turned away from electricity, you would be in the dark right now and I would not be answering your question!

www.mylordmysavior.com

Answer 9

The Bible is not one book, but a complilation of many books. Written by many authors over thousands of years. Truely remarkable that they testify to the same truth.

Answer 10

The only reference to a Jesus was by the first century historian Josephus. However it has now been found that the passage that he wrote regarding a Jesus has been found to be of a different handwriting to the rest of his works. So in answer to your question, I would say none.