Follow up to my first question about Jesus?

Question

So basically the answers I got to my first question:

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

Fall into 4 responses:

1. There are none and anyone who believes in it is crazy {I took this with a grain of salt because everyone responding that way seemed a little un-edge to me}

2. There is no more lack of evidence for other historical figures so why shouldn’t I believe he is real. – This seems like a silly argument to me. First you cannot prove 1 things existence by pointing out the lack of evidence for some other thing. Second even if this was a valid argument, no one I have heard of is running around telling people they are going to burn in hell if they do not believe in George Washington. Since Christians make the claim that you must believe in Jesus or you are going to hell, then it is their responsibility to prove his existence in my mind.

3. Some evidence exists outside the Bible and that evidence is controversial. Th

3. Some evidence exists outside the Bible and that evidence is controversial. This is the most direct answer to the question I asked and I want to thank those who gave it in one form or another.

4. Jesus is real because: {he changed me, he healed someone, you just feel it}. My response to this is that I imagine for everyone who ever sat in a church and felt like Jesus made a difference there are others who sat there and he did not make a difference at all. If Jesus healing someone is proof of his existence, is the fact that many people who are prayed for and never healed proof that he is a myth?

I hope I do not sound as if I am attacking anyone, I do not mean to, but I have some serious questions and issues about all this and cannot find straight answers from anyone near me.

- Inez

Answer 1

The ancient historical record provides examples of writers, philosophers and historians who lived during or not long after the time Jesus is believed to have lived and who testify to the fact that he was a real person. We will look at what some of these people have said.

Cornelius Tacitus
Tacitus lived from A.D. 55 to A.D. 120. He was a Roman historian and has been described as the greatest historian of Rome, noted for his integrity and moral uprightness. His most famous works are the Annals and the Histories. The Annals relate the historical narrative from Augustus’ death in A.D.14 to Nero’s death in A.D. 68. The Histories begin their narrative after Nero’s death and finish with Domitian’s death in A.D. 96. In his section describing Nero’s decision to blame the fire of Rome on the Christians, Tacitus affirms that the founder of Christianity, a man he calls Chrestus (a common misspelling of Christ, which was Jesus’ surname), was executed by Pilate, the procurator of Judea during the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberias. Tacitus was hostile to Christianity because in the same paragraph he describes Christus’ or Christ’s death, he describes Christianity as a pernicious superstition. It would have therefore been in his interests to declare that Jesus had never existed, but he did not, and perhaps he did not because he could not without betraying the historical record.

Lucian of Samosata
Lucian was a Greek satirist of the latter half of the second century. He therefore lived within two hundred years of Jesus. Lucian was hostile to Christianity and openly mocked it. He particularly objected to the fact that Christians worshipped a man. He does not mention Jesus’ name, but the reference to the man Christians worship is a reference to Jesus.

Suetonius
Suetonius was a Roman historian and a court official in Emperor Hadrian’s government. In his Life of Claudius he refers to Claudius expelling Jews from Rome on account of their activities on behalf of a man Suetonius calls Chrestus [another misspelling of Christus or Christ].

Pliny the Younger
Pliny was the Governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor (AD. 112). He was responsible for executing Christians for not worshipping or bowing down to a statue of the emperor Trajan. In a letter to the emperor Trajan, he describes how the people on trial for being Christians would describe how they sang songs to Christ because he was a god.

Thallus and Phlegon
Both were ancient historians and both confirmed the fact that the land went dark when Jesus was crucified. This parallels what the Bible said happened when Jesus died.

Mara Bar-Serapion
Some time after 70 A.D., Mara Bar-Sarapion, who was probably a Stoic philosopher, wrote a letter to his son in which he describes how the Jews executed their King. Claiming to be a king was one of the charges the religious authorities used to scare Pontius Pilate into agreeing to execute Jesus.

Josephus
Josephus was a Jewish historian who was born in either 37 or 38 AD and died some time after 100 AD. He wrote the Jewish Antiquites and in one famous passage described Jesus as a wise man, a doer of wonderful works and calls him the Christ. He also affirmed that Jesus was executed by Pilate and actually rose from the dead!

The four Gospels
The four Gospels are the four accounts of Jesus’ life, which are contained in the New Testament part of the Bible. Historians will tell you that the closer an historical document is written to the time of the events it describes, the generally more reliable it is as a source of information about those events. Matthew’s Gospel account of Jesus’ life is now reckoned to have been written sometime between AD 70 and AD 80. Mark’s Gospel is dated between AD. 50 and AD. 65. Luke’s Gospel is dated in the early AD 60s and John’s Gospel sometime between AD 80 and 100. If Jesus died sometime in the AD 30s, it is clear that Mark, Luke and Matthew wrote their Gospels within living memory of Jesus’ death. John’s Gospel comes later and probably outside of living memory for most as John lived to an unusually old age for the ancient period, but the accuracy of his Gospel was verified no doubt by those who read the earlier Gospels.

Another feature of the Gospels is that they were written by men who either knew Jesus personally, or who knew people who themselves knew Jesus personally. Matthew was a former tax collector who became a disciple of Jesus. Mark was a close associate of Simon Peter, who is regarded as being Jesus’ most prominent disciple whilst Jesus was on the earth. Luke was a close associate of Paul who is the most famous of Christian missionaries and who wrote the largest contribution to the New Testament. Paul, in turn, was a close colleague of Simon Peter. John was the former fisherman who became the closest disciple of Jesus. The accounts of such men need to be considered at least seriously!

Answer 2

Josephus the jewish historian for rome during the time of Titus in 69 bce mentions Jesus and the followers that are after him. Eusibus and polycarp and clement all from the 1st century write of Jesus. THere are others to numerous to mention but outside of Bible Jesus is mentiond time after time.

Answer 3

There is historical evidence of Jesus from the writings of Tacticus and Josephus and other historians. The most important things about Jesus is in his very name which means salvation and is found in the word of God.

Answer 4

These guys are right. I know that Josephus, an ancient jewish historian mentions Jesus in his book. The good news is, you can still read his book today. Also look at the other names they gave you.

Answer 5

In Matthew 16:13 it says: ¶ When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say YE that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

So it is with each of us. What we need to know about Christ must come by revelation. It can't be taught. It can't be read about. Reading and learning help prepare us, but we have to have our own spiritual experience.

I would exhort you to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if you shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it to you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Answer 6

Look up Mithras. That's your Jesus.


edit* Josephus wrote that Jesus was the brother of James, so i guess we are not talking about the same guy, are we? ;)

Answer 7

try ancient historians: tacitus, pliny, josephus, seutonius, lucian, also look into the Jewish talmud, etc. They all document Jesus Christ. God bless you.

Answer 8

Question the story not the man. He probably did live, but was he actually an insane, misquoted prophet?

Answer 9

there isn't any irrefutable evidence, hence the name: blind faith.