Why do nonbelievers deny the existence of Christ?

Question

I have seen non-believers on here state they doubt he even existed. Aside from the Bible there are other mentions of him in historical records. Among these are the Jewish historian Josephus, the Roman historian Tacitus, Pliny the younger, the babylonian talmud, and Lucian of samosata. Even if you do not believe he was anything but a man isn't it kind of silly to deny he existed?

So many people just seem not to read everything. Getting a lot of replies saying he may have existed but he was nothing but a man. If you read the question I did not ask if you thought he was the Son of God. I said regardless of that why do some people deny he existed.

Answer 1

Yes, yes it is.

Specifically considering that the documentation that recorded His presence were political/governmental, and historical recording of the events for posterity's sake, etc...they were not children's stories...the documents discovered that speak of Jesus Christ and His followers described as "the sect" called Christians were political tools that could have been used to bring charges, etc against those who could potentially harm the Roman Empire, which bares itself out from Nero (who blamed Rome's burning on the Christians that would not exist without Jesus Christ) all the way until Constantine.

This documentation by non Christians sources is one thing, but of course the non-believers do not even take into Consideration that the Apostles who were responsible for recording the New Testament and preaching the good news of Christ to the world, were the true witnesses of Christ...and their recorded experiences in the presence of Jesus Christ "IS" the New testament of the Bible...yet the Apostles testimony is not given any credit or legitimacy. Non-believers keep spouting the same ignorant rhetoric about Christianity and by rote the early Christians and seem to think that the early church was all about money and power for those in charge to subjugate people for personal gain...

The Apostles actually gave away all that they owned and traveled to all the different cities and cultures preaching the promise of God...running from those who would have murdered them, working for their food and relying on charity for a roof over their heads. They risked everything they were because they were in the presence of Jesus Christ and knew that He is God, because they witnessed His miracles...the healing and the feeding of thousands of people, the resurrection of the dead, the expelling of demons, walking on water, calming the weather, turning water to wine, etc etc. saw the truth of everything He taught them, saw His love for the outcasts of society...His love for the poor, the widowed, the children. These were normal men and women from every aspect of life who were told to spread the promise of the hope of Christ to the world...and that has not changed to this day. The Apostles taught in Christ's name until they were killed for it...they didn't kill for God, and they didn't preach violence or forced conversion. They preached the good news that all could be saved if they accept Christ as their Lord and Savior...accept His gift of Grace...the forgiveness of their sins by faith in Him. They didn't profit for their deeds here on this earth, their reward is in heaven.

All the Apostles, who "could" have profited so much if they were indeed corrupt and interested in money and power, died for their faith with one exception, John who died of old age. They were imprisoned, tortured and murdered for their faith in Christ when all they had to do was to stop preaching His word, or renounce Him and they would have been spared from their executions. All the Apostles saw Christ resurrected after the scourging which left His body on the cross a shredded mass of ripped flesh that was said to be unrecognizable, and the crucifiction where He died and accomplished His plan and fulfilled the Law of God by paying for our sins so we wouldn't have to...they saw Him after He was put into the tomb for three days...they saw Him whole and healed (save for the holes in His hands, feet and side so "doubting" Thomas would believe it was really Him.

People will die and even kill for their beliefs, but people will not die for something they know without doubt is false.

Answer 2

Hehe, i was thinking of asking something like this, but got lazy.
I guess definitely there were people named jesus (or some form of the word), there are people named jesus today.

The person with ALL those stories being TRUE may not have existed.

But i think the person the stories referred to did exists...can agree or disagree with the story, but i think the stories refer to the same man and that man did exist.

So that doesn't warrant a Jesus didn't exist.

Not 100% sure, but i think i have heard some historians agree there was a religious guy going around, preaching judaism that is this jesus.

Answer 3

Psalm 14:1. I read it, found it to be untrue, and lost faith in the Bible. 1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. Meet some atheists, working hard for others and for charity, secure and intelligent, wise and selfless. Just because you don't see many on yahoo does not mean this place is like the real world. But of course, you don't believe in nice atheists do you? *rolls eyes* perhaps I am bieng a little cynical, but with how many believers I have seen, just forming some dumb stereotype without ever knowing any in person, I am not expectant of you believing me in the slightest. Harrumph! Anyway, then, after that, it went to: Trying to get an accurate perception of the world by not assuming things, and assuming that everything is God, and that God is everything, is (need I point out) just another unsupported assumption. There is no evidence for god. Whaddya mean 'look around' ? I know full well that I can put God into anything with a simple hallucination, but I prefer reality, myself. Just because you think everything looks like God does not mean others think that. Sheesh.

Answer 4

That Jesus Christ is refered to in any of the sources you cite is hardly proof of his existence. Many literary works refer to Gulliver. Did Gulliver actually exist? Is Gatsby a real person? Just because I shook hands with Mickey Moue, is he 'real'????

The quote from Josephus is a later forgery and has no historical validity. Tacitus, Pliny and Luscian are referring of the existence of Christians, which no one doubts, and their idol, Jesus Christ who is as real as Zeus or Isis. The Talmud is also referring to Jesus Christ in his role as idol, not in his reality as an historical personage. If there might have been a deluded Jew wandering the backwaters of the Galilee and sprouting heresy and gibberish, that does not make him Jesus Christ, the 2nd in the Trinity, part human and part divine, judge of teh quick and the dead. If he is not Jesus Christ as Christianity claims he is, then he is nothing. And using the fall back of "Even if you do not believe he was anything but a man isn't it kind of silly to deny he existed?" is even more absurd. An historcial personage is either what is claimed or is not. it is not just the part.

This is want is necessary to be Messiah according to Jewish tradition, custom and Law:

He will be of the House of David (Ezekiel 37:24).

He must gather the Jewish people from exile and return them to Israel
(Isaiah 11:12).

He must rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 37:26 - 27).

He will rule at a time of world-wide peace (Micah 4:3).

He will rule at a time when the Jewish people will observe G-d's
commandments (Ezekiel 37:24).

He will rule at a time when all people will come to acknowledge and serve
one G-d (Isaiah 66:23).

All the Jews, living in Israel, and observant (even the former Xians will
return to Judaism); a new Temple, world-wide peace, no wars, no scuffles,
and all the people, all 6+ billion of them, former Muslims, Xians,
Buddhists, atheists, etc., will finally believe in HaShem and serve only
Him. When all this becomes true, will it not be obvious to the world?

Now, you want all these prophecies put together in one place? Look at
Ezekiel 37:24-28:

"And David my servant shall be king over them; and they shall all have one
shepherd. they shall also follow My judgments and observe My statutes, and
do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Yaakov my
servant, in which your fathers have dwelt and they shall dwell there, they
and their children, and their children's children forever; and my servant
David shall be their prince forever. Moreover, I will make a covenant of
peace with them, it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, which I will
give them; and I will multiply them and I will set my sanctuary in the midst
of them forevermore. And my tabernacle shall be with them: and I will be
their G-d and they will be my people. Then the nations shall know that I am
the L-rd who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary will be in the midst of
them forevermore."

All the people of the world will know Who is God, and will serve Him, and
they will know without a doubt who His people are and who the messiah is.

Answer 5

By ignoring history.

To the following poster: An eye witness account is not necessary to qualify something as evidence. Nevertheless, the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the letters wrriten by Paul, and the thousands of extant papyrii of the Greek New Testament, all provide ample eye witness accounts of Jesus's existence.

Answer 6

Josephus mentions Jesus twice.

One is a proven forgery.

The other calls him the "so-called Messiah." If Josephus believed Jesus was the true Messiah, why did he include the "so-called" before it? Obviously, Josephus believed that Jesus was just another one of the messianic preachers (who were common in the area at that time) and nothing was special about him.

Josephus' belief about messianic preachers is that they were semi-educated charismatic leaders of bands of uneducated, gullible fools who were a blight on Judea because of the way they misled the least fortunate members of society.

I tend to agree with Josephus. Even if Jesus did exist, he was certainly not divine and should not be worshiped.

Answer 7

These men were all born after Jesus' supposed crucifixion.

Jesus supposedly died sometime in 33 AD

Josephus Flavius born in 37
Pliny the Younger born in 62
Tacitus born in 64
Lucian of Samosata born in 129
The Babylonian Talmud was written centuries after the supposed death of Jesus


Where are the eye-witness accounts? Where are the accounts written by men who knew him, who saw him, etc? I'd be interested in seeing some links.



http://www.nobeliefs.com/exist.htm
http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/lucian/lucian_intro.htm

Answer 8

I would like to see some links to those historical records. Seriously, I don't deny his existence. It's the interpretations by the false prophets that I have a problem with.

Answer 9

It depends on the country & culture that they live in.Even in this very tecnological day & age,there are still many nations that don't allow the gospel message to be openly preached,and,so,many people in those nations still haven't heard anything about Jesus Christ,or anyone else in the Bible.

They may have a greater opportunity now if they have any kind of computer & internet access,because,that's one of the great things about the internet-it transcends the borders of all nations,and many people who've never known anything about Christianity or the life of Jesus Christ can learn about both that way,whether secretly or openly.

Yes,it's silly to deny that he existed.

Answer 10

I have always said there is a chance that a man going by the name Jesus Christ existed..

Was he the son of a deity? Nope..

Was he a deity? Nope..

Was he possibly a politician and public speaker? Yes..

Every fairytale has a small bit of truth and reality to it. Whether it's a toymaker who is so lonely he imagines a marionette is alive (Pinocchio) or a love story between a prince and a servant (Cinderella).. Some small bit of truth and reality lead to the legend..

So yes it is possible for me to believe there was once a man named Jesus who was a talented politician and public speaker who's legend grew over time.. Just like other fairy tales..

Answer 11

A similar question would be an atheist asking you why you insist he resurrected. People have opinions, they share them. That makes this an open forum. (Except for the reporting and the Yahoo Censorship - which is often more offensive in what they do not censor).