Question!?

Question

Besides from the Bible, is there proof that a man named Jesus came to earth and died and resurrected?

Answer 1

Well archeoligy found Golgotha, and lots of wood there (from lots of people dying on a cross)
They also found Jesus' tomb.
Appart from the bible (which is Archeology's greatest guide book to find about ancient civilisation) there are many other manuscripts and texts found about a man named Jesus.

the Bible, and the Koran both talk about Jesus.
If you ask a Jew, his Torah doesn't really mention Jesus, but he will believe that a man named Jesus has walked the earth doing lots of good things!

The fact that there are plenty manuscripts written by different people living near or far away from Jerusalem or bethlehem kind of should make you suspicious about there really has to have been a man called 'Jesus'.

I would have no objection if there once lived man named Jesus or not. It's perfectly possible that he did!

Answer 2

Josephus writes about 20 messiahs living at the time of Jesus, one of which, of course was Jesus. In most translations of Josephus you also get an odd praise of Jesus, proclaiming him God, in the body of the main text. Since they can find earlier texts without it and the praise of Jesus texts simply suddenly appear in history, it isn't credible that Josephus wrote those specific passages. It is also strange because if Josephus really believed that, the rest of his Histories should be very different.

So, outside the bible, no one mentions Jesus, except Josephus and Josephus lists him as one of many claimants. It appears Messiah was an occupation, like televangelist today.

There are some interesting passages in the New Testament that could discredit the "proof" idea of the Resurrection. Take each post crucifixion account and write them out, or cut and paste if you wish from the Internet, and set them side by side. Then record where they differ. Just in the Resurrection accounts you should find 46 irreconcilable differences.

Also consider this passage from Matthew 27:51-53:

51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

Now if this occurred it should show up in the very extensive Jewish writings we have from the period. Mass resurrection witnessed by many people should have drawn notice from Roman chroniclers, Jewish historians and the Jewish leadership since such an event would have set such an apocalyptic community into an explosive relationship with the Romans. Likewise, I suspect the Romans would have withdrawn from Judea if the dead were rising in support of the Jewish God.

Even more important, these were known holy people, presumably some of the prophets. Would not the witness of, say Jeremiah, be enough to convince the people of Jerusalem that they should follow the apostles?

It is very reasonable to believe a Jesus lived and was executed. We can reasonably infer that the apostles existed since most of their tombs exist around the world. You can visit Thomas' tomb in India, for example. Further, the message of early Catholicism and Orthodoxy are most likely the correct early message. The reason I say that is that when the Portuguese arrived in India to Christianize it, the found the "Thomas Christians," who had been cut off for over 1000 years from the rest of Christianity, still singing the mass Thomas left them and with beliefs fundamentally identical to modern Catholic beliefs.

So, while it is impossible to disprove or prove the existence of a Jesus of Nazareth, the dispersed testimony of separated parties make it less credible that a Jesus existed. That he was a god strikes one as a fraud, but that he existed or that the Catholic and Orthodox churches represent the authentic form of Christianity is probably not something that should be doubted.

Despite competing heretical views that pop up from time to time, it is likely that a Jesus existed, the apostles either believed, came to believe or conspired to make him a god and that the Catholic and Orthodox churches represent what that early Christianity looked like.

Answer 3

The Histories of Flavius Josephus
The following is taken from his book..Herod the Great:About this time lived Jesus, a man full of wisdom, if indeed one may call Him a man. For He was the doer of incredible things, and the teacher of such as gladly received the truth. He thus attracted to Himself many Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ. On the accusation of the leading men of our people, Pilate condemned Him to death upon the cross; nevertheless those who had previously loved Him still remained faithful to Him. For on the third day He again appeared to them living, just as, in addition to a thousand other marvellous things, prophets sent by God had foretold. And to the present day the race of those who call themselves Christians after Him has not ceased.

Critics say his Histories were fake...any critic can say the works of Einstien are fake . Yea..so?

Answer 4

pretty much nothing.

some people say the histories of josephus, but those have been proved as fakes. and there's some other histories (ie - pliny the younger) but those only mention a man named christ, which isnt actually a name, but a title meaning "the annointed"

i suggest you watch the movie zeitgeist. its very informative.

Answer 5

if your wondering about a man named jesus in israel 2000 years ago then probably not. jesus is the Anglican version of the greek translation of his actual hebrew name, Yeshua or Yehoshua

Answer 6

Thousands saw him...so that makes eye witness accounts as well.

Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people in whom He takes up residence today, the church which is His Body.

Answer 7

there is no materialistic proof. You have many religions and each one has his own theory. The one that doesnt contain any mistake, its theory would be the right.

Answer 8

Typically when this question is asked, the person asking qualifies the question with "outside of the Bible." We do not grant this idea that the Bible cannot be considered a source of evidence for the existence of Jesus. The New Testament contains hundreds of references to Jesus Christ. There are those who date the writing of the Gospels in the second century A.D., 100+ years after Jesus' death. Even if this were the case (which we strongly dispute), in terms of ancient evidences, writings less than 200 years after events took place are considered very reliable evidences. Further, the vast majority of scholars (Christian and non-Christian) will grant that the Epistles of Paul (at least some of them) were in fact written by Paul in the middle of the first century A.D., less than 40 years after Jesus' death. In terms of ancient manuscript evidence, this is extraordinarily strong proof of the existence of a man named Jesus in Israel in the early first century A.D.

It is also important to recognize that in 70 A.D., the Romans invaded and destroyed Jerusalem and most of Israel, slaughtering its inhabitants. Entire cities were literally burned to the ground! We should not be surprised, then, if much evidence of Jesus' existence was destroyed. Many of the eye-witnesses of Jesus would have been killed. These facts likely limited the amount of surviving eyewitness testimony of Jesus.

Considering the fact that Jesus' ministry was largely confined to a relatively unimportant backwater area in a small corner of the Roman Empire, a surprising amount of information about Jesus can be drawn from secular historical sources. Some of the more important historical evidences of Jesus include the following:

The first-century Roman Tacitus, who is considered one of the more accurate historians of the ancient world, mentioned superstitious "Christians " ("named after Christus" which is Latin for Christ), who suffered under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius. Suetonius, chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian, wrote that there was a man named Chrestus (or Christ) who lived during the first century (Annals 15.44 ).

Flavius Josephus is the most famous Jewish historian. In his Antiquities he refers to James, “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ.” There is a controversial verse (18:3) that says, "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats. . . . He was [the] Christ . . . he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him." One version reads, "At this time there was a wise man named Jesus. His conduct was good and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who became 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."

Julius Africanus quotes the historian Thallus in a discussion of the darkness which followed the crucifixion of Christ (Extant Writings, 18).

Pliny the Younger, in Letters 10:96, recorded early Christian worship practices including the fact that Christians worshiped Jesus as God and were very ethical, and includes a reference to the love feast and Lord’s Supper.

The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a) confirms Jesus' crucifixion on the eve of Passover, and the accusations against Christ of practicing sorcery and encouraging Jewish apostasy.

Lucian of Samosata was a second-century Greek writer who admits that Jesus was worshiped by Christians, introduced new teachings, and was crucified for them. He said that Jesus' teachings included the brotherhood of believers, the importance of conversion, and the importance of denying other gods. Christians lived according to Jesus’ laws, believed themselves immortal, and were characterized by contempt for death, voluntary self-devotion, and renunciation of material goods.

Mara Bar-Serapion confirms that Jesus was thought to be a wise and virtuous man, was considered by many to be the king of Israel, was put to death by the Jews, and lived on in the teachings of his followers.

Then we have all the Gnostic writings (The Gospel of Truth, The Apocryphon of John, The Gospel of Thomas, The Treatise on Resurrection, etc.) that all mention Jesus.

In fact, we can almost reconstruct the gospel just from early non-Christian sources: Jesus was called the Christ (Josephus), did “magic,” led Israel into new teachings, and was hanged on Passover for them (Babylonian Talmud) in Judea (Tacitus), but claimed to be God and would return (Eliezar), which his followers believed - worshipping Him as God (Pliny the Younger).

In conclusion, there is overwhelming evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ, both in secular and Biblical history. Perhaps the greatest evidence that Jesus did exist is the fact that literally thousands of Christians in the first century A.D., including the 12 apostles, were willing to give their lives as martyrs for Jesus Christ. People will die for what they believe to be true, but no one will die for what they know to be a lie.

Recommended Resource: Case for Faith / Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.

Answer 9

Not to my knowledge.
Edit:
Josephus is a fraud. Proof is available.