The Resurrection of Jesus is a historically valid event.

Pro: Con has made quite a radical claim, that Jesus didn't even exist. The fact of the matter is that most critical and historical scholars concur that there was a literal Jesus who lived some 2,000 years ago. Con responds: Where is the evidence? Let's see it, your ' saying so ' isn't evidence! Pro: First, regarding the alleged lack of evidence regarding Jesus. There are at least three points to consider: 1) There are over 42 sources within 150 years after Jesus' death which mention his existence and record many events of his life, Con responds: ALL based upon at best hearsay testimony especially from those that called themselves christians and what they ' claimed ' about this mythical historical person they chose to believe as literal based upon their hearsay beliefs! Pro writes: including nine traditional New Testament authors (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, the author of Hebrews, James, Peter, and Jude), Con responds: ALL Story book characters! You are making the typical mistake of assuming the bible is what you claim it to be and then using it as if it were when the facts only show that the words of ANY acclaimed ' holy-text ' is the words of ANY Supernatural god(s) given to men remains a total and constant zero! Pro writes: 20 early Christian writers (e.g. Clement of Rome, 2 Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, etc.), four heretical writings (Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Truth, Apocryphon of John, and Treatise on Resurrection), and nine secular sources (e.g. Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Phlegon (a freed slave who wrote histories), Lucian, etc.). The claim from the website that these were not reliable accounts is simply false, and are used as historical records by historians. [1] Con responds: Josephus was apparently so convinced forty or so years after the supposed rumours of a jesus circulated that when he wrote the hearsay testimony of those calling themselves christians and what they said that he remained a Jew and rejected christianities religion! Some of the hearsay references recorded were exposed as ' fraudulent ' also - A False Witness Despite the best wishes of sincere believers and the erroneous claims of truculent apologists, the Testimonium Flavianum has been demonstrated continually over the centuries to be a forgery, likely interpolated by Catholic Church historian Eusebius in the fourth century. So thorough and universal has been this debunking that very few scholars of repute continued to cite the passage after the turn of the 19th century. Indeed, the TF was rarely mentioned, except to note that it was a forgery, and numerous books by a variety of authorities over a period of 200 or so years basically took it for granted that the Testimonium Flavianum in its entirety was spurious, an interpolation and a forgery. As Dr. Gordon Stein relates: "...the vast majority of scholars since the early 1800s have said that this quotation is not by Josephus, but rather is a later Christian insertion in his works. In other words, it is a forgery, rejected by scholars." Conclusion: Josephus No Evidence of Jesus Even if the Josephus passage were authentic, which we have essentially proved it not to be, it nevertheless would represent not an eyewitness account but rather a tradition passed along for at least six decades, long after the purported events. Hence, the TF would possess little if any value in establishing an "historical" Jesus. In any event, it is quite clear that the entire passage in Josephus regarding Christ, the Testimonium Flavianum, is spurious, false and a forgery. Regarding the TF, Remsburg summarizes: "For nearly sixteen hundred years Christians have been citing this passage as a testimonial, not merely to the historical existence, but to the divine character of Jesus Christ. And yet a ranker forgery was never penned.... (Source: http://www.truthbeknown.com...) & Pliny, Tacitus and Suetonius: No Proof of Jesus by D.M. Murdock/Acharya S (Source: http://www.truthbeknown.com...) Pro writes: 2) If one is going to doubt the existence of Jesus, one would also have to doubt the exist of Tiberius Caesar. There are over four times as many sources for the life and deeds of Jesus as there are for Tiberius Caesar. [2] Con responds: Claims of Supernatural, extraordinary miracle working godpeople require extraordinary evidence, of which there is NONE! Your preferred Story book bible and circular reasoning included! Pro writes: 3) The fact is that few records survive for thousands of years. There are a number of ancient writings that have been lost, including 50% of the Roman historian Tacitus' works, all of the writings of Thallus and Asclepiades of Mendes. In fact, Herod the Great's secretary named Nicolas of Damascus wrote a Universal History of Roman history which comprised nearly 144 books and none of them have survived. So there is no reason to doubt the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. [3] Con responds: That is irrationality at its finest! I have exceeded 8000 characters and must stop here!