Jesus of Nazareth Did Not Exist

Even though I am a Christian, I think for the sole purpose of this debate, I will sort-of argue from a neutral position, so my opponent and I can have a little bit of flexibility and analysis from each other. A Brief Summary of the Datum: 1. There was insufficient time for legendary influences to expunge the historical facts. The Gospels(Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) were written by the 1st and 2nd hand sources of Jesus, and they were written within the 1st century from 20-70 years after they lived with him. 2. The gospels are not analogous to folk tales or contemporary "urban legends. 3. The Jewish transmission of sacred traditions was highly developed and reliable. 4. There were significant restraints on the embellishment of traditions about Jesus, such as the presence of eyewitnesses and the apostles’ supervision 5. The Gospel writers have a proven track record of historical reliability.[3] Secular and Extra-Biblical Sources for Jesus of Nazareth outside the New Testament[1[2]]: Ancient Historians and Scholars have corroborated at most 17 sources for Jesus outside the NT. 9 of them are within 150 years of Jesus existence. I will go ahead and list just some of them here below in order to save room. 1. Josephus- (37-100A.D.) Was a Pharisee and Historian of the Jews. Wrote his famous Antiquity of the Jews during the late 1st century. In it he mentions Jesus twice, along with Jesus brother James and John the Baptist. “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 the third day. As the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribes of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day." Antiquities XVIII, 3:2 Here is the other Reference to Jesus of Nazareth, as well has his brother James, who was Bishop of Jerusalem, during the 1st century. So [Ananus] assembled a council of judges, and brought before it the brother of Jesus, the so-called Christ, whose name was James, together with some others, and having accused them as lawbreakers, he delivered them over to be stoned." Antiquities XX 9:1 2. Tacitus- was a 1st and 2nd century Roman historian who lived through the reigns of over half a dozen Roman emperors one of the greatest historians of ancient Rome, Tacitus verifies the Biblical account of Jesus' execution at the hands of Pontius Pilate who governed Judea from 26-36 A.D. during the reign of Tiberius. "Christus, the founder of the [Christian] name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius. But the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, by through the city of Rome also." Annals XV, 44 3. Mara Bara-Serapion- (After 70 A.D.) Mara Bar-Serapion of Syria wrote this letter from prison to his son. Though it is obvious he does not deny that Jesus of Nazareth existed as real person. He also affirms some of the events in Jesus life that are mentioned in the New Testament. "What advantage did the Athenians gain from putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as a judgment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise King? It was just after that their kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: The Athenians died of hunger. The Samians were overwhelmed by the sea. The Jews, ruined and driven from their land, live in complete dispersion. But Socrates did not die for good. He lived on in the teachings of Plato. Pythagoras did not die for good. He lived on in the statue of Hera. Nor did the wise King die for good. He lived on in the teaching which He had given. 4. Suetonius- (69-130 A.D.) Served as a Roman Historian and recorded the life of Caesars and other historical events around Rome and the regions surrounding Rome. He Also served as a court official under Emperor Hadrian. In his passage he records the removal or expulsion of the Christian Jews who were from Rome( Mentioned in the New Testament Acts 18). He confirms that the Christian faith was founded by Christ. “As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, [Claudius] expelled them from Rome." Life of Claudius 25.4 5. Lucian of Samosata (120-180 A.D.) -a second century Greek satirist and rhetorician who scornfully describes his views of early Christianity. Though he ridicules the Christians and their Christ, his writings confirm Jesus was executed via crucifixion and that He was the founder of Christianity. “The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day- the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account... It was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers from the moment they are converted and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws..." The Death of Peregrinus 11-13 Early Church Fathers: There couldn’t have been early Church Fathers if Jesus of Nazareth did not exist. Their accounts also verify the Bible in the New Testament and Old Testament, as they refer to him as a real historical figure. I will just list one since I don’t have enough room. What do Historians and or New Testament Scholars Say about Jesus of Nazareth? : Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.) - possibly the most well-known early Christian apologist, was an educated pagan philosopher who converted to Christianity around 130 A.D. Though he risked losing his wealth, status, and life, Justin fearlessly spread Christianity throughout Asia Minor and Rome. "There is a village in Judea, thirty-five stadia from Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ was born, as you can see from the tax registers under Cyrenius, your first procurator in Judea..” Jesus of Nazareth is not disputed amongst virtually any historian and New Testament Scholar. The only exception would be Robert M. Price and Richard Carrier. I will give a list of what Historians and New Testament Scholars say about Jesus of Nazareth. Bart Ehrman (a secular agnostic) wrote: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees" B. Ehrman, 2011 Forged : writing in the name of God. Michael Grant (a classicist) states that "In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non- historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." in Jesus by Michael Grant 2004. Richard A. Burridge states: "There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that any more." in Jesus Now and Then by Richard A. Burridge and Graham Gould (Apr 1, 2004) James D. G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered, 2003 page 339. states of baptism and crucifixion that these "two facts in the life of Jesus command almost universal assent". John Dominic Crossan ( A former Catholic priest, and NT Scholar) states: "That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be, since both Josephus and Tacitus...agree with the Christian accounts on at least that basic fact." Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. HarperOne. p. 145. Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 page 16 states: "biblical scholars and classical historians regard theories of non-existence of Jesus as effectively refuted" Graham Stanton, The Gospels and Jesus by, 1989 ISBN 0192132415 Oxford University Press, page 145 states : "Today nearly all historians, whether Christians or not, accept that Jesus existed". “Many scholars agree that Jesus debated with fellow Jews on how best to live according to God's will, engaged in healings and exorcisms, taught in parables, gathered male and female followers in Galilee, went to Jerusalem, and was crucified by Roman soldiers during the governorship ofPontius Pilate" The Historical Jesus in Context edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. Princeton Univ Press ( Princeton University is a liberal College, which means that Historians and scholars are very critical of the Bible). Archaeology: Although there isn’t a whole lot of archaeological evidence for Jesus of Nazareth, we do have enough to get by. Shroud of Turin- Burial Cloth that dates from 300 B.C. to 400 A.D. Has the appearance of a man crucified the exact same way Jesus was. Confirmed by Scientific Testing.[4] Sources: [1] https://bible.org...; [2] http://thedevineevidence.com... [3] http://www.reasonablefaith.org... [4]http://www.huffingtonpost.com...