Did Jesus Exist? Evidence from History, Biblical Sources, and Mythology

 

Is Christ a Historical Figure?

“Of course Jesus existed.  Everyone knows he existed.  Don’t they?”
Bart Ehrman. Did Jesus Exist?[1]

The issue of the historicity of Christ has been “hotly debated” in recent years, starting from about the mid-1800s.  This short study will attempt to lay the issue to rest, delving into the historicity of Christ, the historicity of the Biblical sources that discuss Christ, and the lack of historical basis for the “copy-cat” hypothesis.^[2]

• 42 sources within 150 years of Christ’s death talking about his life. (far more than Mohammad or even the Caesar that reigned during his time… 9 non-Christian sources talking about him in the same time frame, 10 if you count Luke.)
• Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Flavius Josephus, Clement, Ignatius, etc.
• Many secularists admit He existed^[3]
• Zeitgeist the movie, which pushes the Christ Myth Theory… tries to talk way these points by saying
• “Four historians are typically referenced to justify Jesus’s existence.  Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, Tacitus, are the first three.  Each one of their entries consists of only a few sentences at best and only refer to the Christus or the Christ, which in fact is not name but a title.  It means ‘Anointed one.’  The fourth source is Josephus and his source has been proven to be a forgery for hundreds of years.”
• And… that’s how they dismiss all of that evidence.
• They’re wrong on the “only four historians” – only four are officially historians (how many would be needed to affirm anything, then?).  Couldn’t confirm existence of almost any figure in history using this logic.
• They’re wrong on the implication of “only a few sentences.”
• In Tacitus’s Annals XV, 44, he said “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 in Judea, where the mischief had originated, but through the city of Rome also.”
• Tacitus most likely reference government officials, perhaps getting some info from Pliny, who was another historian.  He critically evaluated information (even criticized Pliny in Annals XV, 55).  He confirms between hearsay and confirmed accounts nearly 70x in his History.^[4]
• Not a forgery because it’s very negative – “superstition,” “mischief.”  All manuscripts we have of his writings contain this passage.^[5]
• The other two (Suetonius and Pliny) are not forgeries.^[6]
• They’re wrong when referring to Josephus.  Josephus was a 1^st century Pharisee and historian (3 years removed from time of Jesus).  Refers to John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, etc… that are not disputed.[7]
• “At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus, and 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.  And those who had become his disciples did not abandon their loyalty to him.  They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive.  Accordingly they believed that he was the Messiah, concerning whom the Prophets have recounted wonders.”^[8]
• He has a second passage, which has been in every passage of his Antiquities that has been discovered,^[9] discussing James, the brother of the “so-called” Christ.
• Some researchers have wondered if the similarity between Josephus and the gospel message of Luke (specifically the road to Emmaus section – Luke 24) may have been based off the same source (or, perhaps Josephus merely used common Christian material to write that section of his history – think of the purpose for which Luke/Acts was written).[10]
• Luke 24:19 – “And he said unto them, What things?  And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a [man] prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:”
• Josephus (preserving original word order) – “There happened about this time Jesus wise man – if a man one may call him indeed – for he was of amazing deeds a worker.”
• Compare Luke 24:19-21;25-27 (removing the “flashback scene” from Luke 24:22-23) with Josephus Antiquities 18.63
• “About this time there was Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. And when, upon an accusation by the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these things and countless other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.”
• As for NT, 5000 Greek Manuscripts exist, w/in 60 years, entire NT is completed, 10 of the 27 books (at least) are penned by companions of Christ.  They claim to be reporting history (unlike mythology reporters).  They record place names and minutiae that locals would find obvious facts.
• Ramsay did work in Modern-day Turkey, validated that Luke’s history was accurate to the minutest detail.^[11]
• Nelson Glueck^[12], Jewish archaeologist, said “It may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a single biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible”^[13]
• Classic historian AN Sherwin-White^[14] (1911-1993) would also back this up, saying “Any attempt to reject its basic historicity even in matters of detail must now appear absurd.  Roman historians have long taken it for granted.”^[15]
• Example of wrong logic.  On rationwiki, a noted atheist and liberal website (satirical, at times), the following two quotes are used.  “Dr. Paul L. Maier: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Simply because something isn't mentioned doesn't mean it didn't exist. Michael Shermer: Sorry - in science, we don't allow that form of reasoning.”
• How do you apply the scientific method to history?
• Go back to probability reasoning.  Burden of proof is to the party making the claim, no matter what that claim may be.
• See https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/18/did-historical-jesus-exist-the-traditional-evidence-doesnt-hold-up/?utm_term=.a3c4937950e3 for splendid non-history and invective against existence of Christ.

But isn’t Jesus just a copy-cat of all those ancient religions?

“Egyptology has the unenviable distinction of being one of those disciplines that almost anyone can lay claim to, and the unfortunate distinction of being probably the one most beleaguered by false prophets.”[16]

o   Most “Christ conspiracy” stuff comes from Gerald Massey – but the only reason he could get away with a lot of crack-pot stuff was because the Rosetta Stone hadn’t been translated fully yet.  (Joseph Smith would get away with wrongly translating the Book of Abraham this way as well)

o   Edward Carpenter was another (Pagan and Christian Creeds) who contributed to this.

§  Alice Bailey, a Theosophist, quotes Carpenter[17],  “I cannot of course go at length into these different cults, but I may say roughly that all or nearly all the deities above mentioned it was said and believed that: 1)They were born on or very near our Christmas Day., 2) They were born of a Virgin-mother, 3) in a Cave or Underground Chamber., 4) They led a life of toil for Mankind., 5) And were called by the names of Light-bringer, Healer, Mediator, Savior, Deliverer, 6) They were, however, vanquished by Powers of Darkness, 7) And descended into Hell or the Underworld, 8) They rose again from the dead, and became pioneers of mankind to the Heavenly world, 9) They founded Communions of Saints and Churches into which disciples were received by Baptism, 10) And they were commemorated by Eucharistic meals.”[18]

So here’s how it works: Massey – Graves – Carpenter influence Blavatsky, Bassant, and Bailey (Theosophy) who then influence various members of today’s strange spiritists[19], as well as DM Murdock (also known as Acharya S), who is the main source for the Zeitgeist movie and Christ Conspiracy movement.

o   Acharya S wrote extensively on this subject, also wrote companion guide to the Zeitgeist movie, and responded to criticisms by doubling down.[20]

Ø  She’s known for lacking citations (or at least reliable ones), as well as dubious research (in spite of what you’d read about her on her own website).  Christians have come out, refuting her work.[21]  There are even atheist refutations of her work.

Ø  She’s a proponent of Astro-Theology[22] [23] – which uses the Christ Myth movement as a basis and then tries to say that the stories in the Bible are myths that replay the astrology of the zodiac.  They will also play up the connection (which only works in English) between God’s Son (Christ) and the sun (as if there’s supposed to be symbolism there).

o   Jesus birth, Star in the East combine to point to the rising sun (since December 25th is near the winter solstice, this is a metaphor).  They’ll include the “Three Kings” as the three stars in Orion’s belt as well.

o   Problem?  Linguistic scholars can’t really buy into it.  Most of these connections only work with English.  (example: “Sun” and “Son” only works in English)

So Was Christ a copy-cat?[24]

•             Horus[25] – claims Born on Dec. 25th[26], Born of a virgin[27], star in the east, adored by 3 kings[28], teacher at age 12, Baptized/ministry at 30[29] , 12 disciples (no references to this), performed miracles (such as resurrecting “Asar,”[30])    “Lamb of God”/The “Light,”[31]  Crucified,[32]  Dead for 3 Days,[33] Resurrected[34]

•             Other gods?  Many of the old gods were revived post-Christ in the Roman Mystery religions (such as Plutarch, etc) – they were ancient gods who were changed after Christ, so bring no evidence to our discussion.  If anything, Gnosticism, paganism, etc. borrowed from Christian sources, not the other way around.

•             Jesus’s ministry – Luke 2 – nothing mythological about it.

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[1] Bart Ehrman, a former Christian turned agnostic, wrote a book in 2012 called Did Jesus Exist: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, in which he, as an unbeliever, still defends the historicity of Jesus on account of the abundant early sources and historical evidence for the existence and life of the man.  He has even debated those he call “mythicists” on the topic, such as he describes on his blog.  https://ehrmanblog.org/bart-ehrman-robert-price-debate-did-jesus-exist/ (9/22/17)

[2] There are several sources that are useful for further study, as well as serving as the bulk of informational resources for this.  For more information, see http://www.bibleevidences.com/archeology.htm, “Zeitgesist, History Rewritten,” by Chris White. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbvfqa_mzLw, “Horus Ruins Christmas,” by Lutheran Satire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0-EgjUhRqA, “Mithra? Attis? Really, Rob Bell?” by James White, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsVkeMZCkOg also, as you’ll see in various footnotes, “thedevineevidence.com” has links to several exhaustive articles, and may be cited periodically.

[3] Bart Ehrman - “No serious historians believe that Jesus didn’t exist”; Richard Dawkins also “Jesus Christ probably existed; Michael Grant <Atlas of Classical History> (atheist) “To sum up, modern critical methods fail to support the Christ myth theory.  It has again and again been answered and annihilated by first rank scholars.  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.”

[4] http://www.thedevineevidence.com/jesus_similarities.html (see note on this site, below)

[5]http://thedevineevidence.com/jesus_history.html - regrettably, these pages no longer exist (as of 9/27/27) and so must be accessed by the “waybackmachine” internet archiver.  https://web.archive.org/web/20140315213718/http://thedevineevidence.com/jesus_history.html

[6] See “Life of Claudius” 25.4 by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, where he says “As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, [Claudius] expelled them from Rome.”  And “Pliny’s letter to Emperor Trajan,” by Pliny the Younger, where he says “I asked them directly if they were Christians… those who persisted, I ordered away… Those who denied they were or ever had been Christians… worshiped both your image and the images of the gods and cursed Christ…” (he continues, referring it to “Nothing more did I find than a disgusting, fanatical superstition.”)

[7] For a brief summary of the difficulties with this passage, called the Testimonium Flavianum, see http://www.josephus.org/testhist.htm (accessed 10/21/17)  (TF on this page stands for Testimonium Flavianum)

[8] Antiquities XVIII, 3:2

[9] Antiquities XX 9:1  “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.

[10] Computer modeling has shown similarities between Luke-Josephus in this area.  It is different enough that it’s most likely it didn’t actually steal straight from Luke.  However, perhaps Luke-Josephus both acquired information from similar sources (no doubt the men on the road to Emmaus would not have kept their encounter with the Lord secret, and thus would have been a great source of information about the risen Christ, as well as Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ.)  (see http://www.josephus.org/question.htm and “The Coincidences of the Emmaus Narrative of Luke and the Testimonium of Josephus” (http://www.josephus.org/GoldbergJosephusLuke1995.pdf) (accessed 10/21/17)

[11] He originally came into the study trying to prove Luke to be inaccurate, but eventually concluded “…more recently I found myself brought into contact with the Book of Acts as an authority for the topography, antiquities, and society of Asia Minor… in various details the narrative showed marvelous truth… I gradually came to find it a useful ally in some obscure and difficult investigations.” (Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen, 1982, p. 8.   He’d also say “Luke is a historian of first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy… this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.” (for more information, see Ramsay, The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, 1915, p. 222.

[12] http://www.bibleevidences.com/archeology.htm

[13] Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, 1960, pg 31.

[14] Note concerning Sherwin-White, when submitting his thesis, his examiners, Cary and Syme, commended its “maturity of judgment such as one hardly dares to expect from a young scholar.”  (The Journal of Roman Studies. 84: xi-xiv.)  He would revise this thesis for publication as The Roman Citizenship (1939), which has become regarded as “a classic of modern historical writing on Rome.” (Proceedings of the British Academy 87: 455-470)

[15] A.N. Sherwin-White, Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament, 1963, pg. 189.

[16] This quote apparently originated in a research poll done by W Ward Gasque of twenty leading Egyptologists. (if you locate original author, let me know mikewareing@wolfmountain.org) (See Shattering the Christ Myth, p. 227, note 1, which links to History News Network’s article by Gasque “The Leading Religion Writer in Canada … Does He Know What He’s Talking About?”)

[17] See her book, From Bethlehem to Calvary (Alice Bailey), which can be read online, at least in part on http://www.light-weaver.com/bk/bethlehem/beth1053.html ; this specific quote of hers is actually secondary, where she quotes Pagan and Christian Creeds, by Edward Carpenter, pp. 20,21.

[18] Note... many times these people will quote recent sources talking about ancient things, or will say, as Bailey did, ͞I cannot of course go at length into these different cults...͟Uncited sources are useless sources.

[19] These include, but are not limited to Jordan Maxwell, David Icke, and Michael Tsarion, all of which are discussed and refuted at some length by Chris White (all on youtube.com), but which fall outside our discussion.

[20] Her website can be visited at http://www.truthbeknown.com/ and refutations and back-and-forths can be easily accessed through google searches for “Acharya S refuted,͟” one is http://www.risenjesus.com/a-refutation-of-acharya-ss-book-the-christ-conspiracy .  Remember, the burden of proof is on them to present original sources that show ancient gods/goddesses following Christ͛s pattern.  This has yet to be done (http://zeitgeistchallenge.com/).

[21] Mike Licona (http://www.risenjesus.com/a-refutation-of-acharya-ss-book-the-christ-conspiracy) and JP Holding (http://www.tektonics.org/af/achy01.php#jb)

[22] A major supporter of this theory was Manly P. Hall, who said ͞When the Mason learns that the key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the mystery of his Craft.  The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands, and before he may step onward and upward, he must prove his ability to properly apply energy.͟The Lost Keys of Freemasonry http://www.manlyphall.org/text/the-lost-keys-of-freemasonry/chapter-iv-the-fellow-craft/

[23] Jordan Maxwell is another proponent of this theory.  His website says “As long as the Sun comes up each day, life on Earth will continue forever.  Therefore, it was said in the ancient texts that everlasting life was ͚the gift͛ that the Father gives through his Sun.  For...͚God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten SUN that we may have life everlasting” http://www.jordanmaxwell.com/astrotheology.html (He will twist Scripture repeatedly to compare Christ to the Sun, as the absence of sun brings darkness... etc)

[24] See http://mail.slife.org/lifes-basic-questions/messengers/87-jesus/1033-jesus-christ-in-comparative-mythology-by-wiki for a summary of the various ways similarities (if they even existed) could have cropped up, as well as various theologians’, historians’, and writers’ views of the so-called “Christ Myth” theory.

[25] No record exists of him being baptized, especially by “Anup” the baptizer.  Nor did he have 12 disciples (doesn’t have any in the Book of the Dead or other accounts), and he wasn’t crucified (no myth actually says how he died, so the “dead three days and resurrected” can’t be proven either.)

[26] Acharya S’s logic?  He was born every day, so of course he was also born on the 25^th.

[27] Born actually through sort-of a rock, not a virgin (and not one named “Meri.”  Isis was never called “Meri,” except if you attach the suffix “-meri” to a name which means “beloved,” which was used for many gods.

[28] See Gerald Massey “the Star in the East that arose to announce the birth of the babe (Jesus) was Orion, which is therefore called the star of Horus.  That was once the star of the three kings; for the ‘three kings’ is still a name of three stars in Orion͛s belt...” problems are many-fold.  “Three Kings” is the name we give to it now... but not then.  The stars would be below the horizon, not to mention the Bible never talks about three or kings in relation to the magi, and the other issue – this event happens repeatedly throughout the year.

[29] Nothing is said in the sources.  Acharya says in The Christ Conspiracy, “The sun at its zenith, or 12 noon, is in the house or heavenly temple of the ‘Most High’; thus, ‘he’ begins ’his Father’s work’ at ‘age’ 12.” “The sun enters into each sign of the zodiac at 30 [degrees]; hence, the ‘Sun of God’ begins his ministry at ‘age’ 30.”

[30] Contrary to claims, “Lazarus” and “Asar” are not linguistically connected.  Lazarus comes from “Eleazar,” or “God is my Hope.”  “Asar” is from Egyptian origin, referring to Osiris the father of Horus, who was resurrected (sort of) by Isis.

[31] Source for this?  “The Light,” – he was a god of the sun… “God’s anointed son” was a combination of two ideas found in separate places, so a place where he has an ointment on his head, and a place where he’s called “son.”  Voila! You have “anointed” “Son,” “Lamb of God” – so says Massey, at least, who doesn’t do a good job of citing sources, and who twists the original sources. 

[32] Crucifixion did not exist when Horus supposedly existed – metaphors are evoked, and does not “denote a direct resemblance to the crucifixion narrative of Jesus Christ.”  (Zeitgeist Companion Guide) – portrayal of gods and goddesses in cruciform.

[33] See Tryggve ND Mettinger, The Riddle of Resurrection: “Dyring and Rising Gods” in Ancient Near East, p. 4,7.

[34] For a thorough treatment of this, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbvfqa_mzLw , from 47:00 on.  Also, these people tend to really like Horus.  For example as well as a refutation, see the following links in order.  “Bill Maher – Jesus, Horus, Mithra, Krishna – Religulous (2 mins)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lLiRr_mT24 and “bil maher’s ridiculous lies and false claims from ‘religulous’ Jesus and horus comparison” (sic) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jImzkeMRf_Y .  Honestly, you can skip the first, but it’s there for context.  Also, WLC summarized it as well, “Jesus and the Story of Osiris and Horus (William Lane Craig) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6AZqOO2FJA and “Refuting Zeitgeist the Movie – Mark Foreman, PhD” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5KHA9f6kHs) (11/29/17)