A: Very few educated people doubt the existence of Christ. There are more than 1,000 works of literature written very early in Church history affirming the existence of Christ. Much of it was written by pagans or Jews.
H.G. Wells wrote in “Outline of History”: “…one is obliged to say, ‘Here was a man. This part of the tale could not have been invented.'” Will Durant, professor of philosophy and a non-Christian, wrote extensively about Christ’s existence and His effect on society in “The Story of Our Civilization.” The Encyclopedia Britannica refers to Christ more than 20,000 times; more than Socrates, Aristotle, Buddha, Napoleon, Confucius, Mohammed, or Shakespeare. It says on one occasion, “These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and on inadequate grounds by the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the 20th centuries.”
John Singleton Copley, also known as Lord Lyndhurst, one of the greatest legal minds in British history, commented once in this way on the existence of Christ, His death, and His resurrection: “I know pretty well what evidence is: and I tell you, such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet.” Also, Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Darling, once said that “no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in a verdict that the resurrection story is true.”
From the many non-Biblical sources attesting to the historicity of Jesus Christ, the following is just a brief synopsis:
The Huleatt fragments were written in AD 50 and contain the quote from Matthew 26:7-15, referring to Christ’s anointment with oil. Tatian the Syrian wrote in AD 170 that “God was born in the form of a man” (Address to the Greeks 21). Melito of Sardis wrote in AD 177 about the baptism of Christ and His miracles (Fragment in Anastasius of Sinai’s The Guide 13). Thallus, a Samaritan historian, wrote in AD 52 about the darkness that occurred at the crucifixion of Christ. Mara Bar-Serapion wrote in AD 73 to his son about the death of Socrates, Pythagoras and Jesus. Cornelius Tacitus wrote in AD 112 or AD 115 in his Annal (15.14) that “Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberias.” Lucian of Samostasa (AD 115 -200) wrote about Christ as “the man who was crucified in Palestine because he introduced this new cult into the world.” Phlegon wrote in his “Chronicles,” in AD 140, about the ability of Jesus to foresee future events.
In addition, Christian authors such as Clement of Rome [AD 30-101], Ignatius [martyred in AD 117], the epistle of Barnabas [written between AD 70 and 135], and Justyn Martyr [AD 100 – 165] wrote about Christ and His followers.
The Jewish Talmud contains several references to Jesus Christ. It states on one occasion, “On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged” (The Babylonian Talmud, vol. iii, Sanhedrin 43a, p. 281). Another quote states, “Our rabbis taught: Yeshu had five disciples — Mattai [i.e. Matthew], Nakkai, Netzer, Buni and Yodah” (from Sanhedrin 43a). Other sources talk about Christians who were following Christ (compare, Aristides, Apology 16 [AD 140]; Pliny the Younger [AD 112]; and Suetonius [AD 120]).
In addition, the famous Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, mentions Christ on at least two occasions, in addition to John the Baptist; Herod; James, the brother of Christ; and Ananias, the High Priest. An undisputed reference about “James, brother of Jesus Who was called Christ” can be found in Antiquities of the Jews, Book 20, chapter 9, paragraph 1. A rather lengthy reference to Christ, which can be found in Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 3, has been disputed as not genuine by some “scholars.” This quotation reads:
“About this time appeared Jesus, a wise man (if indeed it is right to call Him man; for He was a worker of astonishing deeds, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with joy), and He drew to Himself many Jews (many also of Greeks. This was the Christ). And when Pilate, at the denunciation of those who are foremost among us, had condemned Him to the cross, those who had first loved Him did not abandon Him (for He appeared to them alive again on the third day, the holy prophets having foretold this and countless others marvel about Him.) The tribe of Christians named after Him did not cease to this day.”
Some “scholars” regard the whole passage as spurious. Others regard the passage as authentic, with some spurious additions. Then, there are scholars who regard the entire passage as completely genuine. The Catholic Encyclopedia points out:
“The main arguments for the genuineness of the Josephan passage are the following: … all codices or manuscripts of Josephus’ work contain the text in question; to maintain the spuriousness of the text, we must suppose that all the copies of Josephus were in the hands of Christians, and were changed in the same way… Eusebius…, Sozomen…, Isidore of Pelusium…, St. Jerome…, Ambrose, Cassiodorus, etc., appeal to the testimony of Josephus; there must have been no doubt as to its authenticity at the time of these illustrious writers.”
The Catholic Encyclopedia continues to state about other Jewish writers (sources omitted): “The historical character of Jesus Christ is also attested by the hostile Jewish literature of the subsequent centuries. His birth is ascribed to an illicit…, or even adulterous, union of His parents… The later Jewish writings show traces of acquaintance with the murder of the Holy Innocents…, with the flight into Egypt…, with the stay of Jesus in the Temple at the age of Twelve…, with the call of the disciples… , with His miracles…, ‘Schabbath,’… with His claim to be God…, with His betrayal by Judas and His death… Celsus… tries to throw doubt on the Resurrection, while Toldoth… repeats the Jewish fiction that the body of Jesus had been stolen from the sepulcher.”
The evidence of Jesus’ existence becomes of course indisputably compelling, when considering the Bible itself. Some scholars of the “Historical Jesus” movement hold that the Gospels were fabricated or seriously distorted as the stories of Jesus evolved into the late 1st or early 2nd century. However, this theory is not supported by the evidence. Time and again the New Testament writers claim to be eyewitnesses to the facts. As one source explains:
“For instance, we know from sources outside the Bible that the Apostle Paul died during Nero’s persecution in 64 A.D. We also know that Paul was still alive at the close of Acts, so Acts must have been written sometime before 64 A.D. Since Acts was a continuation of Luke’s Gospel, we know that Gospel must have been written even earlier still. Any scholar, including those in the ‘Historical Jesus’ movement, will tell you that the Gospel of Mark predates the Gospel of Luke. This supports the writing of Mark in the 50s A.D., only about two decades after the crucifixion of Jesus. Outside the Gospels, no legitimate scholar will dispute that Paul wrote Romans in the mid-50s. Why is this important? Because Paul declares that Jesus is the resurrected Son of God in the opening lines of that New Testament letter. Galatians is another undisputed letter of Paul written in the mid-50s. Why is this important? Because Paul discusses his interaction with Peter and James, two of Jesus’ primary disciples, at least 14 years earlier in Galatians 1:18 and 2:1. Finally, in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul proclaims the earliest record of the Christian creed, in which Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised from the dead three days later. Why is this early creed so important? Because scholars, using the historical records of Paul and his early travels to Damascus and Jerusalem, place the above creed at about 35 A.D., just 3 to 5 years after the death of Jesus Christ.”
Further, Paul’s testimony of Christ’s resurrection and His appearance to His disciples is important, as Paul was referring to over 500 witnesses who saw the resurrected Christ, “of whom the greater part remain to the present” (1 Corinthians 15:6). In other words, Paul was naming witnesses of the events who were still alive when he wrote the letter. Paul was describing these events and naming witnesses, so that people could check up on them. Are we to assume that all of these witnesses had collaborated to lie — including Paul, who had formerly PERSECUTED Christianity?
As the Catholic Encyclopedia states, “The four great Pauline Epistles (Romans, Galatians, and First and Second Corinthians) can hardly be overestimated by the student of Christ’s life; they have at times been called the ‘fifth gospel’; their authenticity has never been assailed by serious critics; … it is the testimony of a highly intellectual and cultured writer, who had been the greatest enemy of Jesus, who writes within twenty-five years of the events which he relates.”
In conclusion, considering the overwhelming and undisputed evidence, it is nothing less than willful and deliberate ignorance that would bring one to believe that Jesus Christ never existed.
