Did Jesus live?
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By American artist Howard Lyon.
Did Jesus live?
For centuries, skeptics have doubted that Jesus actually lived. Was He a real person? Was He crucified? To answer these questions, we only need to read the words of the secular historians who wrote about Jesus. Many of these historians were Jewish, pagans, and atheists. Below is a short list of non-believers who acknowledge that there was a man named Jesus. They agree He was born in Bethlehem, lived in Judea, performed miracles, founded Christianity, and was put to death.
These are just a handful of examples -
* Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (AD 61 - 112 ), known as Pliny the Younger, was a writer, lawyer, and the Roman governor of Asia Minor. Hundreds of his letters and writings have survived the centuries. In one letter addressed to the Roman Emperor Trajan, Pliny discussed Jesus and the Christian church. He even mentioned the Last Supper.
* In AD 114, the Roman senator and historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56 - 117) called Christianity a superstition. Still, he admitted that Jesus lived. In his history of Rome, Tacitus wrote that "the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, was put to death by Pontius Pilate during the reign of Emperor Tiberius."
* Another Roman historian, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (AD 69-122), blamed Jesus for the unrest in Rome, "Because the Jews at Rome caused constant disturbances as the instigation of Chrestus (Christ), he (Claudius) expelled them from the city (Rome)."
* In AD 90, the renowned Jewish historian Yosef ben Matityahu (AD 37-100), known as Josephus, wrote in his history of Judaism, "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 received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to Him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principle men amongst 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 tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day." Josephus also wrote about John the Baptist and Jesus' disciples.
* Jewish historian Joseph Klausner (1874-1958) wrote, "There are some reliable theories regarding the fact that his name was Yeshua (Yeshu) of Nazareth; that he practiced sorcery (that is to say that he performed miracles, as was common in those days) and seduction and led Israel astray; that he mocked the words of the wise and discussed Scripture in the same way as the Pharisees; that he had five disciples; that he said he had not come to revoke the Law, nor to add anything to it; that he was hung upon a piece of wood (crucified)."
* The pagan satirist Lucian of Samosata (125-185) belittled Christians, but he believed that Jesus existed. He wrote, "Christians, you know, worship a man to this day - the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account. You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time."
* The Greek philosopher Celsus spoke against Christianity but acknowledged that Jesus was born, lived, and died.
* The Syrian philosopher and pagan Mara Bar-Serapion wrote to his son sometime after AD 73 that Jesus was a wise and virtuous man who was executed but lived on in the teachings of His followers. Mara Bar-Serapion was not a believer, yet he called Jesus "the King of the Jews."
* Phlegon was a former slave who lived in the second century AD. A non-believer, Phelgon, wrote in AD 140, "Jesus, while alive, was of no assistance to himself, but he arose after death and exhibited the marks of his punishment."
* Even the Talmud (the book of Jewish law) refers to Jesus of Nazareth.
* Professor Lawrence Mykytiuk at Purdue University wrote in 2015, "Jewish rabbis who did not like Jesus or his followers accused him of being a magician and leading people astray." "But they never said he didn't exist."
This is a small sampling of the thousands of historical references proving that Jesus lived. Now, everyone must decide for themselves if Jesus was just another man or the Son of God.
For centuries, skeptics have doubted that Jesus actually lived. Was He a real person? Was He crucified? To answer these questions, we only need to read the words of the secular historians who wrote about Jesus. Many of these historians were Jewish, pagans, and atheists. Below is a short list of non-believers who acknowledge that there was a man named Jesus. They agree He was born in Bethlehem, lived in Judea, performed miracles, founded Christianity, and was put to death.
These are just a handful of examples -
* Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (AD 61 - 112 ), known as Pliny the Younger, was a writer, lawyer, and the Roman governor of Asia Minor. Hundreds of his letters and writings have survived the centuries. In one letter addressed to the Roman Emperor Trajan, Pliny discussed Jesus and the Christian church. He even mentioned the Last Supper.
* In AD 114, the Roman senator and historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56 - 117) called Christianity a superstition. Still, he admitted that Jesus lived. In his history of Rome, Tacitus wrote that "the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, was put to death by Pontius Pilate during the reign of Emperor Tiberius."
* Another Roman historian, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (AD 69-122), blamed Jesus for the unrest in Rome, "Because the Jews at Rome caused constant disturbances as the instigation of Chrestus (Christ), he (Claudius) expelled them from the city (Rome)."
* In AD 90, the renowned Jewish historian Yosef ben Matityahu (AD 37-100), known as Josephus, wrote in his history of Judaism, "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 received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to Him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principle men amongst 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 tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day." Josephus also wrote about John the Baptist and Jesus' disciples.
* Jewish historian Joseph Klausner (1874-1958) wrote, "There are some reliable theories regarding the fact that his name was Yeshua (Yeshu) of Nazareth; that he practiced sorcery (that is to say that he performed miracles, as was common in those days) and seduction and led Israel astray; that he mocked the words of the wise and discussed Scripture in the same way as the Pharisees; that he had five disciples; that he said he had not come to revoke the Law, nor to add anything to it; that he was hung upon a piece of wood (crucified)."
* The pagan satirist Lucian of Samosata (125-185) belittled Christians, but he believed that Jesus existed. He wrote, "Christians, you know, worship a man to this day - the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account. You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time."
* The Greek philosopher Celsus spoke against Christianity but acknowledged that Jesus was born, lived, and died.
* The Syrian philosopher and pagan Mara Bar-Serapion wrote to his son sometime after AD 73 that Jesus was a wise and virtuous man who was executed but lived on in the teachings of His followers. Mara Bar-Serapion was not a believer, yet he called Jesus "the King of the Jews."
* Phlegon was a former slave who lived in the second century AD. A non-believer, Phelgon, wrote in AD 140, "Jesus, while alive, was of no assistance to himself, but he arose after death and exhibited the marks of his punishment."
* Even the Talmud (the book of Jewish law) refers to Jesus of Nazareth.
* Professor Lawrence Mykytiuk at Purdue University wrote in 2015, "Jewish rabbis who did not like Jesus or his followers accused him of being a magician and leading people astray." "But they never said he didn't exist."
This is a small sampling of the thousands of historical references proving that Jesus lived. Now, everyone must decide for themselves if Jesus was just another man or the Son of God.