Christ, what next? Jesus was born and left mankind with more than good advice
may have been in June and the winter might have been chosen because there was already a popular pagan festival in December.
Completely irrelevant. What matters is that Jesus was born. Jewish records refer to Jesus of Nazareth and did so even before Christ’s own followers had written about Him. Obviously these Jewish sages did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but they refer to him quite clearly as the son of Mary, the alleged father being a man we know little about.
The writings of Josephus, a Jewish general who became a friend of the Romans, are vital for any understanding of the Jews in the first century.
While Christian enthusiasts probably edited his work, we know that the original text is explicit about Jesus having existed. The Roman historian Tacitus was not edited and he discusses the great fire in Rome, how Nero was thought responsible and how the emperor blamed the Christians, named after Christus, who was crucified by “one of our governors, Pontius Pilate.”
The Roman biographer Suetonius also refers to Jesus and a riot across the River Tiber by supporters and opponents of Christianity. Pliny the Younger, governor of Asia Minor, also speaks of Christ and Christians.
Then there is the Gospel evidence for Jesus, written by those who followed Jesus of course. But the more we learn about the Gospels the earlier we can place them and the more authentic they are shown to be.
New research and the latest discoveries tell us so very much. The Ryland Papyrus on the Nile includes parts of John’s Gospel.
Serious scholars now agree that the Gospels were completed well before AD 100. That is, while some who were present during Christ’s life still lived. No genuine biblical expert doubts that Jesus lived, that He claimed to be the Messiah and that many who knew Him believed that claim.
The idea that He was just a great moral teacher or that we can believe some but not all of what He taught is, frankly, absurd. He claimed to be the Son of God. If He wasn’t, He was lying or insane. Liars are not to be beli