Historicity of Jesus

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The historicity of Jesus deals with whether or not Jesus actually existed. The historicity of Jesus deals with many different areas of study. Some have sought to simply prove that Jesus existed, doing so from extra-biblical literature (writings outside the Bible). Others seek to prove the authenticity of his miracles, sayings, and teachings, while some focus on proving his resurrection, or discrediting the assertions that things written in the Gospels were untrue.

Woven within this all is the historicity of the New Testament. If the NT is not reliable, then it cannot be a dependable source for the study of Jesus.

Contents

[edit] The Jesus myth

The "Jesus-myth" is "the idea that Jesus did not even exist, much less conduct a ministry as described in the New Testament... Support for the 'Jesus-myth' comes not from historians, but usually from writers operating far out of their field... In spite of the fact that relevant scholarly consenus is unanimous that the 'Jesus-myth' is incorrect, it continues to be promulgated on a popular level as though it were absolutely proven." (J. P. Holding) [1]

This article is a stub. Please edit it to add information.

[edit] Resources

[edit] Christian

  • R. T. France, The Evidence for Jesus (1986)
  • Gerd Theissen and Annette Merz, The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide (1996)
  • Robert Van Voorst, Jesus Outside the New Testament (2000)
  • Gary Habermas, he Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ (1996)
  • Craig Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (1987)

[edit] Non-Christian

  • Arthur Drews, The Christ Myth (1998)
  • Earl Doherty, The Jesus Puzzle: Did Christianity Begin with a Mythical Christ? (1999)
  • Harold Liedner, The Fabrication of the Christ Myth (2000)
  • Thomas Thompson, The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David (2005)
  • George Wells, The Historical Evidence for Jesus (1988); Who Was Jesus? (1989); The Jesus Legend (1993); The Jesus Myth (1998); Can We Trust the New Testament? (2005)

[edit] Quotes

  • "I have taken it for granted that Jesus of Nazareth existed. Some writers feel a need to justify this assumption at length against people who try from time to time to deny it. It would be easier, frankly, to believe that Tiberius Caesar, Jesus' contemporary, was a figment of the imagination than to believe that there never was such a person as Jesus." (N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Christian

[edit] Non-Christian

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