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Welcome, and thanks very much for your question. You can find answers to this question in several of the articles on this site, in particular, "Evidence for Jesus Outside the Bible" and "Why Should I Believe Jesus Was the Son of God?", but let me summarize below. The Talmud does speak of someone who was "hanged" because he "practiced sorcery" and "enticed Israel to apostasy" and this may refer to Jesus, but it is not certain. However, Jesus is mentioned specifically in the writing of the Jewish historian Josephus. Josephus was not a follower of Christ and would have no reason to fabricate this account. Early in the second century, Jesus' followers are written about by the Roman historian Tacitus and Pliny the Younger, so by that time Christianity had already spread and flourished. Tacitus also specifically mentions that Jesus lived in Judea and was crucified by the authority of Pontius Pilate. So, as you can see, there is some corroborative evidence outside the Bible. However, the Bible is clearly the best evidence we have of Jesus'
life and I think it's a mistake when people dismiss the Bible as being either inaccurate or prejudiced. It's an extremely reliable historical record. Finally, we cannot ignore the testimony of the apostles, for they were all willing to die for what they believed. Now, lots of people die all the time for what they believe, but this was different. The apostles did not believe in Jesus by faith as we do, they either knew for a fact he rose from the dead, or they lied about it and began a massive hoax. People will die for what they think is true, but who would be willing to die for something they KNOW is false? What did the apostles gain by spreading the news about Jesus? Money, fame, glory? No, they were mocked, beaten, jailed and killed. What could their motive have been if not a genuine desire to spread the Gospel. Remember, they knew for a fact if Jesus rose from the dead or He did not. They saw Him, walked with Him, spoke with Him. For more details on this, I recommend the articles, "Could The Gospel Accounts be Accurate?" and "Did Jesus Christ Really Rise from the Dead?". You may also find the Discovery Path "The Case For Christ" helpful. I hope I have been able to answer your question - please let me know if you want me to go in to any more detail about any of these specific items. Thanks again.
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arsindelve-
8/5/2007 7:30:48 PM
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