08-26-2011, 05:06 PM
i kind of like this answer i found on the net.
Josephus (c.37 – 100, also known as Yosef ben Matityahu, Hebrew יוסף בן מתתיהו, Joseph son of Matthias) was a renowned 1st-century Jewish historian. Despite being a Roman apologist, his writings are considered authoritative and provide an important historical and cultural background for the era described in the New Testament. Books 18 to 20 of the Antiquities are the most important in this regard.[2] Josephus was fluent in Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek.
Josephus writes of a Jewish sect led by James the Just, whom he calls the brother of Jesus. Josephus' history includes sections on John the Baptist, the High Priest Annas, Pontius Pilate, and Jesus called the Messiah.
A third passage, the famous Testimonium Flavianum found in the Antiquities of the Jews 18.63-64, in its current form summarizes the ministry and death of Jesus; but the authenticity of this passage remains contested by many scholars, and has been the topic of ongoing debate since the 17th century. The most widely held current scholarly opinion is that the Testimonium Flavianum is partially authentic; but that those words and phrases that correspond with standard Christian formulae are additions from a Christian copyist.[3][4]
In those parts of the Testimonium that are commonly regarded as authentic, Josephus describes Jesus as a teacher and miracle worker, attracting a large following who revered him after his death; but, other than James, Josephus names none of the founders of the Church such as St. Paul, St.Peter or any of the Twelve Apostles, nor does he refer to basic Christian doctrines, such as the Virgin Birth, the Incarnation or the Atonement. This led William Whiston to suggest that Josephus may have been an Ebionite Christian.[5]
i highlighted the relevant part.
Quote:There is some scholarly debate as to whether Jesus was a real, historical person, with no clear-cut outcome. Some of the evidence against the historicity of Jesus is circumstantial. For example, no first century epistle, even when discussing Christian baptism, ever mentioned the baptism of Jesus, or even John the Baptist. Moreover, neither Paul nor any other first century Christian author expressed any desire to see the birthplace of Jesus, visit Nazareth, or Calvary where Jesus was supposed to have died to save humanity, or to see the tomb where he was buried and rose from the dead. It was as if they knew only a spiritual Jesus, not a historical Jesus. Until Mark's Gospel, written decades later, there is a silence that suggests that mid-first century Christians did not know of the momentous events in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. He was never mentioned by any contemporary Jewish or pagan writer, even those who could be expected to have written of him.and this from wiki.
Nor is there any archaeological evidence to support the existence of Jesus. The one possible clue was an ossuary (bone box) with the inscription, "James, the son of Joseph, the brother of Jesus," allegedly found in Egypt and potentially providing circumstantial evidence for Jesus. One limitation on its value as evidence would be that Jesus, James and Joseph were all particularly common first century names, another is that the text was not clear as to whether James was the brother of Jesus or whether Joseph was. However, a committee appointed by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) to examine the ossuary declared the inscription to be a forgery. The ossuary was indeed ancient, but the inscription was added in modern times.
Josephus (c.37 – 100, also known as Yosef ben Matityahu, Hebrew יוסף בן מתתיהו, Joseph son of Matthias) was a renowned 1st-century Jewish historian. Despite being a Roman apologist, his writings are considered authoritative and provide an important historical and cultural background for the era described in the New Testament. Books 18 to 20 of the Antiquities are the most important in this regard.[2] Josephus was fluent in Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek.
Josephus writes of a Jewish sect led by James the Just, whom he calls the brother of Jesus. Josephus' history includes sections on John the Baptist, the High Priest Annas, Pontius Pilate, and Jesus called the Messiah.
A third passage, the famous Testimonium Flavianum found in the Antiquities of the Jews 18.63-64, in its current form summarizes the ministry and death of Jesus; but the authenticity of this passage remains contested by many scholars, and has been the topic of ongoing debate since the 17th century. The most widely held current scholarly opinion is that the Testimonium Flavianum is partially authentic; but that those words and phrases that correspond with standard Christian formulae are additions from a Christian copyist.[3][4]
In those parts of the Testimonium that are commonly regarded as authentic, Josephus describes Jesus as a teacher and miracle worker, attracting a large following who revered him after his death; but, other than James, Josephus names none of the founders of the Church such as St. Paul, St.Peter or any of the Twelve Apostles, nor does he refer to basic Christian doctrines, such as the Virgin Birth, the Incarnation or the Atonement. This led William Whiston to suggest that Josephus may have been an Ebionite Christian.[5]
i highlighted the relevant part.