JonnyBGoode wrote:
That Jesus existed is historical fact.
What is the evidence for this? The bible is not sufficient evidence for anyone besides those who already believe in the existence and divinity of Jesus.
There are some Jewish writings about Jesus, but they are dated after the New Testament and use it as their reference.
One of the other extrabiblical histories that exists, that of Josephus, that mentions Jesus appears to have been forged. The text citing Jesus sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of the history, and though the history was written in the 1st century CE, the passage about Jesus was never mentioned until the 4th century CE - and then by one of the founders of the xian church. Another extrabiblical history, that of Tacitus, was written in the 2nd century CE and simply repeats what the author knows about persecuted xians, which is what the xians themselves claimed. Historical writings about xians is not the same thing as historical writings about christ.
Given the miracles that are claimed to have taken place during Jesus's lifetime, and the earthquakes and rising of the dead/ghosts that are said to have taken place at his death, why are the only sources for his supposed existence, or for the events of his lifetime, self-confirming? Why did no Romans write about him when he was alive? Why is there no Roman record of his trial and execution? Why is there no mention of earthquakes and ghosts around the supposed time of his death?
While absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence, the lack of any histories citing what would have been
remarkable miracles and events can be taken as negative evidence, rather than merely the lack. Maybe someone named Jesus did exist, and did pull some sleight-of-hand trikcs for his friends, but a despairing populace later inflated his existence far beyond its reality, after his death.