Non-Gospel sources for the existence of Jesus

[senorpogo]

I guess I could just do a Google search, but I'd rather hear from people here rather than slog through dozens of pages.

Are there sources outside of the Gospels that support the existence of Jesus?

[geni]

Josephus and Tacitus would be the two classic candidates.

[gfunkusarelius]

and other t han those i havent heard of any. has anyone else? and didnt they have very, very little to say?

[milesalpha]

and other t han those i havent heard of any. has anyone else? and didnt they have very, very little to say?

I haven't worked on this for years but as far as I remember there were no contemporary records of Jesus, everything was written at least 4 decades after the current christian version of his death date. Tacitus and Josephus were both born after jesus' death. The documentary "The God Who Wasn't There" has some historical timeline on it.

[geni]

and other t han those i havent heard of any. has anyone else? and didnt they have very, very little to say?

Sure. It wasn't as if jesus had any particular importance during his lifetime.

[milesalpha]

And his tale is not that original either.

[jjramsey]

And his tale is not that original either.

The idea that the righteous would be resurrected at the end of the age isn't original with Christianity. One can see it in 2 Maccabees, for example. IIRC, the idea that the wicked would be punished at the end of the age wasn't original to Christianity, either, though in 2 Maccabees, the implication is that the wicked would simply not be resurrected. Even the idea of Jesus' preexistence seems to be not all that novel; Moses was apparently regarded as such (http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=830&letter=M#2878).

I'm guessing those aren't the similarities that you have in mind, though. :D

http://www.skepticwiki.org/wiki/index.php/The_Jesus_Mysteries

[milesalpha]

Wow, thanks, I must read through this site. I had been thinking of Hercules, but they list far better examples here.

[ChristineR]

Josephus and Tacitus are the only clear non-Christian sources for Jesus before about 120 AD. After that there are lots of sources for Christians, but very few for Christ. Visit http://www.earlychristianwritings.com for a fairly complete list of everything written by and about the Christians up until about 200 AD.

There are actually hundreds of gospels, letters, and treatises, but almost all of them were Christian.

[Lenora]

The Josephus passage is a patent forgery. Tacitus's work is questionable and of little value. Ditto with that of Pliny and Suetonius. In short, no, there is no extrabiblical evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ.

[ceo_esq]

The Josephus passage is a patent forgery.

There are two relevant Josephus passages; the prevailing opinion among Josephus specialists last time I checked was that one passage is authentic, and the other passage has been corrupted but is probably not a complete interpolation. But you knew that already, right?