Did Jesus Even Exist?

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The (considerable) vitriol directed against Bart by theologically conservative Christians is (easily) matched by what he gets from critics on the opposite end of the spectrum --"mythicists" who insist not only that the New Testament is filled with legendary material but that Jesus himself was, literally, a myth: he never existed. In this episode Bart will explain why -- whatever else you might want to say about Jesus of Nazareth -- historians of all stripes do not doubt that at the least Jesus was a first-century Jewish teacher who was crucified by the Romans. Are the mythicists -- intent on disproving Christianity -- simply shooting themselves in the foot by taking their skepticism too far?

-When we’re trying to determine whether a person actually existed, we have to rely on historical data - what data do we have from the ancient world concerning Jesus?

-How much of a problem is it that we don’t have contemporary sources?

-How far can we trust the gospels as historical sources? For example, Matthew and Luke give two conflicting reports of Jesus’ birth, so how do we decide which is closest to historical fact?

-One of the things historians look for when trying to understand an historical event, is multiple sources that talk about it. Do we have that for Jesus’ existence?

-Given that we have such few sources, which date to several decades after Jesus’ death, don’t always agree with each other, and are a little light on details…what can we actually say with certainty about the life of Jesus?

-Is it odd that we don’t have any contemporary references to Jesus? Even if most people were illiterate, if there was an itinerant preacher wandering around and causing unrest, would we not expect the Roman authorities to write about him?