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Did Jesus really live?
Our main sources of information about Jesus are four written accounts, known as the Gospels. The value of having four separate accounts is that they confirm
each other in the overall picture of Jesus' life. In any kind of investigation today, eye-witnesses are asked for their viewpoints, so as to give a clearer picture of what took place. These testimonies differ in the details they record but basically all report the same events and together give a more comprehensive account. So the four Gospels taken together give us a more accurate description of Jesus' words, actions and character.
In addition to the Gospels, several other authors of the time refer to Jesus. Two of them, writing within a century of Jesus' birth, are of particular interest. Flavius Josephus was probably the greatest Jewish historian of his time and certainly no friend of the growing Christian faith. In his book The Antiquities of the Jews he records the following information about Jesus:
"At the time there was a wise man called Jesus. And his conduct was good and he was known to be virtuous. And many people among the Jews and from other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who became his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days later after his crucifixion and that he was alive."
This substantially agrees with the Gospel record. Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman historian who married the daughter of the governor of Britain. In one of his earlier writings, he mentions the execution of Jesus at the order of Pontius Pilate.
Through the writing of the first Christians and other authors from outside the Christian faith we are able to know about the words and life of Jesus. Far from being shaky or uncertain, our knowledge of Jesus is more complete and detailed than for most other figures in the ancient world.
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