Reliability of Source Documents for the Existence of Jesus Christ

Last week’s post was written with the intent of enlightening those who doubt the existence of God. Essentially, to remain an atheist or skeptic, in light of the evidence presented, is to believe that nothing produces everything; non-life produces life; randomness produces perfection; chaos produces intelligence; unconsciousness produces consciousness; and non-reason produces reason. The absurdity of “chance happenstance” being the reason for creation leaves little or no options other than intelligent design. I contend, God is the necessary explanation for all existence. 

This week’s post will deal specifically with reliability of Christian source documents. Is there evidence from both Christian and secular sources for the historicity of Jesus? Yes there is evidence from both sources. Are these same sources reliable? Both Christian and secular sources are reliable. The Christian sources include but not limited to the twenty-seven distinct New Testament manuscripts and the writings of Polycarp, Eusebiusm, Irenaeus, Ignatius, Justin and Origen (the early Church Fathers). Evidence from secular sources for the historicity of Jesus include writings by Tacitus, Josephus, Thallus, Pliny, Lucian, Suetonius (all were non-Christian historians). I mention these names for information purposes only. The reader may research them at leisure and find credible and verifiable evidence as to the life, times, and events that encapsulated Jesus the being.

If God exists, is it not perfectly reasonable to assume that God has communicated to his creation? Consequently, we have good reason to look for and, if necessary, to unearth this transmission of this communication. It is at this point, that we must peer into human history to see if there was any evidence that God communicated with mankind. Christianity claims that God has communicated in history. I assert, that Christianity is the only religion whose basic foundation is built on reliable historic events that communicate an explicit and persuasive message. Thus, why even look at other religions? Do not other religions allege communication from God coming obscurely or abstrusely through individuals who have exclusive dreams, angelic encounters, ethereal visions, and or private ideas? Do you not find these subjective claims (dreams, encounters, visions etc.) entirely too skeptical to take seriously? I believe they are too easily devised or fallacious and are not testable in any way.

However, Christianity has fundamental truth claims that are rooted in history. The central historical events that we most look at are the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Most important, the story of His resurrection. It is these events which establish or dismantle the Christian faith. These same events are said to have actually happened in history, in the public eye. Therefore, Christianity not only allows for but demands an historical approach to establish its merit. How did Christianity start? In short; after a public ministry Christ was killed publicly ; he rose from a public tomb publicly; He publicly showed himself to the public; the public told everyone what they saw. Conversely, other religions, to include Islam, started because someone had a private dream or vision about God, or they had a private angelic encounter about God, or they had a private idea about God, and one person told everyone what he or she saw.

Examination of Biblical sources and other non-Christian historical sources from antiquity allow us to be assured that what has been stated Biblically, is in fact, what actually transpired. What is written in this post is meant only to wet one’s intellectual appetite. There is in fact large documented support, both Christian and secular, for the historical existence of Jesus Christ. The follow-on to this post will deal with the most significant event to which verifying documents attest is the resurrection of Jesus.