There are fewer injuries mortal humans can do to another than the ones that were done against the person of Jesus Christ, and the injuries still keep progressing. Jesus Christ has been put on trial, his assertion as the Son of God (God in human form) also on trial, almost everything about him has been on trial from the beginning till the present.
The Jesus myth has to do with discrediting and disbelieving the historicity of Jesus Christ. The internet and the world, in general, are flooded with too many articles, books and ‘pieces of evidence’ authors, atheists, historians, etc, put forward, totally rejecting that Christ ever existed at all! If some believed and made many others believe that Christ never existed at all, how do you think such ones will embrace God’s gift of salvation? Closely and carefully, I will take time here to analyse ‘Jesus myth’ from Christian and non-Christian sources, and how modern historians (both Christians and non-Christians) have been able to prove that truly Christ Jesus once lived on earth thousands of years ago, contrary to the speculations and assertions of some historians, atheists and agents of the kingdom of darkness vociferously denouncing Jesus Christ across the world (without the world knowing that these [agents of darkness] secretly belongs to Satan cults).
In my research about this topic, I stumbled upon too many disheartening articles and books, written by authors and Jesus’ critics, that I could not help but wonder at the great damage these had done to the person of Jesus. Strategically, His teachings led these people to defame and turn the hearts of thousands of people against him. Eloquently, they projected another kind of Jesus through the real Jesus Christ that one will have no second thought than to hate and cursing him vehemently. ‘Jesus is a myth that never existed’ was not just enough; these people went as far as to injure his Holy Personality with every eloquent word of expression they could use. One after the other, they used Christ’s teachings in the Holy Bible as a grand weapon not just to criticise him, but to damage his holy nature, divine personality and ridicule him for the world and project an extremely bad light on him! To hear ‘I do not believe in Jesus Christ and that he ever exists in the first place,’ is bad and sad enough, but to hear that is an evil man, a discord among family, a social Jewish radical teacher, a communist, a glutton drunkard and same-sex lover, and all kinds of blasphemies are mind-shattering. I grieve for these people and their misguided accomplice and thousands of innocent people misled into this great falsehood and mortal injury done to their very souls.
The Historicity of Jesus Christ
Atheists and ‘Jesus never existed’ have repeatedly debunked that Christ ever existed at all. Articles and books of their heretical works against Christ abound aplenty, but time will not permit us to analyse them thoroughly one after the other. Here we shall analyse Jesus Christ in real history from Christian and non-Christian sources, whether he truly existed in history or not.
Intellectual critics/atheists of the likes of David Fitzgerald (author of Nailed: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed at All) did remarkable damage to the belief in the historical Jesus, amid historical findings and analyses of other historians who found out that the historical Jesus truly existed. I would rather like to say much of these works of scepticism are bogus and superfluous, they never possess the all-wisdom to treat truthfully without bias, and there are many errors in their findings and analysis. In “Will The Real Jesus Stand Up”, JT Eberhard posed a rhetorical, analytical bogus example to support the claim that Jesus never existed. Saying if Jesus ever existed:
• Why does Philo of Alexandria discuss the contemporary state of first-century Jewish sects in several of his writings, but not a word on the multitudes who followed the miracle-worker and bold, radical new teacher Jesus throughout the Galilee and Judea – or of all the long-dead Jewish saints who emerged from their freshly opened graves and wandered the streets of Jerusalem, appearing to many?
• If Jesus was found guilty of blasphemy by the Sanhedrin, why was he not simply stoned to death, as Jewish law required (Mishnah Sanhedrin 6:4 h & i)? Why is the original trial account of Jesus so full of other unhistorical details and just plain mistakes that could never have happened as portrayed? How can each successive gospel continue to overload the original story with its additional layers of details that are mutually incompatible with the others?
• Why does Seneca the Younger record all kinds of unusual natural phenomena in the seven books of his Quaestiones Naturales, including eclipses and earthquakes, but not mention the Star of Bethlehem, the pair of Judean earthquakes that were strong enough to split stones, or the hours of supernatural darkness that covered “all the land” – an event he would have witnessed firsthand?
• Why can’t the Gospels agree on so many fundamental facts about Jesus’ life and ministry, such as what his relationship to John the Baptist was, and why was John the Baptist’s cult a rival to Christianity until at least the early second century?
• Who were Jesus’ disciples, and why do the Gospels agree on who they were? Why do the disciples disappear so quickly in the New Testament after the Gospels, only to pop up again centuries later when churches start spinning rival legends that they were busy founding Christian communities all along? If any were martyred for their faith, as Christians frequently insist, why don’t we have any details of any of the disciples’ deaths in the bible?
• When his sceptical Roman opponent Celsus asks the early church father Origen what miracles Jesus performed, why can Origen only respond lamely that Jesus’ life was indeed full of striking and miraculous events, “but from what other sources can we furnish an answer than from the Gospel narratives?” (Contra Celsum, 2.33)
• Why can’t the Gospels agree on so many fundamental facts about Jesus’ life and ministry? For instance, if he was born during the reign of Herod the Great, or over a decade later, during Quirinius’ tenure? Or why was he arrested? Or on which day did he die? Or whether he appeared alive again for just a single day, or more than a week, or forty days? Or where and when he appeared alive again, and to whom?
• Why are there so many anachronisms and basic mistakes, and misunderstandings about first-century Judean Judaism? Why are the Gospels all written in Greek, not Aramaic? Why do Christians insist that they are eyewitness accounts when none claim to be or even read as if they were, or if all contain indications that they were written generations later?
• Why is Paul – and every other Christian writer from the first generation of Christianity – so silent on any details of Jesus’ life? Why do they display so much ignorance of Jesus’ teachings and miracles?
• Despite the frequent boasts in the New Testament of Christianity spreading like wildfire, attracting new converts by the thousands with every new miracle or inspired sermon, why does Christianity remain a struggling, obscure cult of feuding house churches on the fringe of Roman society for more than three centuries?
• Why is there not a single historical reference to Jesus in the entire first century, a pair of obviously interpolated snippets in the works of Flavius Josephus notwithstanding?
Much of this rhetoric is born out of prejudice rather than honest desire to know the truth; whatever the evidence or debate to refute these and bring out the truth, they will stick to their guns. To them, history is more like science, where things exist only if you can prove it, or do not exist if you cannot prove it factually.
Now we shall analyse the truth of Christ’s existence on earth thousands of years ago through several sources from Christians and non-Christians. In truth there are overwhelming pieces of evidence (as found by scholars, historians, archaeologists) that the New Testament is an accurate document, written in the language and culture of those days, basically written not for historical purpose—but contains stunning histories accurate according to the perspective of the inspired writers and under God direct guidance and inspiration.
True, there are several found documents attesting to Jesus Christ outside the New Testament. To begin with, the written of Tacitus bear witness that Christ once lived in Palestine as the New Testament accounts. During the Great Fire that destroyed Rome in AD 64, secretly begun by Emperor Nero, who later fastened the guilt on Christians, already hated for their faith. Tacitus, reporting the incident, wrote:
“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Chrestians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most pernicious superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. [Source: Annals, Book 15, Chapter 44]”
Christus (from Latin) meaning Christ, note here that it was attested suffered extreme penalty (Roman crucifixion is notably called an extreme penalty in those times), during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, and at the hands of Pontius Pilate. This report has nothing to do with Christianity, nor does it have sympathy for Christ or the Christians who it testified suffered for the Roman inferno. The New Testament accounts that Christ was crucified in the hands of Pontius Pilate, at the time when Tiberius was the emperor, ruling the Roman Empire. Much of what Tacitus wrote attests to the truth of the Four Gospels of Christ in the New Testament.
Another evidence to consider about Christ and how he was regarded in those early centuries of Christianity is a letter of Pliny the Younger to Emperor Trajan, analysed by scholars and historians. Pliny Younger was the Roman Governor of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, and one of his letters to the emperor dates to about AD. 112, seeking advice from the emperor on how to deal with Christians caught for their faith. In one of the proceedings in the letter, he recounted to the emperor the information he had about Christians:
“They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food–but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.” Pliny’s Letter to Trajan About Christians (ca. 111)
Note here that the governor referred to ‘Christ’ as a historical person, proving that he once lived early in history before he wrote his letter. “…they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god…” The governor’s tone of voice shows a man who saw Christ as a historical person in those days, aware that the Christians were aware of this fact.
Another evidence of Christ’s historical life on earth thousands of years ago was found in the written of Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian. Scholars and historians analysed a relevant portion of this document, called “Testimonium Flavianum”, which means the Testimony of Flavius (Josephus). It states:
“About this time, there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he… wrought surprising feats… He was the Christ. When Pilate condemned him to be crucified, those who had… come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day, he appeared… restored to life… And the tribe of Christians . . . has . . . not disappeared” Jewish Antiquities, 18.3.3 §63
Though some scholars argued that this document has been altered to add credibility to the historicity of Jesus Christ, most disagreed with this; it is unlikely that a Christian would have altered this. This was not an attestation of belief in Christ. In another portion of his document, Josephus referred to Jesus as the ‘so-called Christ. ‘ It is unlikely that a Jew such as him would attest directly that Jesus is indeed the Christ. Even though we are to disregard Josephus as the actual writer, the fact about Christ points to the truth of the Gospel in the New Testament. This portion of the document, written in the first century, lets us know that Jesus once lived on earth, did miraculous feats, was condemned to be crucified, arose and appeared to his disciples, who proclaimed his resurrection, as the New Testament of the Holy Bible accounts.
Historians also evaluate an ancient document written by one Lucian of Samosata, who lived A.D. 120-180, a non-Christian second-century Greek satirist. He wrote about Christians, (though jesting about their religion) thus: “The Christians… worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced this new cult, and was crucified on that account. . .. You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains their contempt for death and self devotion . . . their lawgiver [taught] they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take on faith . . .” –The Passing Peregrinus. Though ridiculing Christians, he does shed more light on the founder (Jesus Christ), whom he called ‘a man’, ‘crucified on that account’. His attestation showed that Jesus truly had a historical origin; he also let it be known he was ‘crucified’ as the Gospels of the New Testament account.
Another version of Josephus’ “Testimonium Flavianum survived in a tenth-century Arabic version; a portion of which several historians and scholars deemed authentic, with clearer reference to Jesus. It states: “At this time, there was a wise man who was called Jesus. His conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.” (Quoted in James H. Charlesworth, Jesus Within Judaism, (Garden City: Doubleday, 1988), 95, cited in Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 194).
Jesus truly existed as a historical person; all modern biblical and classical scholars/historians virtually agree that Jesus existed as a historical figure; the theories that he is a myth that never existed in history as ‘effectively refuted. Though there is a high degree of debate about the Gospel narrative of Jesus and his divine assertion, most scholars agree that Jesus was a Galilean Jew, born between 7 and 2 BC, and died between 30-36 AD. Though there is a various level of disagreement among historians and scholars about the narrative episodes of Jesus, but two ‘almost universal assent period of his life was his baptism and crucifixion; historians and scholars have found abundant pieces of evidence that have nearly made it a universal assent. Scholars agree that there are no universally accepted portraits of Jesus, without criticism from the minority who still hold that ‘Jesus never existed at all.’ However, two certain facts are too historical to deny, ‘his baptism and crucifixion.’
John P. Meier views the crucifixion of Jesus as too historical to deny, based on scholarly criteria: as in criterion of Multiple Attestation (confirmation of several other sources), a criterion of coherence (fits together with other historical elements), a criterion of rejection (not disputed or rejected by ancient sources), all these and more historical findings help established the historical facts of Jesus crucifixion.
Though scholars agree on the crucifixion of Jesus but they differ in the reason for it and propound several individual or collective reasons differing among them. Paula Fredriksen and E. P. Sanders supported the historical fact of Jesus’ crucifixion, but contend that He (Jesus) did not predict his crucifixion; it was Christians who invented the story.
Amy-Jill Levine summarised thus, “there is a consensus of sorts on the basic outline of Jesus’ life”. That is there is some sort of agreement in major parts of Jesus’ life because most scholars agreed: Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist, gathered followers, performed healings and miracles, argued with Jewish authorities about matters about God and righteousness, and was crucified by Pontius Pilate, a Roman Prefect who reigned in 26-36 AD.
Considering the works of Josephus and Tacitus and their authenticity amid a few controversial debates, John Dominic Crossan states about Jesus, “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be, since both Josephus and Tacitus… agree with the Christian accounts on at least that basic fact.” Bart D. Ehrman also had this to say, “Tacitus’s report confirms what we know from other sources, that Jesus was executed by order of the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, sometime during Tiberius’s reign.”
To understand ‘Jesus Myth Theory’, it is proper to do some historical research back to the early/middle 18th century. ‘Jesus Myth Theory’ is an umbrella for several arguments propounded and contended for by some historians and scholars, denying Jesus ever existed at all, or certain major points of his life as historically unreliable, thereby he could not have existed. In France began the formal denial of Jesus’ existence began in the late 18th century and the works of Charles Dupuis and Constantin-Volney.
Charles François Dupuis (26 October 1742 – 29 September 1809) was a French savant, a professor at the Collège de Lisieux, Paris, and also studied law in his spare time. Charles was a multi-talented man who also invented telegraphy in 1778, which he was able to communicate with his friend. He devoted himself to the study of astronomy in connection with mythology. He wrote books on religion and mythology, advocating the unity of astronomical and religious myths of all nations in the aspect of the Enlightenment. In his works, he presented Christianity as a cult, the cult of Christ as merely the cult of the Sun god.
Constantin-Volney (3 February 1757 – 25 April 1820) was a French philosopher, historian, orientalist and politician. Some of his religious heretics were contained in his work “Ruins of Empires”, translated into English partly by Thomas Jefferson and Joel Barlow.
David Strauss, in the 19th century, regarded as the founder of ‘Christ myth theory’, produced methodical writings that set Europe in an uproar and became known as the founder of ‘Christ myth theory’. Strauss, as it was believed, did not outrightly deny the existence of Jesus in history, but believed that very few facts could be known about him and his miraculous works attested in the Gospels as myths and implausible. Early 20th century, John M. Robertson, Arthur Drews, and William B. Smith became prominent proponents of Christ myth theory. Later, scholars such as Alvar Ellegård, a Swedish professor of English language, G. A. Wells Professor of the German language and Robert M. Price, a philosopher and theologian, produced several arguments to support Christ myth theory.
One of the elements of criticism used by Christ myth theorists was ‘argument from silence’, based on the lack of evidence from a non-Christian source in the first century; by now, pieces of evidence abound aplenty from non-Christian sources, completely debunking Christ myth theory.
Among historians and scholars, the Christ myth theory is a baseless theory because of historical findings that have proven the existence of Jesus. However, the debate is still on in the 21st century, especially among minorities. The majority of scholars and historians assent to the existence of Jesus, though they differ in the details of his life as narrated in the New Testament Gospels. A notable historian/scholar, Robert Van Voorst, states that among “New Testament scholars and historians, the theory of the non-existence of Jesus remains effectively dead as a scholarly question”.
Several sources were used by scholars and historians to determine the authenticity of the historical existence of Jesus. Pauline Epistles, deemed authentic by almost all modern historians and scholars, shed light on the existence of Jesus Christ, though seven out of all his letters were rendered authentic beyond any doubt. The seven undisputed letters of Paul (with approximated dates given by historians/scholars) are: 1 Thessalonians (c. 51 AD), Philippians (c. 52-54 AD), Philemon (c. 52-54 AD), 1 Corinthians (c. 53-54 AD), Galatians (c. 55 AD), 2 Corinthians (c. 55-56 AD) and Romans (c. 55-58 AD). The writings and references of early church fathers also shed more light on the historicity of Jesus. Two sources that scholars referred to as eye-witness accounts are contained in the works or early references of Papias and Quadratus, reported by Eusebius of Caesarea in the 4th century.
The works of Papias scholars/historians stated that they did not survive, except through quotation by Eusebius. The letter of Quadratus (scholars claimed him to be perhaps the first Christian apologist) to Emperor Hadrian (Roman emperor who reigned 117-138, as reported by Eusebius in his famous Ecclesiastical History 4.3.2 stated: “The words of our Savior were always present, for they were true: those who were healed, those who rose from the dead, those who were not only seen in the act of being healed or raised, but were also always present, not merely when the Savior was living on earth, but also for a considerable time after his departure, so that some of them survived even to our times.” The letter, historians fixed the date of its writing around 117-124 AD. Its importance is that it gave an intense expression of the ‘eye witness’ nature of the testimonies to the interaction with Jesus.
Jesus lived and still lives in history, his denial as a historical person ‘effectively refuted’ by almost all modern scholars and historians (except a minority of ones that still maintain ‘Christ myth theory’ basically because of prejudice rather than actual historical facts). Believing not in Christ the Saviour by some humans made it impossible for their salvation, technically playing an important role as a barrier to God’s gift of salvation through Satan’s craftiness.
Samuel Akinola
Sam4eli@gmail.com
REFERENCES:
• Goldberg, G. J. Josephus’ Account of Jesus: The Testimonium Flavianum. josephus.org/testimonium.htm. Accessed 8 July 2025.
• “#102: Pliny’s Letter to Trajan.” Christian History Institute, christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/module/pliny. Accessed 8 July 2025.
• Duncan, Zack. “Tacitus on Jesus: What the Roman Historian Actually Wrote.” Medium, 14 Mar. 2025, medium.com/@zduncan/tacitus-on-jesus-fdcc005f0fb7. Accessed 8 July 2025.
• Like the Master Ministries. “Lucian of Samosata — Said Jesus Was Crucified | NeverThirsty.” NeverThirsty, 16 Jan. 2025, www.neverthirsty.org/about-christ/historical-quotes/lucian-of-samosata. Accessed 8 July 2025.