Spirituality

Author tackles historical evidence of Jesus

By T.K. Randall
April 11, 2012 ·  175 comments

Image Credit: Juan Fernández de Navarrete The mythicist viewpoint, that Jesus wasn't a real person but a mythical figure, is quite prevelant in many parts of the world. Many see the lack of archaeological evidence and the fact that the Gospels were written long after Jesus' death as compelling arguments. "It was a surprise to me to see how influential these mythicists are," said Ehrman. "These mythicists point out that there are Pagan gods who were said to die and rise again and so the idea is that Jesus was made up as a Jewish god who died and rose again."

In his new book "Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth" however Ehrman goes on to put forward his case for Jesus being not a mythical character but a living, breathing human being who walked the Earth 2000 years ago.[!gad]The mythicist viewpoint, that Jesus wasn't a real person but a mythical figure, is quite prevelant in many parts of the world. Many see the lack of archaeological evidence and the fact that the Gospels were written long after Jesus' death as compelling arguments. "It was a surprise to me to see how influential these mythicists are," said Ehrman. "These mythicists point out that there are Pagan gods who were said to die and rise again and so the idea is that Jesus was made up as a Jewish god who died and rose again."

In his new book "Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth" however Ehrman goes on to put forward his case for Jesus being not a mythical character but a living, breathing human being who walked the Earth 2000 years ago.

Source: NPR | Comments (175)

Tags: