Michael Nugent ✒ with the forty fourth in a series of pieces on whether gods exist. 

Here’s an overview of the Biblical stories of Jesus and the independent records of Jesus by Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny, Suetonius, and Thallus.

The Biblical character of Jesus began as a human Jewish preacher, and gradually evolved into part of a newly invented Christian god. I’ve examined this in more detail in posts 33 to 38 of this series.
Paul wrote his letters first, about 48-62 CE and he wrote almost nothing about the earthly life of Jesus.

  • The Book of Revelation, with its violent, avenging Jesus, was written in stages between about 60-95 CE.
  • The Gospel called Mark was written about 65-70 CE, and it has no virgin birth and no detail of the resurrection.
  • At this stage, the Jesus character was still an apocalyptic preacher warning people that the world was coming to an end within the lifetime of those listening to him.
  • The virgin birth and resurrection stories first appear in the Gospels called Matthew and Luke, which were written about 80-85 CE, as was the Book of Acts, some of which contradicts what Paul earlier wrote about himself.
  • The Gospel called John was written about 90-95 CE and is the first book that suggests Jesus was actually a god, as distinct from a human being who had a special relationship with a god.

Based on the early records of Jesus that are independent of the Bible, the most that can be said about the life of Jesus is this. I’ve examined this in more detail in posts 39 to 43 of this series.

  • During the reign of Tiberius, Pontius Pilate may have executed a criminal called Jesus. This probably happened; Jesus was a common name and the Romans executed many criminals.
  • If he existed, this Jesus was not a major figure, as nobody other than his followers wrote about him for over half a century.
  • Whether or not he existed, his name became the symbol of a religious movement that spread to at least Rome and Asia Minor.
  • There is no independent record, in all of recorded history, of any of the following: his alleged bloodline from Abraham and David, his alleged virgin birth, his parent’s alleged flight from Herod, his alleged baptism by John the Dipper, his alleged preaching to large multitudes, his alleged miracles (walking on water, reviving corpses etc), the nature of his trial or his death, or his alleged return from being dead to being alive again.

On balance I believe that the mythical figure of a divine Jesus was invented and tacked onto exaggerated stories based on several real-life human Jewish preachers.

Whether this is true or not, it does not add any credibility to the claim that any of these preachers were in any way divine or that any gods exist.

Michael Nugent is Chair of Atheist Ireland

Do Gods Exist? ➤ 44 Biblical And Historical Jesus

Michael Nugent ✒ with the forty fourth in a series of pieces on whether gods exist. 

Here’s an overview of the Biblical stories of Jesus and the independent records of Jesus by Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny, Suetonius, and Thallus.

The Biblical character of Jesus began as a human Jewish preacher, and gradually evolved into part of a newly invented Christian god. I’ve examined this in more detail in posts 33 to 38 of this series.
Paul wrote his letters first, about 48-62 CE and he wrote almost nothing about the earthly life of Jesus.

  • The Book of Revelation, with its violent, avenging Jesus, was written in stages between about 60-95 CE.
  • The Gospel called Mark was written about 65-70 CE, and it has no virgin birth and no detail of the resurrection.
  • At this stage, the Jesus character was still an apocalyptic preacher warning people that the world was coming to an end within the lifetime of those listening to him.
  • The virgin birth and resurrection stories first appear in the Gospels called Matthew and Luke, which were written about 80-85 CE, as was the Book of Acts, some of which contradicts what Paul earlier wrote about himself.
  • The Gospel called John was written about 90-95 CE and is the first book that suggests Jesus was actually a god, as distinct from a human being who had a special relationship with a god.

Based on the early records of Jesus that are independent of the Bible, the most that can be said about the life of Jesus is this. I’ve examined this in more detail in posts 39 to 43 of this series.

  • During the reign of Tiberius, Pontius Pilate may have executed a criminal called Jesus. This probably happened; Jesus was a common name and the Romans executed many criminals.
  • If he existed, this Jesus was not a major figure, as nobody other than his followers wrote about him for over half a century.
  • Whether or not he existed, his name became the symbol of a religious movement that spread to at least Rome and Asia Minor.
  • There is no independent record, in all of recorded history, of any of the following: his alleged bloodline from Abraham and David, his alleged virgin birth, his parent’s alleged flight from Herod, his alleged baptism by John the Dipper, his alleged preaching to large multitudes, his alleged miracles (walking on water, reviving corpses etc), the nature of his trial or his death, or his alleged return from being dead to being alive again.

On balance I believe that the mythical figure of a divine Jesus was invented and tacked onto exaggerated stories based on several real-life human Jewish preachers.

Whether this is true or not, it does not add any credibility to the claim that any of these preachers were in any way divine or that any gods exist.

Michael Nugent is Chair of Atheist Ireland

7 comments:

  1. Michael

    My own view tends to lean towards the possibility that a bloke called Jesus did exist, not dissimilar to the above explanation. I contend, if this character roamed around talking about the redistribution of wealth, kicking capitalists out of the Temple and advocating the meek inheriting the earth, then this man must have been a communist. Long before Marx wrote Das Capital Jesus was causing all kinds of bother for the ruling class, in this case the Romans! This man was then hijacked by a crowd of hypocrites called Christians, who practice the absolute oppossitte of what our early Lenin preached, bastardised everything and claimed Jesus as their own.

    Anybody today who advocates anything this man preached are condemned from the pulpit, as were Jim Larkin and James Connolly during their lives and, in particular, the 1913/14 Dublin Lockout. The Christians then condem these socialists, for preaching something not far removed in many instances to what they are suppossed to believe00, to the fires of hell. If anybody has seen the film Jimmys Hall, about an Irish communist called Jimmy Gralton, the good Christian folk had him expelled from the country! Deported for introducing ideas their main man advocated himself!! Hypocricy or what?

    Caoimhin O'Muraile

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    Replies
    1. Caoimhin - there is a book called The Republican Jesus which is said to be very good, making the types of observations you make.

      Delete
  2. AM
    Must read Anthony, is it available in libraries?

    Caoimhin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am sure it would be, even through the inter library loan system. It is on Kindle - do you have a Kindle?

      Delete
  3. Unknown - if you want your comment published please sign off on it

    ReplyDelete
  4. All the Abrahamic religions are astrological in origin, quite blatantly so in places. Sun and Moon worship and Planetary anthropomorphic imaginings from a time when magic was believed real, and life and death viewed through the prism of 'good and evil'.

    One slight point to the author; Jesus hated John, viewed women as chattel and made no disapproving comment on slavery.

    Not the views one would ascribe a loving Deity to espouse.

    No comment from Wolfie yet?

    ReplyDelete
  5. It is quite clear that Jesus was probably made up or is an amalgamation of several characters that roamed the backwaters of the Roman empire at the time. Most Jesus mythicists are whack jobs unfortunately but one, Richard Carrier, has the only peer reviewed mythicist book available. It is a fascinating read. If you can't be arsed wading through such a deep academic book you can watch his lectures on Youtube.

    ReplyDelete