Despite being considered as the central figure for one of the world's major religions, the actual historical evidence that Jesus Christ existed is actually quite thin. While there is a historical Jesus revealed by scholarly study, the facts as they stand at the moment are beguiling enigmatic. Nevertheless, examining Jesus in this way is illuminating on several levels.
One major source for information on the life of the Christ who existed historically is the New Testament, though there are a number of provisos which must be established before studying it in this context. The same criteria which historians apply to other historical documents must also be applied to the New Testament, and it should be used with caution.
It is also worth remembering that the New Testament was not established as the Bible of Christianity until 150 years after Christ had been executed. The Septuagint, or Greek Old Testament, was used up until that point. As for the authors of the New Testament, many had never seen Jesus, and certainly never met him either.
There are also some issues of credibility with many aspects of the New Testament, especially as it is full of bias. The writers intended to show how great Christ was, and therefore the neutrality of their versions of events has to be disputed. These issues of credibility are compounded by the fact that much of the New Testament was written long after Christ had died.
All of these things together mean that the information in the New Testament needs to be viewed with caution, if you are looking for evidence of the man who is called Christ by so many millions of people. Christianity itself went through a period of intense debate and controversy in the two centuries or so after Christ's death. Much early Christian writing in the years after the death of Christ was also composed by people who lived outside of Palestine, and were Gentiles, not Jews.
This article is not here to debate the theological origins of Christianity, but it is wise to remember that the New Testament must be studied as a historical, rather than theological, document in this context. Other sources can be used to back up its study, though. Many of these were written by Romans, whose Empire was the main source of massive power at the time of Christ's existence.
Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus is one writer who makes direct reference to Christ in his writings, when he describes the persecution of early Christians in Rome, during the reign of the Emperor Nero. Another historian who refers to Christ directly is Thallus, who in 52AD mentioned Christ's crucifixion and a possible simultaneous eclipse. Christ was not actually proclaimed a deity until the fourth century AD.
The hunt for the historical Jesus revealed many interesting aspects of this important figure's life over the last century or so. Anyone studying the topic needs to be aware of the tendentious aspects of many sources, though. When those tendencies are carefully filtered, then a real picture of Christ, an important figure to so many people all across the world, can at last be revealed.
One major source for information on the life of the Christ who existed historically is the New Testament, though there are a number of provisos which must be established before studying it in this context. The same criteria which historians apply to other historical documents must also be applied to the New Testament, and it should be used with caution.
It is also worth remembering that the New Testament was not established as the Bible of Christianity until 150 years after Christ had been executed. The Septuagint, or Greek Old Testament, was used up until that point. As for the authors of the New Testament, many had never seen Jesus, and certainly never met him either.
There are also some issues of credibility with many aspects of the New Testament, especially as it is full of bias. The writers intended to show how great Christ was, and therefore the neutrality of their versions of events has to be disputed. These issues of credibility are compounded by the fact that much of the New Testament was written long after Christ had died.
All of these things together mean that the information in the New Testament needs to be viewed with caution, if you are looking for evidence of the man who is called Christ by so many millions of people. Christianity itself went through a period of intense debate and controversy in the two centuries or so after Christ's death. Much early Christian writing in the years after the death of Christ was also composed by people who lived outside of Palestine, and were Gentiles, not Jews.
This article is not here to debate the theological origins of Christianity, but it is wise to remember that the New Testament must be studied as a historical, rather than theological, document in this context. Other sources can be used to back up its study, though. Many of these were written by Romans, whose Empire was the main source of massive power at the time of Christ's existence.
Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus is one writer who makes direct reference to Christ in his writings, when he describes the persecution of early Christians in Rome, during the reign of the Emperor Nero. Another historian who refers to Christ directly is Thallus, who in 52AD mentioned Christ's crucifixion and a possible simultaneous eclipse. Christ was not actually proclaimed a deity until the fourth century AD.
The hunt for the historical Jesus revealed many interesting aspects of this important figure's life over the last century or so. Anyone studying the topic needs to be aware of the tendentious aspects of many sources, though. When those tendencies are carefully filtered, then a real picture of Christ, an important figure to so many people all across the world, can at last be revealed.
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