By Peter Fernandez

Most people, regardless of their beliefs or disbeliefs—whether they identify as atheists, agnostics, or are devout followers of various faiths, including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, or Christianity—assume the Bible is the only definitive account of the life of Jesus Christ. 

To atheist scholars, he is perceived as a fictional character within a superstitious tome of fables. To the layman or non-expert, he is just another mortal teacher and practitioner of good works, not unlike Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln. 

However, several non-biblical historians and objective, skeptical scholars insist that he was a historical figure.

The vital figure of Christianity was not initially known as Jesus Christ but rather as Yeshua, a Hebrew name meaning “salvation,” a common name during the Second Temple period, which spanned approximately from 516 BCE to 70 CE.  Jesus Christ is based on the Greek Lesous Christos. The name is derived from the New Testament, at least 1,400 years after the Torah, or the five books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Biblical scholars commonly believe that he wasn’t called “Lesous Christos” or “Jesus Christ” until decades after his death. To countless secular academics, he was simply a mystic revolutionary who initiated a new religion.

The Jewish authors of the Babylonian Talmud (6th Century AD) composed disparaging fictions of Christ. Still, they corroborate that the Pharisees and Sadducees conspired to murder Yeshua (Jesus) and, with the help of the occupying Romans, triumphed.

The author of the eminent Antiquities of the Jews, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (A.D. 37-100), born Yosef ben Matityahu, was the first “non-Christian”  historian to document Yeshua. This classical history was composed approximately around the year 93 ACE, After the Christian Era, or AD, After (his) Death.

In his Antiquities, Josephus refers to Jesus, his brother James, and John the Baptist: “Festus (Roman Governor) was now dead, and Albinus, (a new Roman financial administrator), was but upon the road, so he, Ananus (a “bold and insolent” Sadducee) assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was the Christ, whose name was James, and some others; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned.” Josephus composed his famous history in Greek, but he also wrote The Jewish War in his native Hebrew or Aramaic. Sadly, the latter document was lost in time.

Lucian (125-180 AD), a pagan satirist from Samosata, now Samat, Turkey, believed Jesus/Yeshua was authentic but not the son of God. A cynical writer of comic prose acknowledging that an uneducated Israelite carpenter founded a religion and was crucified for it is intriguing. 

From The Passing of Peregrinus, and translated from the ancient Greek, Lucian writes, “The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day-the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, 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 of death and voluntary self-devotion, which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their own original lawgiver that 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 quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property.”

Although he doesn’t explicitly reference Yeshua/Christ, Pliny the Younger (61-113 CE), a Roman governor in northern Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), wrote about early Christians who revered a man as a God. “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 of an ordinary and innocent kind. (Epistles 10.96).

Historical validation of Christ’s crucifixion can be found in the writings of Tacitus (A.D. 56-120), a pagan historian who worshipped the gods of his home, Rome. His portrayal of Christ’s trial before Pontius Pilate and the crucifixion can be found in his Annals: “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 the Christians 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 Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of 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.”

Two Talmuds exist, collections of Jewish Torah, ceremonial and civil law, history, legends, as well as religious and social commentary. The first, known as the Babylonian Talmud, was composed in the early 5th century CE. The second, known as the Jerusalem Talmud, was written between the 6th and 7th centuries CE.  Talmud means “instruction or learning.” Yeshu or Yeshua, Christ’s original Hebrew name, was cited many times; however, as mentioned earlier, it was a commonly used designation.

Yeshu is denounced in no uncertain terms, and there are alleged antisemitic statements in its counterpart, the Brit Hadashah (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה), commonly known as the New Covenant or Testament. The name “Jesus Christ” is specified in these ancient tomes, but some scholars believe medieval Christian monks may have added it to the text. 

From the Babylonian Talmud, “Yeshua…went and stood up a brick and worshipped it as an idol…he caused the masses to sin…Yeshua performed sorcery, and he incited the masses and subverted the masses, and caused the Jewish people to sin.” Sotah 47a:14.

In the exact text, it is written, “On Passover Eve, they hung the corpse of Yeshua after they killed him by way of stoning…because he practiced sorcery, incited the people to idol worship, and led the people astray.”  Since it is well known that Jesus was crucified, the apparent contradiction of stoning does not diminish the coherence of the historical narrative.

Although he disputed Christianity, the 2nd-century Greek philosopher Celsus acknowledged the existence of Jesus. The theorist believed the founder of this new faith used sorcery in creating miracles, and, thus, was a hypocrite: “He distinctly declares…that there will come to you even others, employing miracles…who are wicked men, and sorcerers; and Satan. So that Jesus himself does not deny that these works at least are not all divine, but are the acts of wicked men; and being compelled by the force of truth, he at the same time not only laid open the doings of others, but convicted himself of the same acts. Is it then, a miserable inference, to conclude from the same works that the one is  God and the other sorcerers?”

Conversely, Jesus never admitted to using sorcery: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined…If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?” Matthew 12:25-26

In John 8:48-49, it reads: “The Jews answered him, ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.’” Samaritans were a marginalized ethno-religious community, and sorcery an anathema to Mosaic Law, punishable by death.

Ergo, Yeshua/Jesus was either the Son of God or a madman. These are the only choices available. It has already been established that he existed, leaving us with only two rational options. A morally good and mentally stable man would not claim to be the Son of God. Who would pronounce himself to be the Messiah, the Son of God, but a lunatic and/or an egomaniacal false prophet? Thus, the only conclusion remaining is that he was indeed who he claimed to be.