Thomas_More
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Of course, when people say “the Catholic Church” prior to 1054 they should be aware that what they mean is the Orthodox Church – the Athanasian Church, which emerged the victor from the early Christian controversies.
The Roman Catholic Church did not become independent until 1054. The popes participated in the Church councils but they were not in charge of them, although prominent.
I know, but I cannot understand why atheists like Bart Ehrman and others say there is lots of evidence for him, when there is none, and why most classicists are saying the same, and calling the minority who say otherwise a fringe few.
AI Overview +8 “Dr. Bart Ehrman, a prominent New Testament scholar, argues that the historical existence of Jesus is beyond reasonable doubt. Despite being an agnostic and highly critical of the New Testament’s religious claims, he maintains that denying Jesus existed is a fringe theory rejected by virtually all historians of antiquity.Ehrman outlined his comprehensive case in his 2011 book, Did Jesus Exist?. His arguments rest on several key pillars of historical evidence:Independent Early Sources: The Gospels are not the only accounts. Historians can identify multiple independent written sources—such as the Q document and the early writings of the Apostle Paul—that predate the Gospels and corroborate key details.The Testimony of Paul: Paul personally knew Jesus’ closest associates, including his brother James (Galatians 1:19) and the disciple Peter. Ehrman argues it is historically implausible that Paul could have spent time with a man’s actual brother without the man himself having existed.Criterion of Embarrassment: Early Christians would not have invented a messiah who was publicly executed by the Romans. Because crucifixion was a humiliating and cursed death in the ancient world, the narrative of Jesus’s crucifixion strongly points to an authentic historical event.Corroboration by Non-Christian Writers: First-century Roman and Jewish historians, such as Flavius Josephus and Tacitus, independently mention Jesus and his execution under Pontius Pilate within decades of his lifetime.Ehrman has firmly stated that the “mythicist” claim that Jesus was entirely fabricated is not taken seriously by academic scholars. He frequently emphasizes that ancient historians have far more abundant and independent evidence for the existence of Jesus than they do for many prominent political or military figures of the exact same era.You can explore his detailed historical defense directly on The Bart Ehrman Blog, or check out his published Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth book to dive deeper into his methodology.”
AI Overview +2 “Virtually all historians and scholars of antiquity agree that a historical Jesus of Nazareth lived in first-century Roman Judea. While the supernatural claims in the Bible are matters of faith, the scholarly consensus overwhelmingly concludes that an actual, flesh-and-blood person named Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and crucified under Pontius Pilate.The belief that Jesus is a complete myth is a fringe theory in academic circles. Historians establish his existence using multiple independent sources that date to within a few decades of his life, which is more contemporary evidence than we have for many other accepted ancient figures.These independent sources include:The Apostle Paul: Paul’s letters, written within 20 to 30 years of Jesus’s death, mention knowing Jesus’s brother, James.Roman Historians: Writers like Tacitus recorded the execution of “Christus” by Pontius Pilate in the early second century.Jewish Historians: First-century writer Flavius Josephus twice references Jesus in his historical works.To dive deeper into how historians use these and other texts to separate fact from myth, you can explore the Historical Jesus overview on Wikipedia or watch Bart Ehrman’s lecture on Did Jesus Even Exist?.”
And yet mainstream academia, and even atheists, insist Jesus was a real person, with denyers called “a fringe.”
Robin Lane Fox’s PAGANS AND CHRISTIANS is an excellent social history of how Christianity rose, changed and expanded up until Constantine.
Richard Carrier.
