In Defense of the Historicity of Jesus Christ

Quite recently, MzBel, a Ghanaian music artiste was heard on live television and on a couple of radio talk shows state emphatically that Jesus Christ is a fictional character and not a historical figure as taught by the Church (and as contained in the New Testament of the Bible). Such a view is also held and expounded by a group in Ghana that calls itself Common Sense Family (a group the singer belongs to). They insist that the stories surrounding Jesus Christ as contained in the Bible were made up and claim they arrived at such conclusions through research. Their assertions have been given much publicity in the Ghanaian news media (the electronic media in particular).

           

Admittedly MzBel and members of the Common Sense Family are not alone in their beliefs. They enjoy the company of several thousand across the globe and are obviously entitled to their views. However, such views do not necessarily represent the facts.

The similarities logic

Mzbel pointed to the stories surrounding some supposedly Greek mythological figure who apparently predated the birth of Christ and yet whose life is said to have significant similarities with that of Jesus of the New Testament. What was her conclusion? The Jesus of the New Testament was made up from the stories that prevailed about some mythical figure that predated the Christ. Put quite bluntly, Jesus is a hoax.

Without delving into the historicity or otherwise of the figures they allude to, I wish to state that to arrive at a definitive conclusion on such a premise is hollow and untenable. Why so? This classical illustration comes handy: Whoever is privy to the historical events surrounding Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, both assassinated during their terms in office as presidents of the United States of America will see obvious similarities. Those similarities are well documented. Do the marked similarities between the events surrounding the life of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy suggest that they were fictional characters? To answer in the affirmative is to do gross injustice to documented historical facts. My point is this: several documented historical evidence exists about Jesus in non-Biblical and non-Christian sources.

The historical facts

F. F. Bruce, Ryland professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester, once stated, “Some writers may toy with a ‘Christ-myth’, but they do not do so on the ground of historical evidence. The historicity of Christ is as axiomatic for an unbiased historian as the history of Julius Ceasar. It is not historians who propagate the ‘Christ myth’ theories.” Otto Betz also states, “No serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non-historicity of Jesus.”  These are striking and instructive comments from these notable scholars.

It is important to note that persons who claim Christ is a mythical figure, also posit that the Bible (the New Testament in particular) is a book of fiction. In view of this, I would not attempt to use the Biblical text in providing a defense. Assuming the Bible is a book of fiction and thus not trustworthy, how else can a defense be provided. It is worth noting at this point that the historicity of Jesus is not only a Biblical fact but finds some expression in a massive body of non-biblical sources.

           

Cornelius Tacitus (born A.D. 52-54), a Roman historian in A. D. 112, Governor of Asia in his writings alluded to the death of Jesus Christ (Annals XV.44). Lucian of Samosta, a satirist of the second century, spoke scornfully of Christ, making reference to his crucifixion, death, teachings and his followers (The Passing Peregrinus). Flavius Josephus (born A. D. 37) a Jewish historian (Antiquities. xiii.33.), Suetonius (A. D. 120) a Roman historian (Life of Claudius 25.4; Life of Caesars, 26.2), Plinus Secundus, governor of Bythynia in Asia Minor (A. D. 112) (Epistles X.96) and many other pagan writers of the first and second centuries make mention of Jesus, his crucifixion and a few other aspects of his life.

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Indeed one will note that none of these historians and writers were Christians. Some were actually antagonistic towards Christianity and so no conspiracy can be logically alluded to. Also worth noting is the Jewish Talmud which obviously was not written by Christians. The Jewish Talmuds (Babylonian Talmud; Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a) makes mention of Christ and his death. The Quran also makes mention of Jesus Christ on numerous occasions, including his virgin birth and some of the miracles he performed (Sura 19:16-34; Sura 21:91; Sura al-Nisa 4:171; Sura Al Imran 45; Sura al-Ma’ida 5:110).

           

Concerning the testimony of many independent secular and religious accounts of Jesus of Nazareth, Encyclopaedia Britannica records: “These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed the first time and on inadequate grounds by several authors at the end of the 18^th, during the 19^th, and at the beginning of the 20^th centuries.” This observation is quite conclusive.

The Challenge

Salmon P. Chase, a renowned lawyer, and judge once opined: “There came a time in my life when I doubted the divinity of the Scriptures and I resolved as a lawyer and judge I would try the book as I would try anything in the courtroom, taking evidence for and against. It was a long, serious and profound study and using the same principles of evidence in this religious matter as I always do in secular matters I have come to the decision that the Bible is a supernatural book, that it has come from God, and that the only safety for the human race is to follow its teachings.” Will you dare do same? 

For lovers of truth, I throw you a challenge, that is, if you doubt the historicity of Christ. I encourage you to conduct independent and unbiased research on the subject. Read wide on opposing views and draw your conclusions thereafter. For some who embarked on this voyage with a sense of objectivity, some spending years in painstaking research, several have converted to Christianity, notable amongst them being Professor C. S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, Dr. Nabeel Qureshi and the award-winning legal journalist Lee Strobel among others.

Afterthought: In the original article featured at the "Opinion Column" of the 2nd October 2017 issue of the Daily Graphic (arguably the most authoritative and most widely read newspaper publication in Ghana), I mentioned two Ghanaian music artistes, namely MzBel and Blakk Rasta as having publicly denied the historicity of Christ. That remains true. However, the latter`s name (Blakk Rasta) has been omitted in this post because it has come to my notice that the said musician (i personally heard him on radio a few days ago) now claims he is a Christian and believe in Jesus Christ (in stark contrast to his earlier stands that were widely publicized).
  
P/S: Check out these enlightening links/videos (featuring a Bible scholar, a former atheist, a former Muslim, etc.), below to further deepen your understanding of the historicity of Jesus Christ and much more:
 Dr. John Warwick Montgomery`s defense of the historicity of Jesus Christ
A Case for Christ - Lee Strobel (former atheist turned Christian Apologist)) 
Defending the Bible, Part 1- Former Muslim turned Bible Scholar 
 Extra-Biblical Evidence for the Historicity of Christ 

I ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMEND CHRISTIAN APOLOGIST/EVANGELIST JOSH MCDOWELL`S BOOK: EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT -By Josh Mcdowell (Christian author/apologist/evangelist)
 Written By Daniel Dela Dunoo

(Writer/Blogger/ Theologian)

Email: danieldeladunoo@gmail.com