>>13528835cont'd
The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a) confirms Jesus' crucifixion
on the eve of Passover and the accusations against Christ of practicing
sorcery and encouraging Jewish apostasy.
Lucian of Samosata was a second-century Greek writer who admits that
Jesus was worshiped by Christians, introduced new teachings, and was
crucified for them. He said that Jesus' teachings included the
brotherhood of believers, the importance of conversion, and the
importance of denying other gods. Christians lived according to Jesus’
laws, believed themselves to be immortal, and were characterized by
contempt for death, voluntary self-devotion, and renunciation of
material goods.
Mara Bar-Serapion confirms that Jesus was thought to be a wise and
virtuous man, was considered by many to be the king of Israel, was put
to death by the Jews, and lived on in the teachings of His followers.
Then we have all the Gnostic writings (The Gospel of Truth, The Apocryphon of John, The Gospel of Thomas, The Treatise on Resurrection, etc.) that all mention Jesus.
In fact, we can almost reconstruct the gospel just from early
non-Christian sources: Jesus was called the Christ (Josephus), did
“magic,” led Israel into new teachings, and was hanged on Passover for
them (Babylonian Talmud) in Judea (Tacitus), but claimed to be
God and would return (Eliezar), which his followers believed,
worshipping Him as God (Pliny the Younger).
There is overwhelming evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ, both
in secular and biblical history. Perhaps the greatest evidence that
Jesus did exist is the fact that literally thousands of Christians in
the first century A.D., including the twelve apostles, were willing to
give their lives as martyrs for Jesus Christ. People will die for what
they believe to be true, but no one will die for what they know to be a
lie.
Also Lee Strobel wrote extensivley on the issue
