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[quote=Anonymous]Based on scholarly surveys and statements from experts across the ideological spectrum (Christian, agnostic, atheist, Jewish), 99%+ of specialists in ancient history, classics, and New Testament studies accept Jesus as a real 1st-century Jewish teacher from Galilee who was baptized and crucified under Roman rule. The “Jesus mythicist” position (denying his existence) is rejected as unsupported by evidence and methodologically weak, akin to how historians dismiss claims that the Holocaust didn’t happen or that the Earth is flat.

Why the Near-Unanimity? Volume and Quality of Evidence: As discussed earlier, Jesus meets or exceeds the standard criteria for ancient figures (multiple independent sources, early attestation, etc.). Historians like Bart Ehrman (an agnostic) emphasize that “virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees” on his existence, based on texts like Paul’s letters (15–30 years after his death), the Gospels (~40–70 years), Josephus, and Tacitus.

Scholarly Surveys and Statements:
-James Dunn (Methodist scholar): “Today nearly all historians, whether Christians or not, accept that Jesus existed.” 
-Michael Grant (classicist): Applying standard historical criticism to the New Testament makes rejecting Jesus’ existence as implausible as denying Socrates or Hannibal. 
-Robert Van Voorst: The non-existence theory is “effectively dead as a scholarly question” since the early 20th century. 
-Amy-Jill Levine (Jewish scholar): Broad agreement on Jesus’ basic outline (baptism, teachings, crucifixion).

[color=red]The Fringe Dissenters: A handful of writers like Richard Carrier or Robert M. Price argue against historicity, but they lack credentials in ancient history (e.g., no tenured positions in relevant fields) and are criticized for cherry-picking evidence or ignoring context. Ehrman notes they’re “as likely to get a teaching job… as a six-day creationist is likely to land in a bona fide department of biology.”  Even among them, Price admits his view opposes the “majority of scholars.” [/color]

[b]Effectively all relevant experts affirm Jesus existed historically. The debate isn’t “Did he?”—it’s “What did he say and do?” [/b][/quote]

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