Did jesus actually exist?

I've seen Zeitgeist The Movie about 5 times. You can say the movie is not credible & misleading but I'm currenty not sure what to believe concerning whether Jesus actually lived on earth or if hes truely based in the sun as the film claims.

'I would also point out that if we make the assumption that all events that ever occured in the Roman Empire can still be found in the remaining records, we are assuming quite a lot! '

I see your point, but you're also underestimating Roman record keeping. Much of our knowledge of ancient history-Roman and otherwise-comes from Roman historians, who wrote volumes on thousands of events and people. And the Romans had been keeping extensive legal records since the 5th century BC. Almost 500 years later, in Judea, we should expect to find something about Jesus trial, if it was as big a deal as the Gospels make it out to be. We even know about events that happened while Pontius Pilate was governor...but nothing on Jesus. Very strange.

Jesus DOES exist and will forevermore exist throught out eternity.

it depends on who you ask.

Yes, absolutely.

Do you ever read the bible?

It will tell you the whole story, and there are many versions out there that are very easy to read and understand. Once you tap into the Holy spirit, you will never be the same again. He is very worth the effort.

Sorry, had to take the link out of your question so it doesn't get locked.

The man Jesus did exist yes. and he did go around preaching his religion and teaching people etc.
Whether or not he was the son of God is debatable and depends on your religious standpoint.

I just watched the video you put up and I can tell you beyond a shadow of doubt that the information on it is not of God, but of those who want to confuse and mislead those who are searching for Christ.

Jesus is and was a real being the Son (not the Sun) of God. Jesus was truly born of a virgin, Mary. Jesus taught the truth about God and how to follow Him. Jesus died to show us the way to the Father, and to save us from our sins.

What you watch and put up for us to see is very, very dangerous and evil.. Please be very careful.

If you desire to know Jesus read the Bible and pray. God will send you the Holy Spirit to teach you. But whatever you do stay away from that site and others like it cause it will only lead to death, eternally.

YES ! - He is the same today as yesterday and will be tomorrow - hope you take the time to get to know Him and enjoy the promise of eternal life with Him !!

You can't prove a negative no one was around to actually meet him. It's like asking if a tree falls in the forest and none is around to hear it does it make a sound. I watched Zeitgeist too, and yes lot's of the arguments are valid but that doesn't disprove the bible. It's all about faith, if you could prove it was real then what would be the point of it all? It's the same with the theory of evolution sure it makes more sense than creationism until you look at the fossil records and see that there are no transitional fossil's showing canines evolving into whales or dinosaurs into birds etc. Aside from all that when your whole reality is based upon electrical and chemical impulses interpreted through you brain whose to even say the world truly exists. We could be living in the Matrix. 'In the beginning the universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry and is widely regarded as a bad move.' Douglas Adams (The hitchikers guide to the galaxy)

You can't prove a negative no one was around to actually meet him. It's like asking if a tree falls in the forest and none is around to hear it does it make a sound. I watched Zeitgeist too, and yes lot's of the arguments are valid but that doesn't disprove the bible. It's all about faith, if you could prove it was real then what would be the point of it all? It's the same with the theory of evolution sure it makes more sense than creationism until you look at the fossil records and see that there are no transitional fossil's showing canines evolving into whales or dinosaurs into birds etc. Aside from all that when your whole reality is based upon electrical and chemical impulses interpreted through you brain whose to even say the world truly exists. We could be living in the Matrix. 'In the beginning the universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry and is widely regarded as a bad move.' Douglas Adams (The hitchikers guide to the galaxy)

Definitely and as the Bible tell us, there will come a day when every knee shall bow before Him - including Satan...Take care !!

A person of his descriptions did in fact exist. Whether or not he does NOW is a completely different topic.

I think there may well have been a Jew of that day who started a religious sect that blended the mystery cults of the ancient world with his orthodox Jewish traditions. I do not believe that he was the son of a god or that he was divine in any way.

Jesus DID exsist, he was a real person, jsut whether or not what the christians believe of him is true or not...well...y don't you ask the christians?

We just don't know, actually. This article in Wikipedia gives a very good overview of the historical evidence and debate on Jesus existence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus#Gospels

Obviously not everything on Wikipedia is reliable, but this is very well referenced with lots of notations that can point you toward good source material.

Only the record of the Roman-Jewish historican Josephus explicity mentions a historical Jesus, and much of his original writing has been shown to have been corrupted. However, most historians agree that at least part of the text was authored by Josephus himself, although it's hard to piece together what he actually said about Jesus. I think Josephus' record is the most compelling arguement that Jesus really did exist.

As for the case that he didn't, most of the other references rely on hearsay and information passed from unknown sources, or don't actually mention Jesus himself. Also, if the trial of Jesus really did happen, it's strange that there is no surviving Roman legal document or Jewish writing which mentions it (far less significant but similar events do have records from both groups).

Hopefully someday, more compelling evidence will emerge one way or the other. It is obviously a very significant question in history.

Speaking as an archaeology/history trained student, who is also a Christian, I think that semi1900's answer is good on the facts. Thanks for the information. I would also point out that if we make the assumption that all events that ever occured in the Roman Empire can still be found in the remaining records, we are assuming quite a lot! How much of our record-keeping will still be available in 2000 years?

For most of Jesus' life he was a humble Jew of absolutely no interest to the Romans. They would not have noted anything about Him. His crucifixion was, tragically, one of thousands or even millions. I don't think that they kept records of the way they dealt with every single insurgent. Finding historical evidence of any 'non-important' person (in worldly terms) is almost impossible - it is the proverbial 'searching for a needle in a haystack'.

So if people made later written records based on good oral tradition (that goes for both the Gospels and for non-believers like Josepheus), I am happy to accept them as historical documents which give proof of the existance of Jesus.

More and more historians specializing in early Christian history are concluding that Christian history is better explained if there was no historical Jesus.

To those who are experts on the Jewish scriptures, and who are familiar with the culture s of those days, it's fairly obvious that the Gospel of Mark is an allegorical fiction about the plight of the Jewish people constructed from OT passages.

I just read thru the comments on here and my heart fells sick because of the lost thoughts. Those who think there is no Jesus and those who believe, but don't know what they believe. Thank heaven for those who are the true Christians for they will be leaders of men.

It is a sad thing. It shows us just how close our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's second coming will be. Even now it is at the door!

If our time on earth was a clock with the creation of earth and Adam starting at twelve, o'clock where we would be now is just a few seconds before it strikes twelve o'clock again. That's how close our Lord Jesus Christ's second coming is.

The lost have a very, VERY short time to find God, and give their heart to Him, before He comes. You would do well if you made the choice to seek Jesus now before it's too late. Only God knows when He will come. The Bible gives us hints as to when that might be, and we know it is very short because of what He has told us.

Pretty soon there will be no more preaching, no men/women who are God's children going out to lead the lost to Christ, no none. Why? Because probation will be closed and those who have not given their hearts to God and kept His laws will be lost eternally.

In that day the lost will come to realize that they are lost and will seek feverishly to seek Him for themselves, but there won't be any one to tell him about Jesus. They will have stopped preaching and are awaiting Jesus' second coming.

Get ready, get ready, get ready now before probation closes and you be lost through out eternity.

Yes Jesus does exist. Since before the creation of the earth He has existed.

orion, the early church father Tertullian wrote numerous apologetics arguing that Jesus was real and not the fabrication of men. He would not have done that unless even people in the 2nd century were claiming Jesus was fiction.

In other words, this is nothing new.

Well, semi1900, my point is that the records have to remain in order for us to read them. They may or may not have been written down, but then they would also have to survive the normal destructive processes of 2000 years.