Apologies if this is asked a lot, just been on my mind the last few days Is there decent evidence one way or the other? Is it likely that Jesus Christ was an actually living breathing person or is it likely he was made from myth Thanks
There is a lot of information on this in the FAQ if you do a quick search.
Note: The sources on the bottom I did not compile/translate/whatever. It was ripped from a former AH post of which I don't still have the link to.
We are rather certain. Let's start off with the Bible. The Bible is an acceptable source. It's not a great source, large parts of it are obviously impossible (unless Jesus strapped on some really long stilts without anybody on the boat noticing), but it is nonetheless a biography of the man that we must treat as a historical document, as historians have treated many other documents with overt fantastical elements that nonetheless contain important information. There is a reason Biblical Scholars are actually well respected academics, whatever r/atheismrebooted might have you believe, and that reason is an incredible amount of study in the skill of textual analysis, a rock solid understanding of the historiography of the period, and usually skill in relevant ancient Greek, Hebrew and Latin, all of which allow for the Bible to be placed in the context of other information, or have information drawn from it through textual analysis and the tools of historiography.
Galatians almost certainly dates from 48-57 CE, with the general date given being around 50 CE. (It's authentic to Paul, and takes place after a certain historical event having to do with North and South Galatia in 47 CE, but before Paul's imprisonment in roughly 58 CE). (The 47 CE date, for what it's worth, was established by Harnack, who wrote in the 1800s and early 1900s, and died in 1930. It is seen as too early by some, so let's say and earliest date of 50 CE) 2 Cor was probably written in either the fall or the spring of 55 CE. (The dating of this one is more complicated and requires knowledge of evidence for Paul's travels around this time and his relationship with the Corinthian church). In these letters, Paul discusses how, prior to his conversion, he prosecuted Christians. Specifically, Gal 1:13-14 (NSRV translation, which I consider the best) has this to say about Paul's former life:
13 You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.
(The context here being that Paul is an anti-Judaizer so he's railing against his prior obsession with the "traditions of my ancestors", the Jews, blablabla theology blablabla it's complicated)
What does this tell us? One, that Paul admits that in his "prior life" to persecuting Christians. So that tells us the church is already well alive by at least 45 CE. So either there really was a man named Jesus, or all of these people are worshipping a man who never existed but is claimed to have existed by a conspiracy of his followers, and almost every single member of the church--except those under the age of 11-15-ish--would have been old enough to be contemporaneous with Jesus himself. As in, a church was already founded and growing based on the claims that a dude once existed and everyone who wasn't a child could have lived at the same time, not stories.
There is a very different standard of proof required for "I don't think a sky-god existed" and "I don't think that people actually met a normal human that in the later gospels was imbued with a higher Christology that gave him more supernatural powers and miracles than he had in Mark."
To recap:
Paul is saying, effectively, "hey before I could even stand to deal with Christians I had heard of you guys." That's pretty good evidence that there was an early Jesus movement, given how soon after Jesus' death the Pauline epistles were written
In 2 Cor, Paul claims to be persecuted by (other, non-Christian) Jews, in multiple cities. Again, evidence of a thriving church--you cannot persecute that of which you do not know
All the Gospels were written within 75 to 85 years of his death. For Jesus not to have existed, a nucleus of people had to have conspired together. They created the rough outline of Jesus' life (his mother and father, his travels, his teachings, his entry into Jerusalem, his death). They then spread themselves out and told the Jesus story to others, "conveniently" mentioning that he had died and couldn't be reached for questions.
Now, for more sources:
Titus Flavius Josephus Born: 37 AD Died: 100 AD
Antiquities Book_XVIII Chapter_3
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king [Agrippa], desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a sanhedrim without his consent.[24] Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him, when he had ruled but three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damneus, high priest.
Cornelius Tacitus Born: 56 AD Died: 117 AD
But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.
Pliny The Younger Born: 61 AD Died: 112 AD
Some among those who were accused by a witness in person at first confessed themselves Christians, but immediately after denied it; the rest owned indeed that they had been of that number formerly, but had now (some above three, others more, and a few above twenty years ago) renounced that error. They all worshipped your statue and the images of the gods, uttering imprecations at the same time against the name of Christ. They affirmed the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they met on a stated day before it was light, and addressed a form of prayer to Christ, as to a divinity, binding themselves by a solemn oath, not for the purposes of any wicked design, but never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble, to eat in common a harmless meal. From this custom, however, they desisted after the publication of my edict, by which, according to your commands, I forbade the meeting of any assemblies. After receiving this account, I judged it so much the more necessary to endeavor to extort the real truth, by putting two female slaves to the torture, who were said to officiate' in their religious rites: but all I could discover was evidence of an absurd and extravagant superstition.
(cont.)
A small follow up concerning some sources. How credible is the work "Zealot" by Reza Aslan? If I were to read it would that be a good overview or it deviates from modern scholarship?