Is there any historic proof that Jesus existed?

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Is there any historic proof that Jesus existed? I'm not talking about the god/man that the bible makes him out to be. Was there ever a man named Jesus? Was he possibly just completely made up? Or was he a normal person and all his powers and legacy were completely made up (by Paul perhaps)?

Anyhow, I'm looking for historic proof here. Sorry, but I don't consider the bible as proof that Jesus existed.

There is no hard evidence that Moses or Abraham existed either. But Jews have existed for 3000 years and stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses run in the family.

ruveyn

Maybe in the same sense that there as been an "Odin", some guy who got the religion going.

I believe the earliest references to Jesus that have been found date to about 60 years later, but nothing contemporary to Jesus...

There's also no historical evidence that Hebrews were ever enslaved in Egypt, which is odd, because at the time Egypt was known for keeping meticulous records of everything.

Even later - Tacitus make the first mention of man called Jesus when he wrote about the prosecution of Christians under Nero. A very few lines written about 120 AD, so roughly 60 years after the Neroian prosecution. There are also some line with Josephus, but it not clear they are really Josephus' writing or added later. Suetonius and Plinus the Younger do only refer to the existence of a sect with a name "Christians" (both later).

Al together only a very few lines. No known record of the time when Jesus supposed to lived, the reign of Augustus and Tiberius.

There is no proof.

Jesus was (when he was alive) what Baha'u'llah is today. Christians were considered an offshoot of Judaism. I doubt anyone outside the geographical area known as Palestine were bothered about his existence. Similarily, Baha'is are considered (by many) as a heretical offshoot of Shi'a Islam, and awareness of the religion outside Iran is very low.

I even would be surprised if inside this area a lot bothered: There were a lot of preachers around this time and Rome saw the religious movements and sects with assumingly with a mixture of certain mistrust and disinterest. The writings of Tacitus regarding the Jewish faith when he mentions the Jewish War prevails a incomprehension in respect of the religious world of Jews.

But there are also no Jewish sources about Jesus of this time, so it is to assume that at least the Jewish elite did not care about the numerous preachers a lot.

There is compelling evidence that a man named Yeshua existed.

There is no evidence that miraculous events that the Bible attributes to Yeshua happened.

There evidently were records of Pontius Pilate...so some of the characters were there.

I've been trying to find Josephus' writings for years. He wrote about the Jewish revolt, and if I remember correctly, was a good friend of Nero (and a slippery little @#$ that always picked the winning side...

"Yeshua" was a common name in this time.

http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/JOSEPHUS.HTM

BTW: He meet only Vespasian (Suetonius, Vespasian, V/6).

Yes! There is. I found these tidbits of information that says it all very well:

"The "proof" for the existence of Christ can be found in three main sources. The argument for the existence of Jesus is strengthened because the person of Jesus Christ is mentioned by independent Christian, Jewish, and Roman sources. Obviously the person of Jesus is mentioned quite thoroughly in the New Testament and other early Christian writings but Jesus is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus. The fact that Josephus, a practicing Jew and a man who was not actively involved Christian circles and not part of the early church mentions the existence of Jesus of Nazareth in his writings definitely gives credence to the argument for the existence of Jesus Christ. In turn, another of the most credible arguments for the existence of Jesus Christ are the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus. Tacitus was a Roman historian who also mentioned the existence of the crucifixion of Jesus in his writings. In turn, the writings of Tacitus are viewed by historians as crucial to not only understanding early Middle Eastern history but also what we know of early Germanic tribes in Europe. In essence, while the divinity of Jesus is not something that can be proven historically, the historical community is quite sure that a person named Jesus did live in the Middle East two thousand years ago and can look to independent historical sources to strengthen their argument." http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/33097

I always look up the straight dope. Its always interesting, and always amusing.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/rea ... d-of-turin

Y'shua (Jesus) is a fairly common name in Hebrew and Aramaic. Whether Y'shua the son of a Virgin existed is highly debatable.

If he did exist we know for sure he is Jewish: Consider:

1 He lived at home until he was 33.
2 He went into his father's business
3 He believed his mother was a Virgin
4 His mother believed he was God.

ruveyn

The lines of Josephus are not considered as proven authentic. There are some uncertainties regarding his style.



Tacitus lived nearly 100 years after Jesus. His writing are an important source for the history of the early Caesars, but less important for the Middle East. He only mentions the Middle East in respect of Roman Wars.



His writings regarding the early Germanic Tribes are more a critic on the Roman society than a reliable source of the early Germanic Tribes



What remains is that there was likely a Jewish guy how was called Jesus and has been crucified by the Romans. Perhaps there were 100's or even 1000's of this kind around in this time.

Josephus wrote a very long history concerning the Roman war against the Jews in 66. In his long book, there is a brief mention of Jesus' brother James, and that is about it. There are long descriptions of the Essenes, Pharisees, Saducees, also followers of John the Baptist, but nothing about the Christians.

Suetonius writes briefly about the persecution of Christians (whom he considers to have a horrible religion) in Rome.

I don't know what sort of records governments kept regarding the people within their jurisdictions. Apparently there were censuses, and people were required to enroll in the census for purposes of taxation. I wonder if any of the Roman census records would still be available. In the USA, you can look up census records dating back to 1790. I don't know if there were any censuses conducted during our colonial period--possibly not--although there should be birth, marriage, death and property records, and possibly military records.