Jesus Christ: Lord or Literature?

In modern discussions of Jesus Christ there are two options that most commonly present themselves as the true identity of this most famous person in history. Either He is God, the being He proclaimed himself to be, or He never said that, and His claims and miracles are a myth that developed after He died. The skeptic’s hypothesis is debunked below with ten good reasons to assume that the Gospels, and especially Jesus’ claims of divinity, are history and not myth.

1. The Early Dating: The gospels were written far too early for a myth to have developed about Jesus. Historians typically argue that no myth can develop where eyewitnesses are still alive to refute it. Textual criticism and scholarship (both Christian and non-Christian) places the first gospel, Mark, 20-30 years after Jesus’ death.

2. The Gospels’ Non-Mythic Style: The Gospel’s are written in a sober eyewitness style that does not resemble myths of the time. They do not rely on hearsay, lavish travel tales, gross exaggerations, nor do they contain internal contradictions within themselves or secular history. Myths to contrast are the Gospel of Peter (125 A.D.) and the tales of the Greek wonder-worker Apollonius of Tyan (220 A.D).

3. Subtle Eyewitness Details: The gospels contain many details that do not aid the stories they tell, but make sense to include if they were the offhand comment of an eyewitness (John 8:6).

4. The Corroboration of Paul: Once an enemy of the Church, the apostle Paul provides evidence of Jesus’ divinity and resurrection from the earliest beginnings of Christianity. Scholars date the creed in Corinthians 5-10 years after Jesus’ death. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8) (Galatians 1:11-24). If this early testimony were false then eyewitnesses would have refuted it.

5. Absence of Non-Mythic Accounts: If His divinity was a legend, then there would be some evidence of a merely mortal Jesus. Instead, all early testimony of Christ from the first few centuries either affirms he is fully God and fully man or simply God. There are no accounts of a mortal Jesus during the first 300 years of Christian history. The scenario of a mortal being elevated to Godhood by legend is more comparable to Hercules, the historical prince of Thebes, who became the Hercules of Greek mythology.

6. Absence of 2nd Century Anachronisms: In other words, the Gospel writers were Jews who were familiar with Jerusalem before it was destroyed in 70 A.D. (Mark 11:1, John 19:13). This means that the gospels were written during the first century by the authors whose names the Gospels bear. Further proof of first century authorship includes the fact that the Gospels lack Jesus speaking of second century problems in the Church like circumcision and Hellenistic vs. Diaspora Jews.

7. Mythic Distinction: The writers themselves make a distinction between myths and folktales and explicitly say they are not that (2 Peter 1:16, John 19:35).

8. External Evidence: Hostile and indifferent witnesses testify that the early Christians believed Jesus to be divine. Examples include Lucian of Samosata, Celsus, Josephus, and Pliny the Younger (111 A.D.)

9. Cover-up Test: The gospels contain embarrassing details that less trustworthy authors would have left out (Matthew 20:20-24, Mark 14:37). Especially important is Mark 16:1-13 and the other accounts of women finding Jesus’ empty tomb. A mythmaker would have known that the testimony of women in ancient Palestine was practically worthless!

10. Historical Genre: The Gospels are very historical in nature and set firmly in 1st century Palestine. Myths are set in "once upon a time" and have no historical underpinnings (Luke 1:1-4, CCC 423).

The Bottom Line: The idea that Jesus never claimed He was divine but that it was a myth, or something other people wrote into the bible, is without basis or fact. The Gospels were written too early to be corrupted by myth, and they bear the unmistakable marks of historical, thorough, sober, eyewitness authorship. Moreover, Jesus’ claims of divinity are supported by Paul and non-Christians like Pliny the Younger who mocked roman peasants who chanted to Jesus "as if to a God." In the end it comes down to this: Jesus was one of the wisest men of all time, and He claimed He was/is the one true God.

Lee Strobel – The Case For Christ

Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli – The Handbook of Christian Apologetics

Back to The Refutation Station

|Home|Life Is...|Pictures|Calendar|Parents|Extras|Contact Us|

Last updated on Tuesday, May 31, 2005

The Vatican

Diocese of Phoenix

College LIFE

ALIVE!

LifeTeen.org