There has been no other figure in history as debated as Jesus Christ. Though his historical existence is widely accepted, his claims to deity and his divine acts as depicted in the Holy Bible have been the center of heated discussion throughout the centuries. Is Jesus truly the Son of God, as he claims to be in the New Testament Gospels? Or is he merely one of countless charlatans claiming to be the messiah? In light of overwhelming historical evidence, I believe his claims to be true.

The Historicity of Christ

Aside from the Holy Bible, there are some significant references that speak of Christ and his ministry. These sources are decidedly anti-Christian, from factions that tried to violently suppress the spread of Christianity, which makes their mention of him very remarkable. The Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus (c. A.D. 55-120), the leading historian of his day, made mention of the death of Christ (Christus to secular historians, a common misspelling) under Pontius Pilate in a record of the burning of Rome, by Emperor Nero, in his historical work, Annals:

"But not all the relief that could come from man, not all the bounties the prince could bestow, nor all the atonements which could be presented to the gods, availed to relieve Nero from the infamy of being believed to have ordered the conflagration, the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished with the most exquisite tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also." (Annals XV, 44, excerpt taken from The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell pg 120-121)

It is interesting to note that Tacitus does not question the existence of Christ. He cites him as an historical figure in the same way he mentions Pontius Pilate. Another writing that mentions Christ as an unquestionably real person is from historian Suetonius, author of Life of Claudius 25.4:

"As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus [another misspelling], he [Claudius] expelled them from Rome."

The writer of this letter is not a Christian, but he makes reference of Christ as real and historical without question.

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