Did Jesus Exist?

While some historians consider Jesus to largely be a mythological and legendary entity, others”generally, though not always, Christians”consider accounts of Jesus' life to be largely, or even entirely, historical and factual in nature. Some of these historians have also suggested that one treat the existence of Jesus and the accuracy of the New Testament as distinct questions. Some notable historians have affirmed the resurrection of Jesus such as A. N. Sherwin-White, Thomas Arnold, and Michael Grant.Even outside of those who believe the Gospel accounts of Jesus to be largely historical, there are many who reject the notion that Christianity is the result of a syncretism or a new variation on the older Pagan myths. For example, the contributors to the Proceedings of the First International Congress of Mithraic Studies maintained that the only area which has any historical detail with regard to the influence of Mithraism on Christianity was in the area of art.

Some scholars argue that Jesus may never have existed outside of the mythological realm at all; in support of this claim, they cite a lack of detailed contemporary accounts of Jesus' life from sources other than Jesus' followers, insufficient physical evidence, and similarities between early Christian writings and many contemporary mythological accounts. Perhaps most prolific of these Biblical scholars disputing the historical existence of Jesus is the professor of German George Albert Wells. However, currently the position that Jesus never existed is a minority view among scholars [6].
[edit]Jesus and syncretismThe existence of Gnosticism and various mystery religions with similarities to Christianity has led the mythological school to suggest that Christianity was strongly influenced by these, essentially building a mystery religion on the foundation of a Judaic tradition (syncretism). This would have included linking the two through Jesus' attempts to fulfill Old Testament prophecies. More generally, it would have included mythologizing a Jewish leader into a Son of God, and a representative of wisdom and knowledge.Some of the most well-known early adherents of the mythological school include Voltaire, Friedrich Engels, and David Strauss (1808-1874), who was the most intellectually influential early mythologist. Strauss accepted that Jesus had existed, but believed the miraculous aspects of the Gospel accounts to be mythical. According to the Slovenian scholar Anton Strle, Nietzsche lost his faith in Christianity as a result of reading Strauss' book Leben Jesu. Another important mythologist was Paul-Louis Couchoud (1879-1959), a philosopher and a consistent defender of the thesis that Jesus did not exist.