Flavius Josephus (37-97 AD), court historian for Emperor Vespasian wrote, “And there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if indeed it is necessary to call him a man, for he was a doer of paradoxical works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure, and many Jews on the one hand and also many of the Greeks on the other he drew to himself. This man was the Christ. And when, on the accusation of some of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first loved him did not cease to do so. For he appeared to them on the third day, living again, the divine prophets having related both these things and countless other marvels about him. And even till now the tribe of Christians, so named from this man, has not gone extinct.” (Kirby)

Thomas Arnold, Professor of History at Rugby University in Oxford England states, “I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better, fuller evidence of every sort than the great signs that Christ died and rose again from the dead.”

(Mcfarland 117)

Simon Greenleaf, founder of Harvard School of Law, after thorough investigation of whether or not Christ rose from the dead states, “It is therefore impossible that [the disciples] could have persisted in affirming the truths they have narrated, had not Jesus actually risen from the dead, and had they not known this fact…The resurrection of Christ is the most verifiable fact of ancient history.” (Mcfarland 124)

Work Cited

Mcfarland, Alex. The 10 Most Common Objections To Christianity. Regal Books. Ventura California, 2007.

Kirby, Peter, 2001, Early Christian Writings, Testimonium Flavianum, 9 July 2007, <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com>

Ancient historical Christian & non Christian sources by Boyle

Extra Biblical Accounts

Daniel and the den of lions in Babylon