Did Jesus even exist?

Eli: Did Jesus even exist, or was he made up?

Eli: Fair question. The main accounts of his life are Christian writings, so outside voices matter.

Eli: Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote about Jesus around AD 93.

Eli: He names Jesus's brother James, and scholars largely accept that passage.

Eli: Tacitus, a Roman historian, is another non-Christian source.

Eli: Many scholars apply the criterion of embarrassment, and widely accept that Pontius Pilate ordered his crucifixion.

Eli: What this doesn't settle: miracles and the resurrection are widely treated as matters of faith or theology.

Eli: Still, the idea he was invented has had no support in critical studies for over a century.

Eli: Here's what the Bible's letter called 2 Peter says.

Eli: For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

Eli: If you're curious, read a Gospel, an early account of his life, with an open mind.

Eli: Or ask a Christian friend, or a church.