Is it possible that Jesus didn't exist? Of course, but that's not reasonable to believe considering the numerous early, independent, Christian and non-Christian sources which all make reference to Jesus of Nazareth. Yes, that's right —there are early, non-Christian sources that mention Jesus. In this presentation, I distinguish between possible and reasonable beliefs, and then introduce five early, non-Christian sources that reference facts about Jesus.

1. B Y A D A M T A Y L O R H O W A R D
J E S U S
EVIDENCE FOR
WITHOUT THE
BIBLE

2. It’s possible that Jesus
didn’t exist. But is it
reasonable to believe?
What is possible simply deals with what could be
the case. What is reasonable deals with what you
have evidence or rationale to hold to. The
question in likelihood is never "What is possible?"
Rationality begins with possibilities, and ends
with plausibility. The question on the table for
any rational investigation is, "What is plausible?"
1

3. BELIEF
POSSIBLE
DEALS WITH THE WIDE RANGE OF THINGS
WHICH COULD BE THE CASE.
DEALS WITH THE SMALLER SCOPE OF THINGS WHICH YOU
HAVE ARGUMENTS OR EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT.
BELIEF
REASONABLE
2
3

4. Non-Christian
References to Jesus of
Nazareth

5. Pliny the Younger.
A Roman governor of the
province of Bithynia-
Pontus (modern day
Turkey).4

6. 112 AD
They affirmed the whole of their guilt, or their
error, was, that they met on a stated day before
it was light, and addressed a form of prayer to
Christ, as to a divinity, binding themselves by a
solemn oath, not for the purposes of any
wicked design, but never to commit any fraud,
theft, or adultery, never to falsify their word,
nor deny a trust when they should be called
upon to deliver it up; after which it was their
custom to separate, and then reassemble, to eat
in common a harmless meal.
5

7. Suetonius.
A Roman biographer,
who wrote an account
of Claudius, a Roman
emperor from 41 - 54
AD.
6

8. 115 AD
He banished from Rome all the Jews,
who were continually making
disturbances at the instigation of one
Chrestus.7

9. Tacitus.
A Roman historian
who wrote an account in
116 AD describing a great
fire in Rome carried out by
emperor Nero, for which
Nero blamed Christians.8

10. 116 AD
Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero
fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite
tortures on a class hated for their abominations,
called Christians by the populace. Christus, from
whom the name had its origin, suffered the
extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at
the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius
Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition,
thus checked for the moment, again broke out
not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but
even in Rome, where all things hideous and
shameful from every part of the world find their
centre and become popular.9

11. Mara Bar-Serapion.
A Syrian philosopher
who referenced Jesus
in a letter he wrote to
his son, sometime after
70 AD.
10

12. Sometime After 70 AD
What advantage did the Athenians gain from
putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague
came upon them as judgment for their crime.
What advantage did the men of Samos gain
from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their
land was covered with sand.
What advantage did the Jews gain from
executing their wise King? It was just after that
that their kingdom was abolished. God justly
avenged these three wise men: the Athenians
died of hunger; the Samians were overwhelmed
by the sea; the Jews, ruined and driven from

13. their land, live in complete dispersion. But
Socrates did not die for good; he lived on in the
teaching of Plato. Pythagoras did not die for
good; he lived on in the statue of Hera. Nor did
the wise King die for good; He lived on in the
teaching which He had given. 11

14. Josephus.
A Jewish historian,
who writes an account
titled Antiquities of the
Jews, where he makes
reference to Jesus and His
followers in 93-94 AD.
12, 13

15. 93 - 94 AD
At this time there appeared Jesus, a wise man. He
was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of people
who receive the truth with pleasure. And he
gained a following both among many Jews and
among many of Greek origin. When Pilate,
because of an accusation made by the leading
men among us, condemned him to the cross,
those who had loved him previously did not cease
to do so. And up until this very day the tribe of
Christians, named after him, has not died out. 14

16. The Jesus of early,
non-Christian sources
looks the same
as the Jesus of early,
Christian sources.15

17. It is possible that Jesus
never existed, but
given the historical
evidence, it is not
reasonable to believe.

18. N E W T E S T A M E N T S C H O L A R A N D A T H E I S T
“There is no scholar in any college or
university in the western world, who teaches
classics, ancient history, New Testament, early
Christianity —any related field, who doubts
that Jesus existed.”
Bart Ehrman
16

19. Sources:
1. Wallace, J. Warner. Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels.
Colorado Springs, CO. David C Cook, 2013. Print. 34 - 35.
2. Ehrman, Bart D. Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth. New York City, NY.
HarperCollins Publishers, 2012. Print. 51-52.
3. Ibid., 34-35.
4. Ehrman, Bart D. Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth. New York City, NY.
HarperCollins Publishers, 2012. Print. 51-52.
5. Pliny the Younger. The Letters of Pliny the Younger. Translated by William Melmoth and revised by
Frederick Charles Tindal Bosanquet. Prepared by David Reed. N.p. : n.p., n.d. Kindle edition, Kindle locations
2988-3014. EPUB
6. Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist?. 51 - 52, (see footnote 2).
7. Suetonius Tranquillus, Gaius. The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Volume 05: Claudius. Translated by
Alexander Thomson. Revised and corrected by T. Forester. N.p. : n.p., n.d. Kindle edition, Kindle location 296.
EPUB
8. Wallace, Cold-case Christianity. 197-198 (see footnote 1).
9. Tacitus, Cornelius. The Complete works of Tacitus. The Annals, The Histories, Tacitus on Germany,
Germania and Agricola, and Dialogue. Translation based on Alfred John Church and William Jackson
Brodribb. MobileReference.com, Boston, 2010. Kindle edition, Kindle location 11189. EPUB
10. Wallace, Cold-case Christianity. 198 (see footnote 1).
11. Mara Bar-Serapion, quoted in Wallace, Cold-case Christianity. print 198-199. (See footnote 1).
12. "New Testament Timeline,” ESV Bible, Crossway. Web. Accessed 13 October, 2016,
http://www.esvbible.org/resources/esv-global-study-bible/chart_40_00_nt_timeline/

20. Sources:
13. Wallace, Cold-case Christianity. 196 (see footnote 1).
14. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, quoted in Wallace, Cold-case Christianity. Print 196-197 (See footnote
1).
15. Wallace, Cold-case Christianity. 200-201 (see footnote 1)
16. Ehrman, Bart D. "The Historical Jesus DID Exist - Bart Ehrman,” YouTube. Web. Published 9 April, 2016,
Accessed 22 October, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43mDuIN5-ww

21. A D A M
T A Y L O R
H O W A R D
THINKER TEACHER APOLOGIST
Adam is a recovering hypocrite, who writes and creates material on
god's existence. he is a joyous follower of jesus, THE proud husband
of Taylor Howard, and the sometimes excited owner of a
hyper PET labrador named Florida.
www.linkedin.com/in/adamtayhoward www.facebook.com/adamtayhoward