>> Josephus is respected as a reliable source of History and his objective reports on Jesus are interesting. He did not find Jesus to be an ordinary man as well as the miracles.<<
Nancy, the reliability of Josephus is much disputed, as his respectability. His famous reference to Jesus at _Antiquitates Judaeorum_ 18.63, sometimes called the 'testimonium Flavianum' is especially problematic, not because of Josephus' reliability (or lack thereof), but because we can't be sure that he wrote it. An English translation of it would read:
"About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a
man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such
people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks.
He was the Messiah." (The text continues and mentions his crucifixion and,
importantly, his resurrection).
Most scholars have concluded that the passage is either a Christian forgery, or at least a heavy adaption of something that Josephus originally wrote. Note that Josephus, who was a Pharisaic Jew, could hardly have said that Jesus was the Christ, so at least that much must be a later Christian interpolation. Nor would a non-Christian be likely to say that people who are interested in the truth were taught by him; nor would a non-Christian believe in the resurrection. The text is either a complete forgery or at least heavily doctored.
Does this matter for your faith? No. You believe for other reasons. This text should be kept out of any attempt to justify your faith. It is, of course, an interesting historical example of an attempt by someone to further the cause of the truth through forgery or falsification, but that is a different matter, not at all unparalleled in human history. |
