That’s the name of an anti-Christian film by militant atheist Brian Flemming, whose Wiki page portrays a man desperately seeking the attention he missed as a child. The movie website uses familiar purple prose and pull quotes from various leftist publications. But the central bullet point seems to be the assertion that Jesus either never existed or, if he did, he was just an ethical teacher later elevated to divine status by his followers. And, not incidentally, that his followers to the present day are foolish, deluded people who have committed untold atrocities in his name.
This is pretty familiar stuff, however, to serious students. Polemic about Christians aside, so-called ‘higher criticism’ of the Biblical text has been around since the mid-nineteenth century. Originating in Germany, such scholarship is more a product of positivism and Hegelianism than a dispassionate examination of the source texts themselves. Today, we have groups like the ‘Jesus Seminar’ that purport to use higher critical methods to discern what’s really authentic in the Gospel accounts. While beloved by credulous journalists, the Jesus Seminar has been roundly criticized for its campy C-list scholars and sloppy methods.
But back to the ‘radical’ assertion that Jesus didn’t exist or that the ‘historical Jesus’ was neither divine nor a miracle worker. Actually, there’s pretty good external evidence that Jesus of Nazareth lived – and that (a) his birth was unusual, (b) he worked miracles, (c) he was tried by the authorities and crucified and (d) something unusual happened to his body after burial.
But what external sources are we talking about? Putting aside references to Jesus in Josephus, Suetonius and Tacitus, we have numerous early Jewish sources. And the Jewish sources about Jesus are, sadly, just as polemical as the early Christian preaching about the Jews. For each side in the early going gave just as good as they got, which is entirely regrettable. But from the Jewish sources – mostly Talmudic and based on near-contemporaneous materials – we find tacit admission of the list above, but with a different explanation attached. And this is where the search for the ‘historical Jesus’ gets interesting indeed. Let’s take each point in turn and review some of the sources.
Jesus’ Unusual Birth. Jewish sources admit that Joseph was not Jesus’ human father but instead state that Jesus was the illegitimate progeny of Miriam (Mary) and a Roman soldier, one Panthera. (Shabbath 104b; Mishnah Yebamoth 4.13 (Jesus is declared a mamzir (bastard); b.Sanhedrin 106a.)
Jesus’ Miracles. According to Jewish polemic, Jesus learned magic and sorcery during his sojourn in Egypt and was a deceiver. (b.Sanhedrin 107b; T.Shabbath 11.15; b.Sanhedrin 103b; b.Gittim 56h, 57a;) He lived 33 or 34 years. (b.Sanhedrin 106b).
Jesus’ Trial and Crucifixion. He was ‘hung’ on the eve of Passover because he practiced magic, was a deceiver and led Israel astray. (b.Sanhedrin 43b).
Jesus’ Body Disappeared after Burial. A lampoon of Jesus’ life called the Tol’doth Jeshu relates that his body was taken down prior to the onset of the Sabbath and buried but that a gardener, one Yehuda, removed the body from the tomb and “cast it into a ditch and let water flow over it.” The disciples then announced his resurrection when the body went missing. The Tol’doth Jeshu, written at least in part in the fifth century, weaves together early Midrashic and Talmudic sayings concerning Jesus. (Some scholars date the work from medieval times; in 1902, Samuel Krauss collected a number of Aramaic fragments of disparaging stories about Jesus and this early collection seems to indicate an early date for at least some of the Tol’doth Jeshu).
So, the fact of Jesus’ unusual birth, life and death can generally be substantiated. Interpretations vary, however.
As discussed, there was a good deal of unfortunate polemic all around. And even the pagans got in on the act. For instance, Porphyry and Celsus in the second and third centuries both ridiculed Christianity, although for different reasons: both objected to the Christians’ departure from traditional gods and good philosophy and looked askance at the Christians’ refusal to integrate themselves fully into the imperial system – which included the cult of the emperor.
But back to Mr. Flemming: guys like him are like bad weather – they’ll always be around. And when it comes to ridicule, the ancients did it so much better.
