Is Jesus history?

The Evangelical Alliance Talking Jesus report for 2022 makes interesting reading. In particular, questions repeated from an earlier survey in 2015 allow us to note changes in UK beliefs.

Perhaps most striking is that those describing themselves as Christians has dropped from 58% to 48% over that period (those who describe themselves as practicing their faith is 6%). The second largest group were not Muslims or atheists but simply those preferring to declare no affiliation. This group has risen from 11% in 2015 to 26% in 2022. This suggests not so much a rise in militant opposition to religion but a decline in confidence or interest in religious faith.

One particularly notable statistic that we can engage with in this column is the attitude to Jesus as a historical person. In 2015, 61% of the UK population believed that Jesus was a real historical figure whereas in 2022. that figure has dropped to 54%. In 2015, 22% believed Jesus was a myth, but in 2022 that has risen to 28%. Even more concerning, when the age groups are broken down, the survey shows that among 18–24-year-olds only 49% believe that Jesus was a historical person.

Man or myth?

If Jesus is not taken seriously as a historical figure then how can we share the good news that He is God incarnate, the Saviour of the world? Dismissing the ethics or teachings of Jesus is one thing, but to dismiss His existence is to short cut all debate. Bertrand Russell, the atheist philosopher of a previous century wrote: ‘Historically, it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever existed at all, and if He did we do not know anything about Him.’ Such scepticism is an easy way of dismissing the entire question of Christ’s claim on our lives.

The increasing numbers doubtful that Jesus was a historical figure probably owes much to social media spreading conspiracy theories and contrarian viewpoints. But in order to address it the church needs to pay increased attention to the historical background to the New Testament. Archaeology and classical literature do not have the authority of Scripture but they do bolster our claim to be relying on historical records.

Real history

That Jesus was a real person of the First Century is affirmed even by the critics of early Christianity. The Roman historian Tacitus makes reference to the followers of Christ in AD 64. While many consider one of the passages in Josephus, the Jewish historian of the First Century, to have been tampered with there is still enough for even a sceptic to concede he refers to Jesus as a significant historical individual. Further evidence from opponents is found in the Jewish traditions compiled into the Babylonian Talmud. As Lawrence Mykytiuk, of Perdue University and writing for the Biblical Archaeology Review, puts it: ‘Jewish rabbis who did not like Jesus or His followers accused Him of being a magician and leading people astray, but they never said He didn’t exist.’

Archaeology provides material evidence – buildings, boats, coins and rings. It should not surprise us that we do not have an artefact from the time bearing the name of Jesus. Only kings and governors would have had inscriptions or coins issued bearing their names. What we do have is an ever-increasing body of material demonstrating that the New Testament writings are authentic accounts from the early First Century. Whether we are reading about roads or ships, towns or weddings, archaeological evidence shows that the four Gospels belong to the period about which they write.

The present challenge

The growing numbers who doubt the historical existence of Jesus probably do not do so because they have investigated the evidence and found it wanting. They don’t come to these conclusions because they have researched classical literature or spent time in the field of archaeology. They do so because they are breathing in the air of scepticism all around us in popular forms of media. At the very least, we need to ensure that our witness and teaching as Christians draws attention to the solid, historical evidence upon which our faith is based.