Did Jesus Exist?

March 15, 2012
The short answer is yes. But Ehrman, who's written much on early Christian history and literature (e.g., Misquoting Jesus, 2005), aims to show why historians say yes with such assurance, especially in the face of skeptics declaring that Jesus is the figment of an aggressive first-century sect. He opens with an introduction to those skepticsmythicists, he calls themthat emphasizes their inadequacies as historians, embarrassingly blatant in the factual errors riddling their writings. In the book's second part, he refutes the mythicists' characteristic claims and suppositions. Meanwhile, he shows how empirical historians examine the evidence to conclude that Jesus almost certainly existed. He concludes with an account of who Jesus was historically, namely, an apocalyptic prophet. Finally, those who do not advocate belief in Jesus might be more successful, he says, if they emphasized the discrepancies between the historical Jesus and Jesus as modern Christianity represents him rather than harping on his nonexistence. As engrossing a rigorously nontheological work about Jesus as you're ever likely to encounter.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)