If Jesus really did all the things that are recorded in the Bible, why isn't there more information about him outside the Bible?
If Jesus really did all the things that are recorded in the Bible, why
isn’t there more information about him outside the Bible?
Thousands must have seen or somehow heard from him. Is it maybe because
the written testimonies about Jesus were burned, destroyed by the enemies
in the 1st century ? Paul persecuted the church because he taught it was a
sect, but he never heard about Jesus before his calling. That seems a bit
strange because Paul was a Pharisee in Jerusalem and then he must have
heard about a guy who claims to be the son of god.
I have already essentially answered this question under question number
nine on the question page. This question is also addressed in an article
at the web site titled The Miracles of Jesus and one titled The
Resurrection of Jesus To give a quick summary, authors from the first and
second century who were not disciples of Jesus but who mentioned him and
referred to some specific facts about him which corroborate the New
Testament accounts include Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian, as well
as Tacitus, Pliny and Seutonius, all very well-known Roman historians.
Also, some Jewish writers mention Jesus, his miracles and his
resurrection, although in derogatory terms. Other Roman historians mention
Jesus as well as the events surrounding the resurrection. One even
mentioned the period of darkness at the time of the resurrection. Specific
events which are mentioned include the crucifixion in Jesus in Jerusalem,
his resurrection, his miracles (in a general sense), the death of the
apostle James, and so forth. If you want to do some research, I suggest
Josh McDowell’s book New Evidence That Demands a Verdict and my book
Reasons for Belief: A Handbook of Christian Evidences.
There is no evidence that attempts to burn or destroy early Christian
manuscripts or the manuscripts of non-believers limited knowledge of the
works of Jesus. Paul clearly knew a lot about Jesus before he was
converted on the road to Damascus, as he was going to Damascus to
persecute the followers of Jesus. He was very well aware of the claims of
the early disciples concerning the miracles and resurrection of Jesus.
John Oakes, PhD