Jesus did not Exist

Shocking, right!? This is the assertion that I have heard a number of atheists that are in Kenya confidently state in public. Before I can go further into the subject I wish first to affirm my admiration for the attitude in the atheists in our country. Majority of our country seeks to crucify them. I recently watched a video of an atheist being chased by police and church faithful in western Kenya for stating that God is a figment of their imagination. They have been labelled as witches and demon possessed. There are other evidences in Kenya that suggests that this country is largely not ready to accommodate atheism and yet the atheists are still fighting for their recognition despite the fierce opposition. Therefore, I applaud their resilience (I know I sound like a liberal but I entreat your indulgence).

On the other hand, I have heard some of the atheists (mostly the prominent ones in Kenya) state that Jesus did not exist as one of their reasons for their belief in the non- existence of God. That is honestly the most outrageous, uneducated and illogical conclusion any man in their right mind can ever make. My greatest disappointment is that most of the atheists boast of being learned, enlightened and having science on their side yet this conclusion is the most unreasoned that any man can make in their right mind. I know I have attacked the man instead of the ideology but that unfortunately, is the state of the matter. My plea therefore, is to encourage the atheist to dig deeper; investigate the bible in line with history and see if it has added or subtracted anything.

The Bible is not just a fable that has been passed on through generations. “The Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents written down by EYEWITNESSES during the life time of other EYEWITNESSES…” (Baucham, 2014).

That which was from the beginning, which WE HAVE HEARD, which WE HAVE SEEN WITH OUR EYES, which WE HAVE LOOKED UPON, and OUR  HANDS HAVE HANDLED, concerning the word of life – 1 John 1:1.

That which WE HAVE SEEN and HEARD we declare to you… - 1 John 1:3.

These are the words of one of Jesus’ disciple called John. He does not say like the spiritualists that he had a supernatural experience or an encounter or any other vague form of experience but he talks about a Jesus that he has seen with his physical eyes and heard with his physical ears and also touched with his physical hands. The atheist could say, “I also can write something like that and tell everyone the same thing.” Then I will ask; how do we know that Socrates (470–399 BC), Plato (427-347 BC), Aristotle (384-322 BC), Immanuel Kant (1724-18040), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) ETC existed? Isn’t it through their writing and also other writings that talked about them? 

SOCRATES

PLATO

ARISTOTLE

KANT

NIETZSCHE

Someone like Socrates lived and his writings do not exist as of now (if he wrote any) but he is the center of Plato’s “Socratic dialogues”. The “Socratic dialogues” is proof to us that Socrates must have existed. Therefore, if we believe Socrates existed because of him being spoken of in the dialogues then why shouldn’t we believe the stories of Jesus yet more copies of His story exist than any other ancient text. Moreover, the bible is not the only document that recorded of Jesus; Tacitus (56-120 AD), a Roman senator and historian, mentions of the crucifixion of Jesus in "the annals of imperial Rome". 

TACITUS

Suetonius (died 126 AD) another Roman historian mentioned Christ in one of his historical accounts and Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD), a Jewish historian also describes Jesus briefly in his “Jewish Antiquities”. 

JOSEPHUS

SUETONIUS

Therefore, not only does the Bible testify that Jesus is real but also historians; men who have been trained to write down history as they had seen it or as their investigations revealed. It is therefore, illogical for any man to say Jesus did not exist. It is also important to note that none of the writers had Christian biases. They were all either Romans or Jews that were unconverted to Christianity. I have now appealed to the mind; let me now appeal to your emotions. 

John, who is quoted above, writing a statement like this, is declaring a death sentence on himself in his day. It was a time when persecution was rampant. John when he was put in a pot of boiling oil would have at one point have given up and said this is not worth it, then he would have confessed to the soldiers that he and the other disciples conspired to lie to the world that Jesus did not actually resurrect but they stole his body and hid it somewhere. Moreover, not only him but all the disciple of Jesus would have done the same thing when they were flogged, chased from city to city, skinned alive etc. The opposite happened, they were willing to die for their faith no matter how painful the process would have been and don’t you dare say these might not be historical since they have been recorded by other historians like Eusebius (263-339 AD). 

History cannot be scientifically proven since it cannot be observable, measurable or repeatable, we can only know about history through the writings passed over like the Bible which collaborates with other writings in terms of history and not only that but also archaeological evidences which also acknowledges that the Bible is reliable.

The atheist might also say they were just religious fanatics like the Al Shabaab who are willing to kill for their faith. However, the difference is this that the disciples’ faith was willing to be thrown into anything because of the conviction they had no matter how painful or humiliating it would be unlike Al Shabaab, who from point of strength (or fear), force everyone to conform. The former are content in their vulnerability (a state in which no human is ever content unless something bigger than themselves is at stake) while the latter is from a point of power in which it is easier to be content in.    

Jesus Christ of Nazareth did undoubtedly exist.

 Reference

Baucham V. (2014). why I believe the Bible. Website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15EoR6O-rUA