Historical Jesus · Sources · Critical reviews
Did Jesus exist? Examine the sources, follow the disagreements, and test the case for mythicism.
The Christ Before Jesus dossier
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Independent guides to Paul, the Gospels, ancient witnesses and the arguments about Jesus’s existence.
Explore the articles →Check a specific argumentFind a claim from mythicism.web.app, read it in context, and follow our response to its references.
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Three guides to the sources, the arguments and how historians weigh them.
Article The historical case for Jesus does not rest on one decisive inscription. It rests on an early and converging record: Paul's letters, people presented as Jesus's family and followers, Gospel traditions, and later Jewish and Roman corroboration.
Historical method
Article Galatians 1:19 is not an isolated slogan. Paul also distinguishes “the brothers of the Lord” from other apostles, while Josephus identifies James by the same family relationship.
Paul & Jesus's family
Article Historians do not demand modern paperwork from antiquity. They compare dated sources, dependence, provenance, incidental detail, hostile evidence, silence and alternative explanations to decide whether a person best explains the surviving record.
Historical methodHow to use this site
Read the linked sources, distinguish a reviewer’s argument from our assessment, and take disputed dates and passages seriously. The reviews directory includes favourable and mixed assessments as well as criticism.