arthra
Baha'i
I'd offer a few observations... It's true there are few records of Jesus however there are significant reasons for this..
(1) Jerusalem was destroyed around 71 CE and so not only would records of Jesus been destroyed but records of most His contemporaries..
(2) was the diaspora or exile of Jews from Judea
(3) The transformation of Jerusalem into a pagan city Aelia Capitolina after the destruction of Jerusalem mentioned above
(4) The Nazoreans or early Jewish Christians were between two powerful forces that were antagonistic to them... a. most Jews were unfriendly and hostile to them and b. Hellenistic Christians didn't trust them. The later triumph of Greek speaking Christians who feared "Judaizers" those Christians who continued Jewish customs and laws was also a factor.
(5) The original language of Jesus and His followers was Aramaic which was later translated into Koine Greek, Coptic and that translation I believe created further misunderstandings. The work of George Lamsa Aramaic scholar should be consulted.
As an overview compare say what we have of the "history" of Apollonius of Tyana and Jesus. Jesus actually has a wider base of fragments in a variety of places and various languages while Apollonius is mostly from one author Philostratus, this should tell us that there is likely more veracity than some would suggest in the story of Jesus.
I would also recommend the Jesus Seminar:
Jesus Seminar Forum - Home Page
(1) Jerusalem was destroyed around 71 CE and so not only would records of Jesus been destroyed but records of most His contemporaries..
(2) was the diaspora or exile of Jews from Judea
(3) The transformation of Jerusalem into a pagan city Aelia Capitolina after the destruction of Jerusalem mentioned above
(4) The Nazoreans or early Jewish Christians were between two powerful forces that were antagonistic to them... a. most Jews were unfriendly and hostile to them and b. Hellenistic Christians didn't trust them. The later triumph of Greek speaking Christians who feared "Judaizers" those Christians who continued Jewish customs and laws was also a factor.
(5) The original language of Jesus and His followers was Aramaic which was later translated into Koine Greek, Coptic and that translation I believe created further misunderstandings. The work of George Lamsa Aramaic scholar should be consulted.
As an overview compare say what we have of the "history" of Apollonius of Tyana and Jesus. Jesus actually has a wider base of fragments in a variety of places and various languages while Apollonius is mostly from one author Philostratus, this should tell us that there is likely more veracity than some would suggest in the story of Jesus.
I would also recommend the Jesus Seminar:
Jesus Seminar Forum - Home Page
