The Jesus of History
The Jesus of History
Episode 12 • Truth Isn't Afraid of Questions
Appears in this episode
On this episode, Shane interacts with statements made on a History Channel documentary about the reference to Jesus in the writings of Josephus. Some claim that the passage is a complete forgery, while others argue that the passage was mildly interpolated. So, outside the Gospels, what can we really know about Jesus from history? Do the Gospels qualify as history, or should they be set aside as works of religious propaganda?
SHOW NOTES
• For further reading on this topic, check out the following articles by Shane Rosenthal: On Faith & History, and Why Should We Believe the Bible?
• If you’d like to listen to other interviews related to this episode, check out Shane’s interview with John Dickson, author of Is Jesus History?, as well as his conversation with Daniel Boyarin, author of The Jewish Gospels. If you’d like to hear the full discussion related to Josephus, here is the complete interview with Paul Maier.
• The clips featuring Simcha Jacobovici originally appeared on this episode of The Naked Archaeologist.
• As a way of saying thanks for your gift of any size, we’ll send you a 20 page PDF copy of What is Faith? by Shane Rosenthal. You can make your gift by upgrading to a paid subscription through Substack, or by using the tip jar below. If you’d like your gift to be “tax-deductible,” click here for info about this new option.
The Jesus of History
Every episode has been exceptional, but I could not finish this one because the music distracted me from Shane's words, so that I could not concentrate. I can see using music through transitions, but using it to compete against what is being spoken, becomes counterproductive. This has been a little problem a couple of times in preceding episodes, but this episode 12 was much harder to overcome. But getting back to my initial phrase, all these episodes have been really great. I think Shane uses great creativity and superior material and does a better job than anyone else I have heard to lay out a perfectly reasoned argument as to the historicity of Jesus.