Instigator / Pro
7
1525
rating
23
debates
58.7%
won
Topic
#4937

Jesus Of Nazareth existed.

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
3
0
Better sources
2
0
Better legibility
1
0
Better conduct
1
0

After 1 vote and with 7 points ahead, the winner is...

SethBrown
Tags
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
3
Time for argument
One day
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
Two weeks
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
0
1500
rating
1
debates
0.0%
won
Description

Pro - Jesus existed
con - Jesus didnt exist

I feel as if I explained it decently well in the title and short description but to elaborate this is about if believing Jesus of Nazareth is real. This debate is not about the resurrection rather if he existed or not.

Round 1
Pro
#1
I would first off like to thank Ferri for accepting this debate and now ill move on into my arguements.

There are many sources that confirm Jesus of Nazareth's existence, to start ill lead with Josephus's writings in the famous Antiquities of the Jews. First we should justify that Josephus isnt a biased source, Josephus was a Jewish priest so he'd have no reason to affirm the Christian faith or Jesus since he was a blasphemer. He wrote:
There was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works—a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day
(Antiquities 18:3:3). [1]

The following passage, in which Josephus mentions Jesus and his “brother” James, firmly establishes the existence of Jesus:
Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he [Ananus] assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned
(Antiquities 20:9:1) [1]

Another reliable case comes from Publius Tacitus who is commonly regarded as one of the greatest roman historians, he was also a roman senator so it was likely he had access to roman records, he wrote in his annals:
Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.
[2]

The roman governor Pliny The Younger also wrote of Jesus in his Epistles:
They (Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food, but of an ordinary and innocent kind

I think I provided 3 rather good sources for Jesus's existence and I await your response.
sources:

Con
#2
Forfeited
Round 2
Pro
#3
I forfeit as well?
Con
#4
Forfeited
Round 3
Pro
#5
Forfeit  
Con
#6
Forfeited