DEBATE: THE HISTORICITY OF JESUS - A REAL PERSON OR NONEXISTENT? WALTER MARTIN VS MADALYN O'HAIR

Did Jesus Christ really exist on planet earth as a real, living, breathing person just like any other actual person or is he a complete fable much like Zeus or Athena, a myth that never existed at all? In a clip from a 1968 radio debate out of New York City, Walter Martin, founder of the Christian Research institute & author of the classic book, "The Kingdom of the Cults" debates world famous atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair of the American Atheist Center located in Austin, Texas. O'Hair argues that Jesus Christ never existed at all & wasn't worthy to "lick her boots" while Martin takes the position that Jesus Christ actually existed as a real human being & history can verify this.

According to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia:
"The historicity of Jesus concerns how much of what is written about Jesus of Nazareth is historically reliable. The historicity of Jesus covers a spectrum of ideas that range from "the gospels are inerrant descriptions of the life of Jesus"[1] to "the gospels provide no historical information about Jesus' life including his very existence".[2][3][4][5][6]

The majority of biblical scholars who study Early Christianity believe that the Gospels do contain some reliable information about Jesus,[7][8][9] agreeing that Jesus was a Jew who was regarded as a teacher and healer, that he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] According to traditional Christian Church teaching, the Gospels of John and Matthew were written by eyewitnesses. However, a majority of modern critical biblical scholars no longer believe this is the case.[21][22][23]

Material which refers to Jesus includes the books of the New Testament, statements from the early Church Fathers, hypothetical sources which many biblical scholars argue lie behind the New Testament, brief references in histories produced decades or centuries later by pagan and Jewish sources[24] such as Josephus, gnostic and other apocryphal documents, and early Christian creeds.[25] Many scholars believe not everything contained in the gospels to be historically reliable,[26][27][28][29][30][31] and elements whose historical authenticity is disputed include the two accounts of the nativity of Jesus, as well as the resurrection and certain details about the crucifixion.[32][33][34][35][36]

From a Christian standpoint:
Jesus Christ presents an enormous problem for the atheist. Atheists have tried to dissolve the problem by contesting the fact that Jesus ever existed. Quite apart from the mass of data in the Bible, at least nineteen celebrated authors in the first and second centuries (who shared unbeliever Bertrand Russell's atheism but were somewhat better placed to comment) record more than 100 facts about Jesus. These give details of his birth, life, teaching and death, all without the slightest hint that he was not a real historical person. These writers include the distinguished Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, Suetonius, official historian of the Roman Imperial House, Cornelius Tacitus, another eminent historian who was also Governor of Asia, and Pliny the Younger, a Roman proconsul in Bithynia in Asia Minor and "one of the world's great letter writers, whose letters have attained the status of literary classics".7 Besides hundreds of fulfilled Bible prophecies concerning Jesus, archaeological and historical evidence for Jesus, the Gospel writers paint a picture of somebody who is eminently sane, balanced and reliable --a tough, compassionate, practical man. This leaves just one alternative. Writing to people who lived in a culture in which heretical ideas about God and man and their relationship to each other were rife, Paul told them that Jesus was 'the image of the invisible God',246 that 'God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,'247 and that 'In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.'248 Elsewhere he referred to 'our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ', 249 and stated that, in the person of Jesus, God 'appeared in a body'.250 The writer of Hebrews was equally clear, and described Jesus as 'the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being'.251 These statements all confirm that when Jesus claimed, 'I and the Father are one',252 he was telling the truth.
No other option is available. If Jesus is not evil, deluded or deranged, he is exactly who Scripture declares him to be - 'the true God and eternal life'.253
Where does that leave the atheist?
Where does it leave you?

For more type "LARRY WESSELS ATHEISM" in the YOUTUBE search box. YouTube channel: CANSWERSTV.

John 14:6

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[fgfgfgfg540]

Come on people, this was a time in history where many people beside the authors of the New Testament were more than capable of writing first-hand accounts on what was going in Roman Judea at this time. Why is it that NO other competent writer known to be alive DURING the time of Jesus wrote about:

Solar eclipse on the day of crucifixion

Earthquakes on the day of crucifixion

Jesus starting a riot in the Jewish Temple

..just to name a few.

PS - Josephus' account was most likely forged.

[CAnswersTV]

@fgfgfgfg540 The old ARGUMENT FROM SILENCE approach to disbelief in the Bible & the old "most likely forged" argument when there's verifiable evidence that can be seen. Disbelief going & coming. You're most likely too far gone in your unbelieving ways & it's possible that God has turned you over to believe a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, Romans 1:22-32) but for others willing to examine proofs see our websites BIBLEQUERY ORG, HISTORYCART COM & MUSLIMHOPE COM & Lee Strobel's "Case for Christ."

[fgfgfgfg540]

I mean, I'll start by saying that this woman is definitely TOO strongspoken, considering that her knowledge of the bible is seriously limited..

But, that doesn't deny some interesting facts of the debate, most importantly that they rely on radiocarbon dating to confirm the age of these documents, yet Christians dismiss the fact that that SAME radiocarbon dating was used to refute artifacts that Christians hail as archaeological evidence ie. the Shroud of Turin.

[CAnswersTV]

@fgfgfgfg540 Just because Romanism claims that the "Shroud of Turin" is true doesn't make it so (In 1988, a controversial radiocarbon dating test was performed on small samples of the shroud. The laboratories at the University of Oxford, the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, concurred that the samples they tested dated from the Middle Ages, between 1260 and 1390). Romanism is just as false as atheism (type "LARRY WESSELS ROMAN CATHOLICISM" in YT search box).

[Biblehastheanswer]

Typical atheist argument dictating by emotions not evidence and logic - cutting off the presenter showing their flawed reasoning while calling people derogatory names. This is why you need a structured time piece for each side I think. Otherwise emotions run the show not logic - exactly what the Atheist is counting on. Another good rule is basic courtesy not calling one side or the other childish names. It's sad how many adults act like children when conversing. Good presentation.

[CAnswersTV]

@Biblehastheanswer Very good analysis. The problem here was it was an informal radio debate without the normal rules of formal debate. This radio broadcast was 3 hours long & we simply took clips on selected topics from it. O'Hair was an incredibly bitter & vicious individual (she personally slammed the door in my face at the American Atheist Center) & I saw her for years at the TV studio at Time Warner (my studio time for TV broadcasts was right after hers - we actually shared the same studio).

[thone2008]

Pliny the Younger Invented the terms "Christian" and "Catholic" and the author of 75% of Acts and many of PauLs Epistles, along with Flavius Josephus Co-Inventer of christianity

[CAnswersTV]

@ZeDingoBlag You're displaying your ignorance. This video encourages people to do some internet research but obviously you're not listening. Why don't you try typing into the web search box "LOGICAL FALLACY CARD STACKING" & see what it comes up with. The first choice that came up on our search was from "Fallacy Files" which stated, "One-Sidedness, Alias: •Card Stacking •Ignoring the Counterevidence •One-Sided Assessment •Slanting •Suppressed Evidence Type: Informal Fallacy" concerning logic.

[Onetruthrgv]

She is the perfect example of atheism.

[Onetruthrgv]

@ZeDingoBlag Yeah there is a logical fallacy called card stacking, Its more known as one sidedness