We can get the NT Jesus out of secular sources

Eklypised

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We can pretty much get what Jesus did, how he died, what his disciples said about him after he died from secular sources.

Lucian of Samosata
The Talmud
Pliny the Younger
Tacitus
Suetonius
Celsus, the Platonist philosopher, considered Jesus to be a magician who made exorbitant claims
Mara bar Serapion
Thallus
Julius Africanus who writesb about Phlegon
Hadrian
the Toledoth Jesu
guess we can put Josephus here too

If you put it all together you can gather this about Jesus from non-Christian sources:

Jesus existed and founded the Christian sect.
He gained disciples from among both Jews and greeks.
He was tried and executed by crucifixion during the reign of Tiberius under the governorship of Pontius Pilate, some of the leading Jews apparently helping to gain his condemnation.
He was buried and his tomb was later found empty, but the body had not be stolen or moved
His followers reported various supernatural things about him, including that he was seen alive the third day after the crucifixion and that some thought he was the Christ/Messiah.

The Christian sect was still growing in the early 2nd century
 

anna ~ grace

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We can pretty much get what Jesus did, how he died, what his disciples said about him after he died from secular sources.

Lucian of Samosata
The Talmud
Pliny the Younger
Tacitus
Suetonius
Celsus, the Platonist philosopher, considered Jesus to be a magician who made exorbitant claims
Mara bar Serapion
Thallus
Julius Africanus who writesb about Phlegon
Hadrian
the Toledoth Jesu
guess we can put Josephus here too

If you put it all together you can gather this about Jesus from non-Christian sources:

Jesus existed and founded the Christian sect.
He gained disciples from among both Jews and greeks.
He was tried and executed by crucifixion during the reign of Tiberius under the governorship of Pontius Pilate, some of the leading Jews apparently helping to gain his condemnation.
He was buried and his tomb was later found empty, but the body had not be stolen or moved
His followers reported various supernatural things about him, including that he was seen alive the third day after the crucifixion and that some thought he was the Christ/Messiah.

The Christian sect was still growing in the early 2nd century
That's extremely useful, thank you!
 
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redleghunter

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We can pretty much get what Jesus did, how he died, what his disciples said about him after he died from secular sources.

Lucian of Samosata
The Talmud
Pliny the Younger
Tacitus
Suetonius
Celsus, the Platonist philosopher, considered Jesus to be a magician who made exorbitant claims
Mara bar Serapion
Thallus
Julius Africanus who writesb about Phlegon
Hadrian
the Toledoth Jesu
guess we can put Josephus here too

If you put it all together you can gather this about Jesus from non-Christian sources:

Jesus existed and founded the Christian sect.
He gained disciples from among both Jews and greeks.
He was tried and executed by crucifixion during the reign of Tiberius under the governorship of Pontius Pilate, some of the leading Jews apparently helping to gain his condemnation.
He was buried and his tomb was later found empty, but the body had not be stolen or moved
His followers reported various supernatural things about him, including that he was seen alive the third day after the crucifixion and that some thought he was the Christ/Messiah.

The Christian sect was still growing in the early 2nd century
Good research. It would help your argument by providing quotes from the actual sources.
 
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RDKirk

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Most scholars (both Christian and non Christians) accept that their was a historical Jesus.

Use the same elements of information they use to determine the existence of any other ancient figure, they have no choice. If the extant ancient documentation of a historical Jesus is insufficient to indicate His existence, then most other ancient historical figures also never existed either.
 
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Eklypised

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I keep getting a reply from a guy that keeps saying it’s just substantial claims. That’s all he says when I provide some kind of evidence. He keeps asking to substantiate the claims are true. That’s kind of impossible thought ain’t it?
 
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anna ~ grace

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I keep getting a reply from a guy that keeps saying it’s just substantial claims. That’s all he says when I provide some kind of evidence. He keeps asking to substantiate the claims are true. That’s kind of impossible thought ain’t it?
Empty tomb, for one.
 
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Resha Caner

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I keep getting a reply from a guy that keeps saying it’s just substantial claims. That’s all he says when I provide some kind of evidence. He keeps asking to substantiate the claims are true. That’s kind of impossible thought ain’t it?

Typically, yes, it's impossible. In my experience such people aren't really asking a question. They're making a statement that they refuse to believe Jesus was historical. I have an M.A. in history, and I can tell you these people also don't understand historical method.
 
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Francis Drake

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I keep getting a reply from a guy that keeps saying it’s just substantial claims. That’s all he says when I provide some kind of evidence. He keeps asking to substantiate the claims are true. That’s kind of impossible thought ain’t it?

Just walk away from people like that. They do not want to be confronted by the truth.
Don't forget that when Jesus ministered on earth, there were those who watched and were so incensed at what he did, they killed him.
If that happened in real time, describing it as history 2000 years later is not going to change people who want to keep their prejudices.
 
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