How We Know Jesus and the Early Church Existed #TMBH

How do we know things about the distant past? How do we know details about the lives of the most famous historical figures? What about Jesus? Outside of the Bible, how do we know anything about Jesus or the early Church?

In this episode, I talk about how studying the ancient past works, and then I take a look at a bunch of writers who mentioned details about Jesus and early Christianity in the first and second centuries. I also compare the amount of documentation that exists to confirm details about the lives of ultra-famous Greek and Roman figures with the amount of documentation that exists to confirm details about Jesus and the Church. In addition, we’ll consider some of the common criticisms of the reliable historicity of Jesus.

In just 30 lousy minutes, you can learn about history, the Bible, Jesus, Caesar, and why there’s every reason to believe that Jesus existed, did remarkable things, gained a following, was executed, and then was the object of worship for a new religion immediately after his life and death.

This is the full, uninterrupted 30 minute version of the three part series also published on this channel.

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Matt Whitman

Matt Whitman believes in God and thinks things are funny. He was raised in Fort Collins, Colorado before moving to Chicago where he graduated from Trinity College and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He met his wife Camilla on his first day of college in his first class. They’ve got three kids together and now live in the mountains of beautiful western Wyoming where Matt works as the Senior Pastor of the Lander Evangelical Free Church. Matt’s a teach-straight-through-books-of-the-Bible kind of guy and uses his appreciation of history, humor, culture, and narrative to help people understand God’s Word. In addition to church and family, Matt throws a lot of time at filmmaking. He writes, acts, and directs and also hosts a YouTube program called The Ten Minute Bible Hour in which he teaches books of the Bible in a tight, informative, and funny format.

Matt is the editor and co-author of the book Putting God in His Place: Exalting God in the iCulture published by Nextstep Resources. In addition to writing and film, he enjoys rock music, competitive team sports, and travel. Connect with him on Twitter @MattWhitmanTMBH.

Latest posts by Matt Whitman (see all)

• Which of These Study Bibles Makes the Most Sense for You? (Review of Popular Study Bibles) - January 2, 2024
• Why do men think about the Roman Empire so much? - October 6, 2023
• Why Is Sound of Freedom Succeeding? - July 19, 2023