Were told they were hand picked by jesus to witness his wondrous deeds, learn his sublime teachings, and take the good news of his kingdom to the ends of the earth. See joseph holden and norman geisler, the popular handbook of archaeology and the bible 20. Biblical figures that are identified in artifacts of questionable authenticity, for example the jehoash inscription and the bullae of baruch ben neriah, or who are mentioned in ancient but noncontemporary documents, such as david and balaam,n 1 are excluded from this list. One instance where the biblical evidence can be accepted without. Nonbiblical accounts of new testament events andor. Many christians believe there is one bible, but biblical canon has changed repeatedly over the centuries. All of the evidence for jesus is evidence for the apostles. In the book of acts, we discover how gods multiethnic, international church grew. Since paul reports that he regularly did manual labor to support himself, and jewish sons. Flavius josephus, the antiquities of the jews, book 18, chapter 5. Documentary evidence outside of the new testament is limited. The genealogies of the original 12 disciples of jesus were most important to the scholars of the day. For example, the book of acts never records the death of paul, which occurred in about 64, or the destruction of jerusalem, which occurred in 70.
Since both jerusalem and paul are key players in the book of acts, it seems strange that their demises would be omitted. The answer to this question is that yes, there are other books and documents that point to evidence that the apostles did indeed exist. I did not have a crisis of faith so much as i just read a few books that made. Bible history daily republished the article with consent of the author. Ancient evidence for jesus from nonchristian sources. List of biblical figures identified in extrabiblical sources. Non biblical accounts of new testament events andor people that verify the truth and accuracy of gods word. In christian theology and ecclesiology, apostles, particularly the twelve apostles were the. These 12 men shaped christianitybut were they real. The history of the apostles does start in the books of the bible. The most detailed record of the life and death of jesus comes from the four gospels and other new testament writings. We have many other documents that were supposedly written about the same time as the bible, but were not included in our modern day bible. The new testament is the second part of the christian biblical canon, the first being the old.
Historical evidence of the apostles is scarce, and some of it contradicts core christian beliefs. These are biblical figures unambiguously identified in contemporary sources according to scholarly consensus. He gives scriptural proof that jesus is the messiah, the savior whom god. Apostle definition and meaning from popular bible dictionaries. The book of acts tells how the multiethnic, international church grew. Historical evidence for the resurrection desiring god. Lukes preoccupation with the christian community as the spiritguided bearer of the word of salvation rules out of his book detailed histories of the activity of most. The acts of the apostles, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church.
Did the apostle paul exist outside of the bible answers. A journalists personal investigation of the evidence for jesus. Even in a court room, we are left with individuals, all of whom have biases of various sorts. Jesus sends the holy spirit to empower his disciples as they carry the good news. The gospel of matthew, ascribed to the apostle matthew. Here are five books that are not included in the bible that every christian should read. Ninth, there is very good evidence that the gospels and acts were written very early. The biggest evidence of the apostles is the quick spread of christianity. In 1998, lee strobel, a reporter for the chicago tribune and a graduate of yale law school, published the case for christ.
The remainder or even all of the claims of martyred apostles do not rely upon historical or biblical evidence. Explicit references to nt books in extrabiblical documents can push this upper limit. Although there is overwhelming evidence that the new testament is an accurate and trustworthy historical document, many people are still reluctant to believe what it says unless there is also some independent, non biblical testimony that corroborates its statements. Historical evidence of the apostles is scarce, and some of it contradicts. For it is written in the book of psalms, let his habitation be made desolate, let no one dwell therein, and, let another.
A list of extrabiblical sources for the historical jesus 1. In fact, they are the best inference based on that evidence. To provide evidence against the existence of the apostles, humphreys writes. What historical evidence outside the bible do we have for. Extrabiblical historical sources corroborate biblical details. In the bible, jesus christ names 12 apostles to spread his gospel, and the. Who are the apostles in the bible and why are they.