Is the New Testament a myth or an accurate historical document?

Is the New Testament a myth or an accurate historical document? The idea that the New Testament is a collection of embellished stories has been propagated through pop culture and universities. Many have come to believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth never really existed and the New Testament which accounts his life is fiction. Others have recognized that Jesus Christ is an actual historical figure, however they retain that the New Testament is a legend similar to Robin Hood or a historical fiction similar to Homer’s Iliad.

The first thing we must understand about the New Testament is that it is set in a time and place that is recorded in history and which still exists today. This point seems to be overlooked by many people who make the assertion that the New Testament is a fairytale or myth. Unlike for example the Book of Mormon which mentions people groups and cities which have not been found in recorded history, the New Testament puts geographical places, people groups, and political leaders on the forefront of its story and which all can be confirmed by outside non-Christians sources today. Jesus Christ was born into a Jewish family in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth and spent three years ministering and traveling Israel which was under Roman occupation. The cultural setting of the New Testament can be confirmed by history and appropriately fits within the timeline of world history.

The New Testament also mentions figures such as Caesar Augustus, Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod the Great, Herod Antipas and Herod Agrippa II, all who have been confirmed by archaeological evidence. Therefore, the New Testament cannot be compared to a Disney fairytale because it contains real people and places.

Some still have problems with Jesus Christ as a historical figure. These skeptics have made claims that Jesus Christ was not a real historical person but a composite of deities and the name Jesus was chosen several hundred years later by Constantine at the council of Nicaea. This claim is easily refuted by historical writings which exist outside the Bible. From the writings of Josephus, Tacitus, Lucian, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, Thallus, and the Talmud (all contemporary non-Christian sources), New Testament events can be confirmed. Tacitus, Thallus, Josephus and the Talmud confirm Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate at Passover time. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Jesus was believed by his disciples to have risen from dead three days later. According to the Talmud, Jewish leaders accused Jesus of practicing sorcery and being born out of adultery. This shows us that there was something unusual about his birth and the possibility of Christ actually performing miracles. Through the Roman historian and Senator Tacitus and Roman historian Suetonius, it is discovered there was a Judean sect of Christianity that spread even to Rome. Also, we learn early Christians were persecuted and martyred by Nero and other Roman leaders. Pliny the Younger also mentions the persecution of Christians in a letter he wrote to Emperor Trajan in which he seeks counsel on how to handle them. Finally through the writings of Pliny and Lucian it is revealed that early Christians denied polytheism and lived dedicated lives according to the teachings of Christ who they worshipped. Through Jewish and secular history the New Testament is confirmed to be accurate and historical.  

For some this evidence is not sufficient for them to discard their belief that the New Testament is a myth. One could easily point to the many archaeological finds which also confirm the accuracy and historical reliability of the New Testament. For example “the Pilate Inscription” is a piece of stone with the name Pontius Pilate inscribed on it. This was discovered in 1961 and confirms the New Testament figure who crucified Jesus. The Pool of Bethsaida mentioned in John 5, described as having five porches, was considered a myth until archaeologists discovered it in 1888 while digging around the Church of Saint Anne. In an ossuary, the skeletal remains of a young man have been found with a 7 inch spike nail through his heel and which contained fragments of olive wood. There are many ancient documents which talk crucifixion but this is physical evidence which confirm it. Internal evidence also confirms the reliability of the New Testament. Luke, in the book of Acts, makes reference 32 countries, 54 cities and 9 islands without even making a mistake. Classical scholar and historian Colin Hemer identifies 84 facts in the last 16 chapters of Acts which have been confirmed by historical and archaeological research.

In addition to the extra Biblical sources and archaeological evidence which confirm the New Testament, there are other ways to know that this book is not a myth or legend. The New Testament writers claimed to be eyewitness of the events they were describing. Luke said this in the introduction to his gospel,

“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.” (Luke 1:1-3)

Peter, an apostle, claimed to be a witness in Acts 2:32, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are witnesses of the fact”, in Acts 3:15 he said, “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead” and in Acts 10:39-40 he proclaimed, “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible. We are witnesses of this.”  There is no doubt that Peter claimed to be an eyewitness. In the introduction to John’s epistle he writes,

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  We write this to make our joy complete.” (1 John 1:1-3)

The point is that the New Testament writers truly believed that what they were writing and preaching was true. The skeptic might accuse these writers of simply lying, but what would motivate these men to lie? First, consider some of the things these men said, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (John), “When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Luke), “Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons believe and shudder” (James), “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”, “Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.” (Paul). These statements concerning the command to not sin, rebuke against idolatry and favoritism and living for someone else do not seem to be inventions of humans and what we know about the human nature. Also, every writer of the New Testament, with the exception of John who was exiled, was martyred for their faith. These men only had to gain death if they were lying.

Some skeptics believe Jesus Christ is a historical person but he is not divine, he was a good teacher and possibly a social activist or revolutionist but not from God. However, if we examine some of the things Jesus said, we find he is not just teaching good moral ideas but claiming salvation exclusively through him. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.” (John 14:6), "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30). Also, some statements do not present Jesus in a good light but rather a lunatic: “For My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:55), “Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst”, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9), “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell” (Matthew 5:30).
            What about the accusation that the New Testament is an embellished legend? Well, there was no time for embellishments to occur in the New Testament documents. First, they were written by eye witnesses within 30-60 years of Christ’s death. The evidence for this is that the New Testament writers make no mention of the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred in AD 70. According to history, Paul died in AD mid-60 and at the end of the book of Acts he is still living. The John Ryland Papyrus which has been dated at AD 125 is a fragment of the Gospel of John. Another important point to consider is to note that the early church fathers were quoting many of the New Testament books by AD 100. This means the originals must have been written earlier and already in circulation which does not give time for myth to develop around the historical figure of Jesus.

The New Testament contains more manuscript evidence than any other work of history; there are 25,000 New Testament manuscripts which have been found, 5,700 of these are in Greek.  Compare this to the writings of Plato which contain 7 manuscripts, Homer which contains 643, Tacitus which has 20, and Caesar which has 10.

Most Greek works contain about a 1,000 year time period from the original writing to the first copy. However, the New Testament has about a 90 year time span. Skeptics do not believe these secular documents have been corrupted yet they are inconsistent when it comes to the New Testament. Because of the amount of manuscripts which have been found and which date close or to the first century, we have a good idea what the original copies said. In conclusion, the New Testament is not a myth or legend but an historical account of the life of Christ and those who witnessed it.