Taken from the Jesus Project link:

The Jesus Project is a five-year-long investigation into the historical existence of Jesus. Initiated by R. Joseph Hoffmann, the project seeks to improve upon what Hoffmann perceives as the failures of the Jesus Seminar to determine "what can be reliably recovered about the historical figure of Jesus, his life, his teachings, and his activities, utilizing the highest standards of scientific and scholarly objectivity."[1] The initial meeting took place in Amherst, New York,[1] December 5–7, 2008, and included fifteen scholars from a variety of disciplines including Robert Price, James Tabor, Robert Eisenman, and Bruce Chilton.[2]

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/jesusproject

All of the texts listed are infinitely worth reading. The web sites are worth visiting. Among the texts listed are some authored by atheists, former devout Christians, Christians, and the pre-eminent folklorist, Alan Dundes.

As for Crossan, he is a good prose stylist.
Along with many other Christian theologians, he recognizes that the eucharist is not Judaic, that there was no Sanhedrin meeting, or trial of the sort described in the NT.

His insistence on the existence of Jesus, desperate reliance on the Q Gospel (in the sky), among other methodological weaknesses renders his argument void.

On antisemitism, NT style, he is worth reading.

John Dominic Crossan, Who Killed Jesus?: Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus

Hmmm, Farnaz finally found a historical Jesus exegete worth referencing.

To wit:

"Jesus As a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee (Paperback)

~ Mark Allan Powell

from amazon.com's reviews:

"Dr. Powell is head of the Historical Jesus section of the SBL. He not only is a New Testament scholar in his own right, he is also a respected colleague and friend of the Jesus Scholars he discusses. He not only has read their works, but he understands their positions from the inside.

In my experience, the study of the Historical Jesus is sometimes characterized by rhetoric, special pleading, and an unfruitful "us" vs. "them" attitude. While Powell is forthright about his own views when this is appropriate, he comes across as
surprisingly objective as he discusses the pros and cons of each position. This is aided by the fact that the Jesus scholars often disagree with each other - so he can just say "Wright would take issue with that", or "Crossan responds to this view
in this way."

Powell's writing style is refreshingly informal at times, and he obviously strives for clarity over the "scholar-speak" so often encountered. At the same time, he is obviously familiar with the technical concepts and not only throws the jargon around but often explains it.

The book shows unusual restraint - Powell gives the reader room to formulate his/her own conclusions, while providing insight into both the issues and the scholars themselves.

I understand that this book is used in college courses as an introduction to the subject, and I can see why. "

continued below:

From Publishers Weekly

"Anyone intrigued by the history, methodology and results of the research done in the quest for the historical Jesus should read Powell's study. In his opening chapter, Powell notes that interest in the historical Jesus began in the 1700s due to Reimarus's volume that declared Jesus to be a messiah only in a worldly, political sense. He then explains how later scholars have influenced the search for the historical Jesus.

The heart of the book lies in Powell's "snapshots" of Jesus, a sampling of the diverse portraits of the historical Jesus and of the scholars who are engaged in contemporary research, including: Jesus as social prophet (Richard A. Horsley); Jesus as charismatic Jew (Geza Vermes); Jesus as magician (Morton Smith); Jesus as Jewish sage (Ben Witherington III); and Jesus as cynic philosopher (F. Gerald Downing).

He then presents what he regards as the six key players in the current quest for the historical Jesus?the participants in the Jesus Seminar, John Dominic Crossan, Marcus J. Borg, E.P. Sanders, John P. Meier and N.T. Wright?and offers critiques of their methods and findings. Powell concludes that the goal of our search for the historical Jesus should be "the Jesus of a story, a story of which history is but a part, sometimes a shadow."

Product Description

"Essential reading for anyone interested in the historical Jesus debate, this volume offers a comprehensive and balanced account of research into the person of Jesus. "

Also, worth reading, for "believers" and others:

Jesus As a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee

Contains a rather good critique of Crossan's method, which you can read here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=IJP4DRCVaUMC&pg=PA86&lpg=PA86&dq=Crossan+controversial+q+gospel&source=bl&ots=KVFM800sWI&sig=dfCdeBiQOECRvTWaaTVRnTFLgao&hl=en&ei=EPpPS6iPNYrflAf195S6Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CC4Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Crossan%20controversial%20q%20gospel&f=false

There has been a good deal of controversy over Crossan's Q Gospel in the sky, although some of what Crossan posits re Jews of the period seems reasonable. SOME.
-------------------------------------------

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED although far from definitive.

John Dominic Crossan, Who Killed Jesus?: Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus

Here are some additional texts covering the non-existence of Jesus.

Allan Dundes (Berkeley), the brilliant folklorist is highly recommended for those interested in a folklore approach.

Holy Writ as Oral Lit: The Bible as Folklore
Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable Is the Gospel Tradition? Robert M. Price

Holy Writ as Oral Lit: The Bible as Folklore Paperback by Alan Dundes

Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism

Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists

Jesus Christ: A Pagan Myth: Evidence That Jesus Never Existed

Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism Paperback by David Mills

Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists Paperback by Dan Barker

Jesus Christ: A Pagan Myth: Evidence That Jesus Never Existed Paperback by Shirley Strutton Dalton

Once again: (to rebut Farnaz who references the publications of those having no background or education in the Torah, NT, and/or historic Jesus studies)

From:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_myth_theory

"The Christ-Myth theory is essentially without supporters in modern academic circles, biblical scholars and classical historians being highly dismissive of it,[47] viewing it as pseudo-scholarship,[39] and some comparing the theory's methodological basis with that of flat-earthism, Holocaust denial and moon landing skepticism.[50]"

From Professors Crossan (an On Faith panelist) and Watts' book, Who is Jesus.
"That Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, as the Creed states, is as certain as anything historical can ever be.
“ The Jewish historian, Josephus and the pagan historian Tacitus both agree that Jesus was executed by order of the Roman governor of Judea. And is very hard to imagine that Jesus' followers would have invented such a story unless it indeed happened.

“While the brute fact that of Jesus' death by crucifixion is historically certain, however, those detailed narratives in our present gospels are much more problematic. "

“My best historical reconstruction would be something like this. Jesus was arrested during the Passover festival, most likely in response to his action in the Temple. Those who were closest to him ran away for their own safety.

I do not presume that there were any high-level confrontations between Caiaphas and Pilate and Herod Antipas either about Jesus or with Jesus. No doubt they would have agreed before the festival that fast action was to be taken against any disturbance and that a few examples by crucifixion might be especially useful at the outset. And I doubt very much if Jewish police or Roman soldiers needed to go too far up the chain of command in handling a Galilean peasant like Jesus. It is hard for us to imagine the casual brutality with which Jesus was probably taken and executed. All those "last week" details in our gospels, as distinct from the brute facts just mentioned, are prophecy turned into history, rather than history remembered."

continued below:

See Professor Crossan's reviews of the existence of Jesus in his other books especially, The Historical Jesus and also Excavating Jesus (with Professor Jonathan Reed doing the archeology discussion) .

Other NT exegetes to include members of the Jesus Seminar have published similar books with appropriate supporting references.

Part of Crossan's The Historical Jesus has been published online at books.google.com/books?id=AsPHR4-7Wc8C&pg=PA444&lpg=PA444&dq=%22place+of+life%22+%22the+historical+jesus%22+crossan&source=web&ots=8mVx_1M6g4&sig=XFqT8S1coAT18xq8Qwt1vMcMjW0

There is also a search engine for this book on the right/left hand side of the opening page. e.g. Search Josephus

(Warning, the online book is not complete).

See also Wikipedia's review on the historical Jesus to include the Tacitus' reference to the crucifixion of Jesus.

From ask.com,

"One of the greatest historians of ancient Rome, Cornelius Tacitus is a primary source for much of what is known about life the first and second centuries after the life of Jesus. His most famous works, Histories and Annals, exist in fragmentary form, though many of his earlier writings were lost to time. Tacitus is known for being generally reliable (if somewhat biased toward what he saw as Roman immorality) and for having a uniquely direct (if not blunt) writing style."

Continued below:

Then there are these scriptural references:
Crucifixion of Jesus:(1) 1 Cor 15:3b; (2a) Gos. Pet. 4:10-5:16,18-20; 6:22; (2b) Mark 15:22-38 = Matt 27:33-51a = Luke 23:32-46; (2c) John 19:17b-25a,28-36; (3) Barn. 7:3-5; (4a) 1 Clem. 16:3-4 (=Isaiah 53:1-12); (4b) 1 Clem. 16.15-16 (=Psalm 22:6-8); (5a) Ign. Mag. 11; (5b) Ign. Trall. 9:1b; (5c) Ign. Smyrn. 1.2.- (read them all at http://wiki.faithfutures. Crucifixion org/index.php/005_Crucifixion_Of_Jesus )

from answers.com

"Although Doherty's treatment of the issue has made no impact on scholarly debate, his views have received considerable attention on the internet.

Among authors sympathetic to the view that Jesus never existed, Doherty's work has received mixed reactions. He has received favorable reviews of the book by skeptics Robert M. Price and Richard Carrier.[8] Frank R. Zindler, editor of

American Atheist, described The Jesus Puzzle in a review as "the most compelling argument against the historical Jesus published in my life-time".[9]

However, George Albert Wells, who has also argued against the existence of a historical Jesus, rejects Doherty's view that the earliest Christians did not believe Jesus was a historical man who had lived on Earth.[10]

R. Joseph Hoffmann considers that there are "reasons for scholars to hold" the view that Jesus never existed, but considers Doherty's book "qualitatively and academically far inferior to anything so far written on the subject".[11]

From Wikipedia and supporting references therein:

The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God? is a 1999 book by the British mystical writers Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy that claims to reconstruct the true origins of Christianity. It relies heavily on the Gnostic gospels of the Nag Hammadi library.

Prior to publishing Jesus Mysteries, Freke and Gandy had collaborated in writing books on mysticism and paganism. The authors suggest that a number of pagan mystery religions, such as those of Osiris, Dionysus, Attis, and Mithras, were all manifestations of a single cult of a dying and rising "godman" myth, whom they call Osiris-Dionysus. The authors propose that Jesus did not really exist, but was instead a syncretic re-interpretation of the fundamental pagan "godman" by the Gnostics, who were the original sect of Christianity. Orthodox Christianity, according to them, was not the predecessor to Gnosticism, but a later outgrowth that rewrote history in order to make literal Christianity appear to predate the Gnostics. They describe their theory as the "Jesus Mysteries thesis."

Continued below:

"Its sequel, Jesus and the Lost Goddess, has been included by Dan Brown in a list of books relating to The Da Vinci Code."

Chris Forbes, an ancient historian and senior lecturer at Macquarie University has criticised the work noting that Freke and Gandy are "not real scholars, they are popularisers.” He notes that their arguments about Jesus are "grossly misconceived, and their attempt to draw links between Jesus and various pagan god-men is completely muddled. It looks impressive because of the sheer mass of the material, but when you break it down and look at it point by point, it really comes to pieces.”[2]

Paul Barnett, a New Testament scholar who has authored several books on the historical Jesus, argues that a good proportion of the citations are out of date. "Like the Gnostics, Freke and Gandy have a mystical mindset and therefore oppose Christianity as grounded in history," he wrote. "They hate the idea that the incarnation of the Son of God and his resurrection could have been a matter of actual flesh and blood and time and place."[3]

David Allan Dodson, a reviewer for CNN, found the book to be interesting, he stated that "while the authors discuss many examples of elements of Osiris/Dionysus in the Jesus story, they virtually ignore the more direct ties to Jewish tradition and prophecy. This oversight undermines the credibility of many of their arguments, and could have the tendency to mislead the novice reader in this subject".[4]

However, while Dodson wasn't fully convinced by the authors that Jesus was completely fictional, he did end his review with the following supportive remarks: "The Jesus Mysteries left this reviewer more convinced than ever that the life of Jesus as we know it is filled with mythological, political, and even polemical elements. (just like Professor Crossan has done- added)

Freke and Gandy succeed in bringing some important points about Christianity to the public in a readable, compelling book. Perhaps their willingness to state 'the unthinkable thought' will lead to more objective thinking about religion and tolerance. If so, The Jesus Mysteries is a worthy effort indeed".

Here are additional sites with evidence for the nonExistence of Jesus. Earl Doherty's site, the Jesus Puzzle, also lists his books, all worth reading. The God movie is quite good.

I shan't, at least for a while, quote some NT ugliness, list the Names of Nazi priests, all eight hundred that we know of, including the Utase.

These were and are real Nazis, who tortured people do death, ran and owned concentration camps, depositing the loot they stole from the victims in the bank of a foreign nation, VATICAN BANK.

The issue is the non-existence of Jesus Christ, and on that topic, I will stay--for now.

--------------------------------------------
http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/

http://jesuspuzzle.humanists.net/home.htm

http://www.thegodmovie.com/

Freke and Gandy. Jesus Mysteries

Hmmm, "not to mention bloodshed, engendered by jesus christ"???

As shown by the "good" example shown by the followers of Judaism:

Biblical Atrocities

Exodus 32: 3,000 Israelites killed by Moses for worshipping the golden calf.

Numbers 31: After killing all men, boys and married women among the Midianites, 32,000 virgins remain as booty for the Israelites. (If unmarried girls are a quarter of the population, then 96,000 people were killed.)

Joshua:
Joshua 8: 12,000 men and women, all the people of Ai, killed.
Joshua 10: Joshua completely destroys Gibeon ("larger than Ai"), Makeddah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron, Debir. "He left no survivors."
Joshua 11: Hazor destroyed. [Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews (1987), estimates the population of Hazor at ?> 50,000]
TOTAL: if Ai is average, 12,000 x 9 = 108,000 killed.

Judges 1: 10,000 Canaanites k. at Battle of Bezek. Jerusalem and Zephath destroyed.
Judges 3: ca. 10,000 Moabites k. at Jordan River.
Judges 8: 120,000 Midianite soldiers k. by Gideon
Judges 20: Benjamin attacked by other tribes. 25,000 killed.

1 Samuel 4: 4,000 Isrealites killed at 1st Battle of Ebenezer/Aphek. 30,000 Isr. k. at 2nd battle.
David:
2 Samuel 8: 22,000 Arameans of Damascus and 18,000 Edomites killed in 2 battles.
2 Samuel 10: 40,000 Aramean footsoldiers and 7,000 charioteers killed at Helam.
2 Samuel 18: 20,000 Israelites under Absalom killed at Ephraim.

1 Kings 20: 100,000 Arameans killed by Israelites at Battle of Aphek. Another 27,000 killed by collapsing wall.

2 Chron 13: Judah beat Israel and inflicted 500,000 casualties.
2 Chron 25: Amaziah, king of Judah, k. 10,000 from Seir in battle and executed 10,000 POWs. Discharged Judean soldiers pillaged and killed 3,000.
2 Chron 28: Pekah, king of Israel, slew 120,000 Judeans

TOTAL: That comes to about 1,283,000 mass killings specifically enumerated in the Bible.

Of course, these atrocities may not be listed in Farnaz's copy of the Torah??

And of course we have the good Buddha and his special powers:

Buddhism- "Buddhism began in India about 500 years before the birth of Christ. The people living at that time had become disillusioned with certain beliefs of Hinduism including the caste system, which had grown extremely complex. The number of outcasts (those who did not belong to any particular caste) was continuing to grow."
"However, in Buddhism, like so many other religions, fanciful stories arose concerning events in the life of the founder, Siddhartha Gautama (fifth century B.C.):"

Archaeological discoveries have proved, beyond a doubt, his historical character, but apart from the legends we know very little about the circumstances of his life. e.g.

Buddha by one legend was supposedly talking when he came out of his mother's womb.

And then there are all those Muslim terrorists who were once very bad Buddhists!!!

RheaK
Thanks for your comments! CCNL1 - Interesting how someone we don't even know existed can inspired such a discussion. PSOLUS - Good point. Keep breathing!
----------------------------
You think? Then, consider the amount of discussion, not to mention bloodshed, engendered by jesus christ, who probably never existed!

Numerous books and articles attest to nonexistence of said demigod, but start here if this is new to you:

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/

Once again:

From:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_myth_theory

"The Christ-Myth theory is essentially without supporters in modern academic circles, biblical scholars and classical historians being highly dismissive of it,[47] viewing it as pseudo-scholarship,[39] and some comparing the theory's methodological basis with that of flat-earthism, Holocaust denial and moon landing skepticism.[50]"

From Professors Crossan (an On Faith panelist) and Watts' book, Who is Jesus.
"That Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, as the Creed states, is as certain as anything historical can ever be.
“ The Jewish historian, Josephus and the pagan historian Tacitus both agree that Jesus was executed by order of the Roman governor of Judea. And is very hard to imagine that Jesus' followers would have invented such a story unless it indeed happened.

“While the brute fact that of Jesus' death by crucifixion is historically certain, however, those detailed narratives in our present gospels are much more problematic. "

“My best historical reconstruction would be something like this. Jesus was arrested during the Passover festival, most likely in response to his action in the Temple. Those who were closest to him ran away for their own safety.

I do not presume that there were any high-level confrontations between Caiaphas and Pilate and Herod Antipas either about Jesus or with Jesus. No doubt they would have agreed before the festival that fast action was to be taken against any disturbance and that a few examples by crucifixion might be especially useful at the outset. And I doubt very much if Jewish police or Roman soldiers needed to go too far up the chain of command in handling a Galilean peasant like Jesus. It is hard for us to imagine the casual brutality with which Jesus was probably taken and executed. All those "last week" details in our gospels, as distinct from the brute facts just mentioned, are prophecy turned into history, rather than history remembered."

RheaK
Thanks for your comments! CCNL1 - Interesting how someone we don't even know existed can inspired such a discussion. PSOLUS - Good point. Keep breathing!
----------------------------
You think? Then, consider the amount of discussion, not to mention bloodshed, engendered by jesus christ, who probably never existed!

Numerous books and articles attest to nonexistence of said demigod, but start here if this is new to you:

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/

Coloradodog:

Although Judaism, like the other Abrahamic religions, does many good things in the world to save the poor and downcast, their non-compromising my-way-or-the-highway idea of world salvation is generally limited to their own and their American Christian colonists of Israel who give them $1.5 billion per year but can't afford a health care system similar to that offered Israelis. Palestinians also need not apply.
-------------------------------
Judaism, unlike Christianity/Catholicism, does not have a "my or the highway" position, as this Christian blogger knows quite well.

Unlike his Christian religion, Judaism holds that the deity has a covenant with all peoples and it is one that Jews are not to question.

Further, unlike the organizations of his Christian co-religionists, Jewish philanthropic organizations are nonsectarian, giving to peoples of all faiths and of no faith. It is also worth noting the number of such philanthropic Jewish organizations compared to their Christian counterparts, in light of how much, much more the Christians have. Moreover, Jewish philantropic organizations help without trying to "convert" needy recipients.

So, for example, during the Yugoslavian horror, Israeli JEWISH doctors went en masse to help the desperate Muslims in Kosovo. Funny, how there suddenly seemed to be no Christian doctors on the planet.

As for what the United States "gives" Israel, in return for its "gift," a fraction of the Israeli GNP, Israeli Jews, primarily, but also Christians and Muslims, thousands, have died and been maimed.

This "gift" pays for intelligence that keeps Colordodog's arse safe in Mexico, as well as the US. Intelligence that could and should be gathered by the US.

This "gift" also strengthens our economy since much of it is spent in this country.

ON the other hand, EGYPT, the second largest beneficiary of US aid, has taken what we give them for other purposes. First and foremost, our money lines the pockets of the dictator Mubarek who deposits huge sums in his Swiss bank accounts.

Mubarek also donates our money to the ruling Egyptian families, co-corrupt politicians, generals, and terrorists.

Hence, Mubarek used our money to steal the property of Egyptian Jews, brutalize them, and exile them. He uses the money to foment racism against the Christian Egyptians as we have just seen. He uses the money to persecute Palestinian Egyptians, who may not attend public schools in Egypt.

NOne of this is of interest to the bigot Coloradodog, whose psychotic Jew hatred grows more and more evident.

The very sad thing is that this poisonous racism eats away at him. For the rest of us, he is just another bigot.

As has been said, there continues to be considerable dispute as regards the presence of Jesus of Nazareth as a real citizen of planet earth - the existence of Nazareth itself being doubtful at best during the historical time period in question.

Nevertheless, it seems pretty much settled that virtually every divine attribute assigned to this quasi-mythical individual is owing to earlier co-opted traditions found in Greece, Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia, and in particular, the messianism of Judaism.

A myth is a myth is a myth......and will never be anything other than a myth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Project

From:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_myth_theory

"The Christ-Myth theory is essentially without supporters in modern academic circles, biblical scholars and classical historians being highly dismissive of it,[47] viewing it as pseudo-scholarship,[39] and some comparing the theory's methodological basis with that of flat-earthism, Holocaust denial and moon landing skepticism.[50]"

More on the Jesus myth here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_myth_theory

Until there is a very high degree of conformity of evidence-based belief among religious/biblical historians/scholars on the actual existence of a person identified as The One and Only Jesus, famed avatar of all Christendom, there will be plenty of room for doubt. Josephus and Tacitus have always been disputed, and probably always will be.

In fact, Jesus was minimally reported after the fact, and clearly damned with faint praise by both - for being such an allegedly famous historical character.

Odd to say, many early Gnostics and despised 'heretics' of the day are noted to have unequivically existed, while the Son of God, a spiritual co-founder of Christianity and August Member of the Holy Trinity itself, remains cloaked in the shadows of an obscure history. How so??

http://metrostateatheists.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/the-historical-unreliability-of-jesus-a-review-of-robert-vanvoorsts-jesus-outside-the-new-testament/

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/gnostics.html

Although Judaism, like the other Abrahamic religions, does many good things in the world to save the poor and downcast, their non-compromising my-way-or-the-highway idea of world salvation is generally limited to their own and their American Christian colonists of Israel who give them $1.5 billion per year but can't afford a health care system similar to that offered Israelis. Palestinians also need not apply.

From Professors Crossan and Watts' book, Who is Jesus.

"That Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, as the Creed states, is as certain as anything historical can ever be.

“ The Jewish historian, Josephus and the pagan historian Tacitus both agree that Jesus was executed by order of the Roman governor of Judea. And is very hard to imagine that Jesus' followers would have invented such a story unless it indeed happened.

“While the brute fact that of Jesus' death by crucifixion is historically certain, however, those detailed narratives in our present gospels are much more problematic. "

“My best historical reconstruction would be something like this. Jesus was arrested during the Passover festival, most likely in response to his action in the Temple. Those who were closest to him ran away for their own safety.

I do not presume that there were any high-level confrontations between Caiaphas and Pilate and Herod Antipas either about Jesus or with Jesus. No doubt they would have agreed before the festival that fast action was to be taken against any disturbance and that a few examples by crucifixion might be especially useful at the outset. And I doubt very much if Jewish police or Roman soldiers needed to go too far up the chain of command in handling a Galilean peasant like Jesus. It is hard for us to imagine the casual brutality with which Jesus was probably taken and executed. All those "last week" details in our gospels, as distinct from the brute facts just mentioned, are prophecy turned into history, rather than history remembered."

Continued below:

See Professor Crossan's reviews of the existence of Jesus in his other books especially, The Historical Jesus and also Excavating Jesus (with Professor Jonathan Reed doing the archeology discussion) .

Other NT exegetes to include members of the Jesus Seminar have published similar books with appropriate supporting references.

Part of Crossan's The Historical Jesus has been published online at http://books.google.com/books?id=AsPHR4-7Wc8C&pg=PA444&lpg=PA444&dq=%22place+of+life%22+%22the+historical+jesus%22+crossan&source=web&ots=8mVx_1M6g4&sig=XFqT8S1coAT18xq8Qwt1vMcMjW0

There is also a search engine for this book on the right hand side of the opening page. e.g. Search Josephus

(Warning, the online book is not complete).

See also Wikipedia's review on the historical Jesus to include the Tacitus' reference to the crucifixion of Jesus.

From ask.com,

"One of the greatest historians of ancient Rome, Cornelius Tacitus is a primary source for much of what is known about life the first and second centuries after the life of Jesus. His most famous works, Histories and Annals, exist in fragmentary form, though many of his earlier writings were lost to time. Tacitus is known for being generally reliable (if somewhat biased toward what he saw as Roman immorality) and for having a uniquely direct (if not blunt) writing style."

Then there are these scriptural references:
Crucifixion of Jesus:(1) 1 Cor 15:3b; (2a) Gos. Pet. 4:10-5:16,18-20; 6:22; (2b) Mark 15:22-38 = Matt 27:33-51a = Luke 23:32-46; (2c) John 19:17b-25a,28-36; (3) Barn. 7:3-5; (4a) 1 Clem. 16:3-4 (=Isaiah 53:1-12); (4b) 1 Clem. 16.15-16 (=Psalm 22:6-8); (5a) Ign. Mag. 11; (5b) Ign. Trall. 9:1b; (5c) Ign. Smyrn. 1.2.- (read them all at http://wiki.faithfutures. Crucifixion org/index.php/005_Crucifixion_Of_Jesus

RheaK
Thanks for your comments! CCNL1 - Interesting how someone we don't even know existed can inspired such a discussion. PSOLUS - Good point. Keep breathing!
----------------------------
You think? Then, consider the amount of discussion, not to mention bloodshed, engendered by jesus christ, who probably never existed!

Numerous books and articles attest to nonexistence of said demigod, but start here if this is new to you:

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/

Thanks for your comments! CCNL1 - Interesting how someone we don't even know existed can inspired such a discussion. PSOLUS - Good point. Keep breathing!

What would Moses drive??

Maybe a chariot through the heavens?

The man was a myth!!!

To wit:

New York Times

| March 9, 2002

New Torah For Modern Minds

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EFE35540C7A8CDDAA0894DA404482

"Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, probably never existed. Nor did Moses. The entire Exodus story as recounted in the Bible probably never occurred. The same is true of the tumbling of the walls of Jericho. And David, far from being the fearless king who built Jerusalem into a mighty capital, was more likely a provincial leader whose reputation was later magnified to provide a rallying point for a fledgling nation.

Such startling propositions -- the product of findings by archaeologists digging in Israel and its environs over the last 25 years -- have gained wide acceptance among non-Orthodox rabbis. But there has been no attempt to disseminate these ideas or to discuss them with the laity -- until now.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which represents the 1.5 million Conservative Jews in the United States, has just issued a new Torah and commentary, the first for Conservatives in more than 60 years. Called ''Etz Hayim'' (''Tree of Life'' in Hebrew), it offers an interpretation that incorporates the latest findings from archaeology, philology, anthropology and the study of ancient cultures. To the editors who worked on the book, it represents one of the boldest efforts ever to introduce into the religious mainstream a view of the Bible as a human rather than divine document. "
.................

"The notion that the Bible is not literally true ''is more or less settled and understood among most Conservative rabbis,'' observed David Wolpe, a rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles (and an On Faith panelist) and a contributor to ''Etz Hayim.'' But some congregants, he said, ''may not like the stark airing of it.'' Last Passover, in a sermon to 2,200 congregants at his synagogue, Rabbi Wolpe frankly said that ''virtually every modern archaeologist'' agrees ''that the way the Bible describes the Exodus is not the way that it happened, if it happened at all.''

The rabbi offered what he called a ''litany of disillusion'' about the narrative, including contradictions, improbabilities, chronological lapses and the absence of corroborating evidence. In fact, he said, archaeologists digging in the Sinai have ''found no trace of the tribes of Israel -- not one shard of pottery.''

"What would happen if one day a week we didn't emit carbon?"

Everyone who stopped breathing that day would die.