Everything in this section rests on primary sources. This page lists them, with dates, provenance, and where to read them. The point is not to overwhelm the reader with bibliography. The point is to make the sources available, so that anyone who wants to check the claims can do so.
Christian Sources
The New Testament
Pauline lettersWritten AD 48–65. The earliest Christian documents. 1 Thessalonians (c. 50) is likely the oldest book in the New Testament.
GospelsWritten AD 60–100. Mark (c. 65), Matthew and Luke (c. 80–90), John (c. 90–100). All four are anonymous in the earliest manuscripts; the traditional attributions come from the second century.
ActsWritten AD 80–90, by the same author as Luke. The only continuous narrative of the first thirty years of the church.
General epistles and RevelationWritten AD 60–95. James, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John, Jude, Hebrews, Revelation.
The Apostolic Fathers
Early Christian Writing, c. AD 96–160
1 Clementc. 96 AD. A letter from the church in Rome to the church in Corinth. Refers to the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul.
Ignatius of Antiochc. 108 AD. Seven letters written on the way to his execution in Rome.
Polycarp of Smyrnac. 110 AD. Letter to the Philippians.
The Didachec. 50–120 AD. The earliest Christian manual of moral teaching and church order.
Martyrdom of Polycarpc. 155–166 AD. The earliest reliable martyrdom account after the apostolic age.
Jewish Sources
Josephus and the Jewish Tradition
Josephus, Jewish Warc. 75 AD. History of the Jewish revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem. Mentions Jesus briefly.
Josephus, Antiquitiesc. 93–94 AD. Twenty books of Jewish history from creation to the eve of the revolt. Contains the Testimonium Flavianum and the passages on John the Baptist and James.
Philo of Alexandriac. 20 BC – AD 50. Jewish philosopher and contemporary of Jesus. Does not mention Jesus or the Christians, though he does describe the Jewish community in Alexandria.
Dead Sea Scrollsc. 250 BC – AD 70. Discovered 1947–1956. The library of a Jewish sect, almost certainly Essene, that withdrew to Qumran. Contains no mention of Jesus.
Mishnahc. 200 AD. The oral law of the Pharisees, compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince. Contains rules on testimony and some references to Jesus.
Babylonian Talmudc. 500 AD. Contains a late, polemical reference to Yeshu in Sanhedrin 43a.
Roman Sources
The Pagan Historians
Tacitus, Annalsc. 116 AD. Records Nero’s persecution of Christians after the fire of 64 AD, and confirms the execution of Christ under Pilate.
Pliny the Younger, Lettersc. 110–112 AD. Describes Christian worship and asks Trajan for instructions. Trajan’s reply became imperial policy.
Suetoniusc. 120 AD. Claudius 25.4 and Nero 16.2 mention Christians.
Mara bar Serapionc. 1st century AD. A Syrian Stoic who refers to the “wise King” of the Jews who was executed.
Lucian of Samosatac. 165 AD. Mocked Christians for worshipping a “crucified sophist.”
Celsusc. 175 AD. Wrote the first sustained philosophical attack on Christianity, preserved only through Origen’s rebuttal.
Archaeological Evidence
Sites and Inscriptions
Pilate inscriptionFound at Caesarea Maritima in 1961. Confirms Pilate as prefect of Judea. Now in the Israel Museum.
Yehohanan ben HagkolCrucified man from the 1st century. Heel bone with nail found at Givat HaMivtar in 1968. The only direct physical evidence of Roman crucifixion.
The Capernaum synagogue4th-century white limestone synagogue built over 1st-century black basalt foundations.
The house of Peter at Capernaum1st-century house venerated from the mid-1st century onward. Byzantine octagonal church built over it.
The Vatican necropolis2nd-century shrine venerated as the tomb of Peter, under St. Peter’s Basilica. Excavated 1940s–1950s.
The Western WallThe only substantial surviving structure of the Herodian Temple platform.
How to Use These Sources
Every page in this section cites the sources it uses. If you want to check a claim, look at the citation, find the source in the list above, and read it for yourself. If you want to go deeper, the standard critical editions and commentaries are listed in the Historical Reliability page.
The sources are not hidden. They are the argument.
