Ancient account of Jesus challenges centuries of scholarly doubt: 'Totally authentic'

A scholar believes a nearly 2,000-year-old account of Jesus may be more historically reliable than previously thought, challenging longstanding doubts about one of the earliest non-Christian accounts of his life.T.C.Schmidt, an associate professor of religious studies at Fairfield University in Connecticut, is the author of a 2025 book titled "Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ," examining a long-disputed passage about Jesus written by the ancient Jewish historian Josephus.Josephus lived from roughly 37 to 100 A.D., and wrote about Jesus in his work "Antiquities of the Jews," providing one of the few surviving non-Christian accounts of his life.AUTHOR DINESH D'SOUZA CHALLENGES BIBLE SKEPTICS WITH 'STARTLING' ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIESIn the passage, Josephus described Jesus as a wise man who attracted followers and was sentenced to crucifixion under Pontius Pilate.

The text also referred to reports that Jesus appeared alive again after his death.For centuries, scholars have debated whether Christian scribes altered the passage, which contains statements about Jesus that some historians believe would have been unusual for a non-Christian Jewish writer.Fairfield University scholar T.C.Schmidt, shown at right, argues that a long-disputed passage about Jesus in Josephus' writings may be authentic despite centuries of scholarly skepticism.

(Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images; Fox News Digital)But Schmidt told Fox News Digital that his research suggests the passage is authentic, citing linguistic analysis and comparisons with Josephus' other writings.Schmidt examined ancient versions of Josephus' account in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Armenian, using textual comparisons and computer-assisted stylistic analysis to argue that the disputed passage was consistent with Josephus' writing style.ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER MYSTERIOUS FACE HIDDEN FOR CENTURIES IN BOOK OF REVELATION CITYHis analysis, Schmidt said, found similarities throughout the passage."I ...