Religion
In reply to the discussion: Whether Jesus existed historically [View all]okasha
(11,573 posts)The "Flavian Testimony"" that you're referring to is accepted by scholars as an interpolation. Someone either added the entire passage at a later date or highly embellished a much more modest text. Crossan makes a good case for the latter possibility. In any case, the "Testimony" as it stands is unreliable.
There is, however, a second mention of Jesus that is considered genuine by most scholars. Jesus is mentioned almost in passing as the brother of James in Josephus' account of James' judicial murder by the high priest Annas. If Jesus were not a historical figure, we would then have a rather strange case of an attested person who for no comprehensible reason is egregiously provided with a fictional sibling. It would be rather like a reference to "President John Kennedy, brother of Stanley."