JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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It is the opinion of Professor Pines that medieval Christian censorship was probably
responsible for the differences between the two versions with the Arabic version being less kind
to Christianity than the Greek version. This is why the Arabic version may be an earlier version
than the traditional Greek version.
There is another passage in the Antiquities of the Jews in which Josephus refers to Jesus.
It is his account of the martyrdom of James, the brother of Jesus:
"(Ananus) assembled the sanhedrin of the judges, and brought before them the
brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others,
and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he
delivered them to be stoned."15
The collection of Jewish traditions called the Talmud was written in the third century and
clearly refers to Jesus:
"On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu of Nazareth, and the herald went before
him for forty days saying, Yeshu of Nazareth is going forth to be stoned in that
he hath practiced sorcery and beguiled and led astray Israel. Let everyone knowing
aught in his defense come and plead for him. But they found naught in his defense
and hanged him on the eve of the Passover."16
There are actually numerous allusions to Jesus in the Talmud. New Testament scholar
J. Klausner, in his book Jesus of Nazareth, summarizes the significance of such allusions:
"There are reliable statements to the effect that his name was Yeshua (Yeshu) of
Nazareth; that he 'practiced sorcery' (i.e. performed miracles) and beguiled and
led Israel astray; that he mocked at the words of the wise; that he expounded
Scripture in the same manner as the Pharisees; that he had five disciples; that he
said that he was not come to take aught away from the Law or to add to it; that
he was hanged (crucified) as a false teacher and beguiler on the eve of the
Passover which happened on a Sabbath; and that his disciples healed the sick in
his name."17
These Roman and Jewish sources all point to the clear evidence that Jesus did live since
He was a "false teacher who was crucified." While such a summary does not adequately and
correctly describe who Jesus was and is, it does affirm that Jesus was an influential figure in first
century Palestine. This clearly proves that Jesus is an historical figure.
● The New Testament—The New Testament cannot be accounted for apart from the
fact that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again.
● The New Testament Christian Church—The Church of Jesus Christ cannot be
accounted for apart from a person who lived in the first century and built His church.