Yes, there were other historical documentations. I will try to give you excerpts of a few of the most recognized. Keep in mind, I am not trying to prove Jesus was the Christ.
Josephus (A Jewish historian)
The Antiquites: "He [Ananias] covened a meeting of the Sanhedrin and brought before them a man named James, the brother of Jesus,who was called the Christ, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned."
Controversies: None
The Antiquities:Testimonium Flavianum: "About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. Where Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest staqnding among us, had sondemned him to be crucified, those who had in the firstplace come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared."
Controversies: Both Jewish and Christian scholars agree that this work is authentic; however, it has some added phrases. Here they are: " if indeed one ought to call him a man", "He was the Christ", and "On the third day he appeared to them restored to life".
Tacitus ( a Roman historian)
Annals: "Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil,but even in Rome....Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty: then, up their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind."
Pliny the Younger (a Roman and governor of Bithynia)
Letters: " I have asked them if they are Christians, and if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for execution; for, whateverthe nature of their admission, I am convinced that their stubborneness and unshakable obstinacy ought not go unpunished. . . .
They also declared that the sum total of their guilt or error amounted to no more than this: they had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day to chant erses alternately amongst themselves in honor of Christ as if to a god, and also to bind themselves by oath, not for any criminal purpose, but to abstain from theft, robbery, and adultery. . . .
This made me decide it was all the more necessary to extract the truth by torture from two slave-women, whom they called deaonesses. I found nothing but a degenerate sort of cult carried to extravagant lengths."
Anways, I have given you some of the most notable reffrences to Jesus, outside of the Bible. In the case of known controverisies regarding these passages, I have mentioned them plainly for you. I have also given you the name of the books that the refferences come from before each passage. If you want to know more on this subject A Case for Christ, is good read which I recommend.
Comments
Good answer
by Anonymous on December 30th, 2005
Wow, hard to improve on this answer, I back up the Josh McDowell book recommendation btw
by Joshua Zambrano on January 28th, 2006
"Controversies: none" is not true. The Testimonium Flavianum has been shown to be a later addition to Antiquities. It is not certain that the second reference is to the same 'Jesus' which was a popular name at the time.
by jmacbops on September 29th, 2006
Use of the word "Christus" (lit. 'annointed one') in Annals (circa 116 A.D.) suggests that historian Tacitus got his information from Christian sources rather than historical sources.
by jmacbops on September 29th, 2006
Reference to "Christians" by Pliny the Younger does not prove the existence of a historical Jesus any more than the existence of Christians does today. That proves only that Christians exist.
by jmacbops on September 29th, 2006
id rather see historical documentation of him actually being the son of god
by seisho on October 4th, 2006
jmacbops.. both comments r right on track.. especially comment 2.Well stated
seisho- Lol.. good luck.. I agree it would nice to have such documentation. But short of showing up to set the records straight and perhaps do a lecture tour , make a documentary ,etc and of course signing a few bibles for his fans..Im have no reason to suspect such documentation will ever turn up .. U might try to google it.. what do I know??? Also some pure liquid lsd or other such chemical might give u what u seek. Please do keep me posted.. and if u do go the lsd route please reveal the source.. Good acid is so hard to find these days...
by bLood_Lin3 on May 2nd, 2008
Add a comment...
by Roxey56 on February 5th, 2010
The first-century Jewish historian Josephus referred to the stoning of “James, the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ.” (The Jewish Antiquities, Josephus, Book XX, sec. 200)
A direct and very favorable reference to Jesus, found in Book XVIII, sections 63, 64, has been challenged by some who claim that it must have been either added later or embellished by Christians; but it is acknowledged that the vocabulary and the style are basically those of Josephus, and the passage is found in all available manuscripts
With reference to early non-Christian historical references to Jesus, The New Encyclopædia Britannica states: “These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and on inadequate grounds by several authors at the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the 20th centuries.”—(1976), Macropædia, Vol. 10, p. 145.
by vew573 on May 13th, 2010