159 | An ancient Jewish historian’s description of Jesus was so positive, critics called it fraudulent

One of the more compelling statements by ancient historians on the existence of Jesus was made by Josephus, a Jewish General and historian who died in 100 AD. In his book, Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus wrote: "And in this time, there was a certain Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man, for he was a doer of incredible deeds, a teacher of men who receive truisms with pleasure. And he brought over many from among the Jews and many from among the Greeks. He was [thought to be] the Christ. And, when Pilate had condemned him to the cross at the accusation of the first men among us, those who at first were devoted to him did not cease to be so, for on the third day it seemed to them that he was alive again given that the divine prophets had spoken such things and thousands of other wonderful things about him. And up till now, the tribe of Christians, who were named from him, has not disappeared.29