Galatians 1:18–19; 1 Corinthians 15:3–8 ↗
Paul says he met Cephas and James. The kinship language around James is central to the debate.
A working bibliography
Start with the text.
Follow the argument.
Every evidence note points to the primary source and, where available, to modern scholarship that supports or challenges the reading. Links open the source publisher or text.
The site’s position is mythicist. The source library includes both arguments for that position and work that challenges it, so readers can check how each claim is being made.
Ancient and early Christian texts
The surviving record
The Gospel according to Mark ↗
Read the narrative as a text with its own structure and theological aims.
Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1 ↗
The passage about the execution of James and the identification of Jesus.
Tacitus, Annals 15.44 ↗
Latin text, translation, and scholarly commentary on the passage.
Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 8 ↗
The passage quoted in the reference site. It is a literary dialogue preserved by a Christian author.
Antiquities of the Jews 18.3.3 ↗
The transmitted text of the Testimonium Flavianum.
Demonstratio Evangelica, Book 3 ↗
Eusebius quotes the passage in the fourth century.
Modern scholarship
Arguments in conversation
On the Historicity of Jesus: Why We Might Have Reason for Doubt ↗
An influential book-length academic argument for the mythicist position; its method and conclusions have received substantial criticism.
On Richard Carrier’s Doubts ↗
A scholarly critique of Carrier’s argument. Read it alongside the book rather than treating either as a substitute for the ancient texts.
Palaeography, Precision and Publicity: Further Thoughts on P.Ryl.iii.457 (P52) ↗
P52 is a surviving copy of part of John, not the date of the Gospel’s composition. Nongbri argues its handwriting-based date is less precise than often advertised and plausible dates extend into the third century; he does not assign it a single revised year.
Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium ↗
An accessible mainstream account of the historical Jesus and the source base.
James the Brother of Jesus: Antiquities 20.200 ↗
Discusses the distinct James passage and its manuscript transmission.
The Problem of Annals 15.44 ↗
An argument that Tacitus may have relied on Christian tradition; it represents a debated position, not settled consensus.
The Prior Probability of Jesus Mythicism Re-Evaluated ↗
A recent critique of one part of Richard Carrier’s Bayesian argument.
Polemic Literary Units in Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho ↗
A literary analysis of the dialogue and its polemical material.