Shane Rosenthal provides an exhaustive summary of what the historical record says about Jesus in his latest blog post, “Outside the Gospels, What Can We Really Know About Jesus?” Not only do secular authors verify His existence, but historians also consider other parts of the New Testament to be historical sources.
Though the writings of Paul, for example, may not be read and appreciated by your secular friends and relatives, whether we realize it or not, these ancient texts are certainly respected and valued by ancient historians. From a completely historical perspective, Paul may or may not have been inspired, but he certainly lived, and he certainly wrote several letters in the middle part of the 1st century which need to be studied and evaluated on their own terms.
