Did The Gospel Authors Invent The Crucifixion? 

Did The Gospel Authors Invent The Crucifixion?
According to some skeptics, Jesus' death was invented in the late first to early second century AD; however, scholarship is nearly unanimous that we have early accounts. In a letter written by Paul, we read: "For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve," (1 Corinthians 15:3-5 NASB). This is not to argue that Paul himself alone shows us this, but scholars date this creed extremely early and it acts as pivotal evidence.

The Oxford Companion to the Bible states: "... in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, a tradition that Paul ‘received’ after his apostolic call, certainly not later than his visit to Jerusalem in 35 CE, when he saw Cephas (Peter) and James (Gal. 1:18-19), who, like him, were recipients of appearances," (Oxford 647).

Gerd Lüdemann, an Atheist scholar, also argues: “…the elements in the tradition are to be dated to the first two years after the crucifixion of Jesus…not later than three years… the formation of the appearance traditions mentioned in I Cor.15.3-8 falls into the time between 30 and 33 CE," (Lüdemann 171-172).

Dr. James Dunn too explains: "More likely he indicates the importance of the tradition to himself from the start; that was why he made sure to pass it on to the Corinthians when they first believed (15.1-2) (128). This tradition, we can be entirely confident, was formulated as tradition within months of Jesus' death," (Dunn).

These scholars and plenty more make it known that this was a very early tradition. Based on these findings, we ought to place great importance on this source. 

Works Cited:

Christian Apologetics: An Anthology of Primary Sources. United States, Zondervan, 2012.

Dunn, James D. G.. Jesus Remembered (Christianity in the Making, Vol. 1). United Kingdom, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003.

Holding, Ed James Patrick. Defending the Resurrection. United States, Salem Publishing Solutions, 2010.

Lüdemann, Gerd. The Resurrection of Jesus: History, Experience, Theology. United Kingdom, Fortress Press, 1994.

The Oxford Companion to the Bible. United States, Oxford University Press, 1993.