LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
What’s the Earliest Evidence for Christianity?
A Paper Submitted to
the Faculty of the School of Divinity
in Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (Ed. D) Department of Christian Leadership and
Church Ministries
By
Mary Gracias
Lynchburg, Virginia
9/2022
What is the earliest historical evidence for Christianity?
Virtually all scholars today, teaching in the relevant fields of ancient history, classics, and
biblical studies—from all different religious backgrounds—agree on certain bedrock facts
concerning Jesus of Nazareth. To name a few: Jesus began his public ministry after being
baptized by John the Baptist, he was known as a miracle worker and an exorcist, he was
crucified under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius Caesar, and after Jesus’s death,
beginning in Jerusalem, a number of his followers (including a former enemy, Paul) proclaimed
that he appeared to them alive, raised from the dead.
How do we know these (or any) historical facts about Jesus and early Christianity? Primarily
from the New Testament documents originally written in the first century AD. But how close
can we get to Jesus of Nazareth through these sources? In other words, what is the earliest
historical evidence for Christianity? The answer may surprise you.
Closer and Closer to Bedrock
Among the oldest evidence for Christianity are manuscripts like Codex Vaticanus and Codex
Sinaiticus from the early fourth century AD. Constantin von Tischendorf—the Indiana Jones of
New Testament manuscripts—discovered Sinaiticus at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt in
1859. He later wrote that he’d saved Sinaiticus from being burned by monks who’d already cast
two heaps of similar manuscripts to the flames! Tischendorf went on to call Sinaiticus “the most
precious biblical treasure in existence.”
Then there are the papyri manuscripts, many of which date earlier than Sinaiticus. Among
the earliest is P52, a three-inch piece of papyri with five verses from the Gospel of John (18:31–
33, 37–38). This little treasure is currently dated from AD 125–175 (though others argue for a
broader range).
But followers of Jesus need to be aware of another revolutionary discovery that is greater
than Sinaiticus, greater than P52, greater, in my estimation, than all the archaeological
discoveries combined: the discovery of the pre-Pauline creedal tradition in 1 Corinthians 15:3–
7. This has been rightfully called the “pearl of great price.”
This apostolic creedal statement is unparalleled in the New Testament. In fact, it’s
unparalleled in all of ancient literature. Even if nothing else had survived from the early
Christian movement besides this five-verse creedal tradition, we’d still have the essence of the
gospel and the historical bedrock on which Christianity stands: “This Jesus God raised up again,
to which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32).
Discovering Christianity’s Historical Bedrock
Let us then behold the earliest evidence for Christianity:
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures . . .
he was buried . . .
he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures . . .
he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time. . . .
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Listed above is what scholars argue is the actual creedal tradition(s) Paul received, without
Paul’s additional words and comments. This is a new discovery. Even New Testament scholar
(and atheist) Gerd Lüdemann called this discovery “one of the great achievements of recent
New Testament scholarship.” The early Church Fathers, medieval theologians, and reformers all
knew, quoted, and commented on 1 Corinthians 15:3–7, yet it wasn’t until the turn of the 20th
century that anyone realized it wasn’t originally composed by Paul, but was instead a creedal
tradition Paul had received more than a decade before AD 49 or 50, when he planted the
Corinthian church.
The two main reasons for this are found within the biblical text itself.
First is the way Paul introduces it with the words “delivered” and “received” (1 Cor. 15:3).
When Paul planted the church in Corinth, he delivered certain traditions to the Corinthians that
further illumined the gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 11:2) he himself had received. These included some
teachings and stories about Jesus (1 Cor. 7:10; 9:14; 11:1; 2 Cor. 10:1), the account of the Lord’s
Supper (1 Cor. 11:23–26), hymns (1 Cor. 8:6; 2 Cor. 8:9), and this creedal tradition on Jesus’s
death, burial, resurrection, and appearances (1 Cor. 15:3–7).
The second major reason is linguistic. Paul uses words and phrases here that he uses
nowhere else. Phrases such as “died for our sins,” “in accordance with the Scriptures,” “he was
buried,” “he was raised,” “on the third day,” “he appeared,” and “the twelve” are either only
used here, or, if used elsewhere, are likewise influenced by tradition.
These considerations have persuaded virtually all scholars that 1 Corinthians 15:3–7 is a
pre-Pauline creedal tradition. It dates before Paul’s earliest letters. But how early?
When and Where Did Paul Receive This Tradition?
When you survey the literature, scholars from all different backgrounds and faiths (or no
faith) are virtually unanimous that this creedal tradition dates, on average, to within five years
of Jesus’s death. A few argue for around a decade after Jesus’s death, some for within even a
year. For instance, New Testament scholar James Dunn argues, “This tradition, we can be
entirely confident, was formulated as tradition within months of Jesus’s death.”
I believe that Dunn has the best estimate, and that only “months” after Jesus’s crucifixion
were new converts learning and memorizing this creedal formula, possibly during the church-
planting movement of the apostles and their disciples. It may have formed the foundation of an
introductory catechesis for new converts. Further, 1 Corinthians 15:3–7 is the creedal summary
and foundation for sermons in Acts (see Acts 10:39–40; 13:28–31) and the Passion narratives of
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Where, when, and from whom did Paul receive this pearl of great price? Scholars contend
it was either soon after his conversion in Damascus (AD 34) or three years later in Jerusalem
(AD 37), when he spent two weeks with Peter (Gal. 1:18) and also met with James, Jesus’s
brother (Gal. 1:19). I favor the latter option. It makes the most sense of how he received
information such as “[the risen Christ] appeared to Cephas . . . [and] to James” (1 Cor. 15:5, 7).
New Testament scholar and agnostic Bart Ehrman agrees: “This visit is one of the most likely
places where Paul learned all the received traditions that he refers to and even the received
traditions that we otherwise suspect are in his writings that he does not name as such.”
Christians Must Go on the Offensive
The most ancient source and earliest evidence for Christianity isn’t only a firm foundation
for a Jesus follower to stand on, it’s also a powerful apologetic for challenging 21st-century
unbelievers. The earliest followers of Jesus in the AD 30s were proclaiming that Jesus died on
the cross for their sins and rose from the dead as Lord of the world. Jesus’s brother James, his
chief apostle Peter, and his enemy Paul all claimed that the resurrected Jesus appeared to
them. That these three men believed this is historically irrefutable (see 1 Cor. 15:11). Further,
the historical evidence that these same three men were martyred for their faith is strong
enough to convince even skeptics like Ehrman. Whatever these three men saw, it was worth
giving their lives for.
