"If all the evidence is weighed carefully and fairly, it is indeed justifiable, according to the canons of historical research, to conclude that the sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathea, in which Jesus was buried, was actually empty on the morning of the first Easter. And no shred of evidence has yet been discovered in literary sources, epigraphy, or archaeology that would disprove this statement."

- Historian Paul L. Maier

The following transcript is from an Apologetics 315 interview with Paul L. Maier. Original audio here. If you enjoy transcripts, please consider supporting, which makes this possible.

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BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten of Apologetics 315. Today I interview Historian Paul Maier. Dr. Maier is the Russell H. Seibert professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University, and much published author of both scholarly and popular works. His historical studies are in Ancient Near East, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Christianity and the Roman Empire, and the Reformation era. His scholarly works include Josephus, The Essential Works, that’s a new translation and commentary on writings of the 1^st century Jewish historian, and Eusebius: The Church History. And that’s a similar book on the first Christian historian. He has also authored a number of books on Christmas and Easter including, In the Fullness of Time: A Historian looks at Christmas, Easter and the Early Church, The Very First Christmas, and The Very First Easter.

"Anybody who tries to use the argument that Jesus of Nazareth never existed [as a verifiable historical figure] is simply flaunting his or her ignorance. There is no serious question in the mind of any serious scholar, anywhere in the world that there certainly was a historical personality named Jesus of Nazareth. Now you can argue if he was the Son of God or not, argue about the supernatural aspects of his life, but in terms of the historical character of Jesus, all the evidence is in favour."

- Historian Paul L. Maier
[HT: Faith Interface]

Today's interview is with Paul L. Maier, the Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University and a much-published author of both scholarly and popular works. He talks about his background as an historian, the existence of Jesus, his debate with Dan Barker, the pagan myth accusation, ancient sources for the life of Jesus, the historicity of the first Christmas, and more.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (47 min).

Dr. Maier's books include:
• Eusebius: The Church History
• In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks at Christmas, Easter, and the Early Church
• The Flames of Rome: A Novel
• The Very First Christmas

Enjoy.

Historian Dr. Paul Maier (web page / books) presents this lecture (courtesy of Chesterton House) on the topic of: Jesus in the New Testament and Beyond. This is an entertaining and informative talk discussing historical evidences surrounding Christ. Paul Maier also mentions the outcome of his debate with Dan Barker. [Original audio found here, (H/T: Mariano)]

Full MP3 Audio here. (90 min)

Enjoy.