The perplexed, confused mind of the atheist skeptic

I do not know anything about the radio talk show that non-Christian historian Bart Ehrman appeared on (as he says in the interview, "I am not a [Christian] believer). And that is probably why, as he says in the tape, atheist groups and the like keep calling on him to help them rebut Christianity. Here is his response to such a call asking him to affirm that in fact no such person as Jesus of Nazareth ever existed.

Alexander the Great.
His historical existence is much less well attested than that of Jesus of Nazareth.

However, as Ehrman points out, the historical existence of Jesus is better attested than almost anyone else from his era, better attested, in fact, than Julius Caesar. And, although not included in this segment, it is probably worth noting that the earliest written reference to Alexander the Great dates 400 years after Alexander is said to have lived.

That's as if we know the American Revolution occurred in the 1770s, but no record of any kind of George Washington will be made until the year 2181, 167 years from now.

And no one doubts that Alexander lived. However, the earliest writings about Jesus of Nazareth, the letters of the apostles, date beginning less than 20 years after Jesus died during the governorship of Pontius Pilate.

So why do these people keep insisting that Jesus never lived, that his character is wholly fictional? Because if you stick to that claim, they think that everything else about Christian faith can be easily dismissed. But that is not so, either. About which more later.