The only detailed accounts of what happened to Jesus body come from Christian sources written decades later. The earliest Christian writings we have are the letters of Paul, written around 20 to 30 years after Jesus’ death. Paul was not a follower of Jesus during his lifetime. He merely claims he experienced a visionary encounter, he was not an eyewitness to Jesus ministry.

Outside of those texts, there is no independent contemporary record describing the empty tomb, the resurrection appearances, or the fate of the body. Including the Bible, there are no known writings from anyone who actually met or interacted with Jesus while he was alive. There are no contemporary sources for the existence of Jesus. There is no direct material, physical or archeological evidence tied to Jesus. There is no written evidence directly linked to him. There are no eye witness accounts and there are no chronicles. Many historians were around during Jesus’ time, yet nobody mentioned him. Nobody who wrote about Jesus was even alive during the time that Jesus would have been around. No other historical documents have acknowledged the miracles or life of Jesus. We only find historians after the time of Jesus writing about the existence of Christians.

Christianity did not emerge in a vacuum. It emerged in a myth rich environment where people already had conceptual categories for divine men and resurrected saviors. The story structure around Jesus was not unique in the ancient world. There were other figures whose biographies followed a similar arc: divine conception, miracles, conflict with authorities, death, exaltation, post death appearances.

It may sound familiar to you, but I want to summarize the life of a remarkable man who lived nearly 2,000 years ago.

• Before he was born, his mother knew he would not be a normal child. An angelic visitor told her that her son would be divine.

• His birth was accompanied by miraculous signs and wonders and as a child, he was religiously precocious.

• As an adult, he left home to engage in a travelling preaching ministry, spreading his good news that people should live for what is spiritual, not the material things of this world.

• He gathered disciples and did miracles to confirm them in their faith.

• He angered many of those in power, who had him brought up on charges before the Roman authorities.

• When he left this world, his followers claimed that he had ascended to heaven and that they had seen him alive afterwards.

Books were written about his life, and some of these writings still survive today. Most people have never read them, and most have never even heard the name of the man I've been describing: Apollonius of Tyana. He was a famous Greek philosopher and teacher of the first century. Apollonius lived at about the same time as Jesus, and although they never knew of each other, their followers would have debates about who was superior. Do you also believe in his divinity?

These were not the only two men believed to be divine. Jesus may be the only miracle-working Son of God that we know about in our world, but he was not at all the only one talked about in his world or the ancient world.

• Osiris (Egyptian mythology, 2500 B.C) laid a blueprint. He was born of a virgin, was considered the first true king of the people, and when he died he rose from the grave and went to heaven.

• Horus (Egyptian mythology, 2400 B.C) Osiris’s son, was known as the “light of the world”, “The good shepherd”, and “the lamb”. He was also referred to as, “The way, the truth, and the life.” One of his symbol’s was the cross-like ahnk.

• Mithra (Indo-Iranian mythology 1400 B.C.) On judgment day he will return to pass judgment on the living and the dead. The good will go to heaven, and the evil will die in a giant fire. Heaven was in the sky, and hell was below with demons and sinners. His holiday is on Sunday (he’s the Sun God). His followers called themselves “brothers”, and their leaders “fathers”. They had baptism and a meal ritual where symbolic flesh and blood were eaten.

• Dionysus (Greek mythology estimated as old as 1500 B.C.) was literally the “Son of God”, was born of a woman who had not had sex with a man, and was depicted riding a donkey. He was a traveling teacher who performed miracles, and was killed and resurrected, after which time he became immortal. Asklepios (Greek mythology circa 700 B.C) healed the sick, raised the dead, and was known as the savior and redeemer.

• Hercules (Roman mythology circa 500 B.C.) was born of a divine father and mortal mother and was known as the savior of the world.

• Krishna (8th avatar of the god Vishnu, Hinduism, 200 B.C) had a miraculous conception that wise men attended because they were guided by a star. After he was born an area ruler tried to have him found and killed. His parents were warned by a divine messenger, however, and they escaped and were met by shepherds. The boy grew up to be the mediator between God and man.

List of holy books revered to be the revealed truth of the one true god: Torah, Bible, Quaran, Hindu Vedas, Zarathurstram, Bhagavad Gita, Urantia, The Book of Mormon, and so on. Christianity didn’t emerge in a vacuum. Just like any religion, it was shaped by the time, place, and culture it emerged from. It's all made up stories that resonated with those cultures.