I went to http://www.britannica.com/ and searched for the quote you posted ..... and I didn't get a hit ..... but it seems that a number of articles are posted to http://www.britannica.com/ ..... one of which is from y-jesus.com ..... one of several outreach websites under the umbrella of JesusOnline Ministries.

If someone can verify that the quote actually comes from The Encyclopedia Britannica and not an article from y-jesus.com ..... I would appreciate it. If Britannica actually does make this statement ..... I would like to see what context it was made.

Peace

Here is a quote from The Encyclopedia Britannica concerning the testimony of the many independent secular accounts of Jesus of Nazareth:

"These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus."

I don't have Britannica, but perhaps some of you do. Check it out.

Here is a quote from The Encyclopedia Britannica concerning the testimony of the many independent secular accounts of Jesus of Nazareth:

"These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was only disputed for the first time, and on inadequate grounds by several authors at the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the 20th centuries.

There are a few references to Jesus in 1st-century Roman and Jewish sources. Documents indicate that within a few years of Jesus’ death, Romans were aware that someone named Chrestus (a slight misspelling of Christus) had been responsible for disturbances in the Jewish community in Rome (Suetonius, The Life of the Deified Claudius 25.4). Twenty years later, according to Tacitus, Christians in Rome were prominent enough to be persecuted by Nero, and it was known that they were devoted to Christus, whom Pilate had executed (Annals 15.44). This knowledge of Jesus, however, was dependent on familiarity with early Christianity and does not provide independent evidence about Jesus. Josephus wrote a paragraph about Jesus (The Antiquities of the Jews 18.63ff.)—as he did about Theudas, the Egyptian, and other charismatic leaders (History of the Jewish War 2.258–263; The Antiquities of the Jews 20.97–99, 167–172)—but it has been heavily revised by Christian scribes, and Josephus’s original remarks cannot be discerned.

Who is to say whether or not the New Testament scholar Clarence quoted (E.P. Sanders), is a liberal theologian and has been affected by what is known as "higher criticism," which looks for ways to cast doubt upon otherwise credible and reliable sources?

I agree with you.

The lack of critical thought tends to place honesty on the defensive. If one cannot truly evaluate a situation because of religious beliefs ..... the only option left is to be dishonest with oneself.

Peace

Who is to say whether or not the New Testament scholar Clarence quoted (E.P. Sanders), is a liberal theologian and has been affected by what is known as "higher criticism," which looks for ways to cast doubt upon otherwise credible and reliable sources?

Ed Parish Sanders (born 18 April 1937) is a New Testament scholar and one of the principal proponents of the "New Perspective on Paul". He is a major scholar in contemporary scholarship on the historical Jesus, and he contributed to the view that Jesus was part of a renewal movement within Judaism.[1] He has been Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion at Duke University, North Carolina, since 1990. He retired in 2005.
Sanders is a Fellow of the British Academy. In 1966 he received a Th.D. from Union Seminary in NYC. In 1990 he received a D. Litt. from the University of Oxford and a Th.D. from the University of Helsinki. He has authored, co-authored or edited 13 books and numerous articles. He has received a number of prizes, including the 1990 University of Louisville and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Grawemeyer Award for the best book on religion published in the 1980s for Jesus and Judaism.[2]
. . . . . . . . . .

Thought and writings

Sanders is known for his New Testament scholarship. His field of special interest is Judaism and Christianity in the Greco-Roman world. He is one of the leading scholars in contemporary historical Jesus research, the so-called "third quest," which places Jesus firmly in the context of Judaism.[1] In contemporary scholarship, Jesus is seen as the founder a "renewal movement within Judaism," to use Sanders' phrase.[1] He promotes the predominant view that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet.[1]

It is interesting how Britannica can contain material in one edition and then replace it in another.

It is interesting how Britannica can contain material in one edition and then replace it in another.

Encyclopaedias typically strive to contain the latest information on an almost infinite variety of subjects. It's quite normal for them to constantly update their articles and replace outdated information with the most current.