Dr. Bock,

You said: "You are right that Christian sources are dismissed too quickly and count as evidence. However, such sources are important, especially in a discussion that claims that Jesus did not exist at all."

We also have Tacitus, Pliny, Lucian, Celsus, Mara Bar Serapion and jewish sources as Talmud. Taken individually, they count as cumulative evidence, (although do not prove that Jesus existed). However, collectively these sources are devastanting to any claims that Jesus did not exist, because they show that, in second century, jewish and pagans do not doubt of Jesus existence, and believe that Jesus Christ "suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands (...) of Pontius Pilate" or " was crucified in Palestine because he introduced this new cult into the world (...) Futhermore their first lawgiver persuaded them that they are all brothers (...) denying the greek gods and by worshipping that crucified sophist himself and living under his laws. "

And, we have 40, 50 gospels and other books written by heterodox sects of christianity and none of them have advanced a "christ myth" heresy. Even docetics and marcionites, who didn't believe that Christ had a flesh, did believe that Jesus "appeared, then, on earth as a man to the nations of these powers, and wrought miracles". Tertulian, Irenaeus and others described dozens of heresies, but they didn't mention any group of christians who believed that Christ never walked in the earth.

Nehemias