Lots of posts after I called it a night, I will respond not specifically but in a general rambling way.
Let me say this before I start. Many Christians, although not fluent, study Greek and Hebrew especially words or phrases that are important to us like Tetelestai. Even if English speaking Christians did not study words in Greek or Hebrew, we can still rely on the KJV as accurate. See my posting on the Qumran Great Isaiah Scroll. Regardless, of what one personally believes, it was buried for over 1000 years and provides proof that the KJV of Isaiah is 99.5% the same.
As for who wrote the gospels, strictly speaking, they are anonymous. BUT, the writings of the early church testify that Matthew, (aka Levi) is the author of the book that bears his name. Matthew was an eye witness to the events he describes. John Mark was a companion to Peter (aka Simon Bar-Jona) and technically a 2nd hand account in our culture, but that is tedious at best. Luke wrote his, Acts, and hung out with Paul. The only question with John is from a source dated later concerning which John is being talked about. Besides Papias (source), everything else points to John and he was an eyewitness. Paul (aka Saul) was a Pharisee who was intent on stamping out Christianity, in fact, he held the coats of the men who stoned Stephen to death. Paul did not invent Christianity, nor did he hijack it. He had what some of us has described as a 'on the road to Damascus' event and came to know Jesus in the only way someone like him could. Some Christians have been blessed by similar events.
Secular evidence for the existence of Jesus
Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman historian and although not a eye witness provides a narrative describing who Jesus is, who put Him to death, and to the existence of Christians in Rome.
Thallus was another historian who mentions Jesus through a reference from Julius Africanus. In the reference Thallus dismisses the darkness as a solar eclipse.
Lucian of Samosata describes Christians and their lawgiver (Jesus) as misguided creatures who deny the gods of Greece.
Pliny the Younger forced (tried to) Christians to curse Christ. That is something we will not do, even if it means bodily death.
Mara Bar-Serapion, while in prison, writes a letter to his son, encouraging him to seek wisdom mentions Christ. (Christus)
The Babylionian Talmud describes the death of Christ (Yeshu)
The Jewish historian Josephus described Jesus as doer of wonderful works.
For more legal type of evidence that Christ does exist, there is Simon Greenleaf and Lionel Luckhoo who wrote extensively concerning the collobative weight in secular writings. I have not read these entirely, only parts. Greenleaf was one of the founders of Harvard and luckhoo, I think, is in the Guinness book of records for being the best defense attorney on the planet.
There is much more but my fingers are tired, so I will re-post what C.S Lewis put so well,
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: Im ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I dont accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunaticon a level with the man who says he is a poached eggor else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
I know that, given the world we live in, these are hard things to accept. I only ask that you approach it seeking the truth. Why was the tomb empty?
