History reports that scholars commonly accept there was a real, historical Jesus. However, the more complicated truth is that direct evidence for his existence is frustratingly hard to come across. So, while we can be reasonably certain that there was once a religious leader named Jesus who lived in what’s now Israel around the 1st century, things after that point get murky pretty quickly.

First, there is no documented archaeological evidence for Jesus, meaning that no one has yet found any tangible things that are for sure connected to the man. Yes, this means that even long-venerated religious relics, like the supposed crown of thorns traditionally housed in Notre Dame Cathedral or bits of the “true cross” displayed elsewhere are unconfirmed.

So, if that particular set of proof is lacking, what about documentary evidence? That avenue has proven more useful, though not exactly fruitful. Some non-Biblical writers did confirm a few spare details of Jesus’ life. Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian living in the 1st century, offers up one of the earliest such accounts. In his “Jewish Antiquities,” Josephus writes that of a man named James who was unfairly executed, mentioning that the victim is the brother of “Jesus-who-is-called-Messiah.” Yet, a longer account may have been doctored by later Christian editors. Another brief mention comes in the “Annals of Imperial Rome,” where historian Tacitus refers to a man who, by the 2nd century, was called “Christus.”

Jesus was, by many modern accounts and retellings of his story, a generally loving guy who preached peace and togetherness during his time on Earth. You certainly can’t deny this, as there are plenty of Bible verses where Jesus tells people to love one another and he is commonly known in Christian circles as the “Prince of Peace” (via Christianity.com).

But it would be a mistake to assume that Jesus was a constantly smiling, chill sort of person who gave out free hugs all the time. In fact, there are plenty of Biblical verses that underlie his very human nature of getting angry on occasions, according to Got Questions. There’s the incident where he overturned some tables and upset moneylenders working in Jerusalem’s temple, a story so striking that it’s mentioned in three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and John). He was also known to get clearly frustrated at people who weren’t cottoning to his teachings, as when the Pharisee fundamentalists wouldn’t answer his questions, in Mark 3:1-5.

According to Got Questions, it’s not that Jesus’ anger was a bad thing, especially considering that no Bible verses really indicate that his emotions tipped over into uncontrolled rage (though the moneylenders may have argued otherwise at the time). Neither is there any textual evidence that Jesus stewed over his anger and allowed it to become a grudge. For many believing Christians, while this may be a surprising point of Jesus’ actions and personality, his anger appears righteous.

Given how many stories there are of Jesus’ life, like the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, surely this means also that we have some pretty good on-the-ground reports of his activities. Only, there really aren’t. We have some accounts that get decently close within a generation or so, like historian Flavius Josephus’ 1st century record that references Jesus (via History).

But, when it comes to eyewitness accounts from people who actually met the man, things get pretty shaky. Speaking to NPR, religion professor Bart D. Ehrman notes that we can’t be so sure that the Gospels were actually written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Instead, it’s quite possible that later writers simply attached the names of the apostles to their work. If they were actually written by the people in question, then why are there so many significant differences between the details of the Gospels, like whether or not Jesus was divine?

Perhaps most significantly, there’s no language in any of the Gospels that clearly indicates the writer was there. And wouldn’t it have bolstered the account to say it was an eyewitness story, especially in the early years of Christianity when the religious movement was just getting started? The faithful may argue against this idea but, looking at things strictly from the perspective of the text, there’s no confirmed proof that the apostles or anyone else who was part of Jesus’ circle ever wrote down their own accounts.

One of the greatest debates in the realm of religious studies and Christian theology seems to be the matter of whether or not Jesus believed that he was actually divine. Not divinely inspired, not metaphorically the “Son of God,” but genuinely imbued with a spark of something beyond humanity. What’s the right interpretation?

Turning to the Bible may give you more conflicting answers, according to the BBC. The Gospel of Mark at first seems to accept the idea of a divine Jesus, but then includes a couple of verses in Mark 10:17-18 where Jesus himself seems to deny being directly related to God. But Matthew 1:22-23 seems to make a more obvious connection between man and deity, noting that another name for Jesus, Immanuel, means “God is with us.”

Fine, the New Testament is a bit scattershot on the subject, but did Jesus himself ever confirm the situation one way or another? Religion professor Bart D. Ehrman, talking to NPR, says that the Gospel of John is the most direct in that respect, with claims that Jesus essentially said that he and God were the same. Only, Ehrman claims that he and other scholars are a little suspicious of the Gospel of John’s accuracy. The Gospel’s author may have been more invested in making a theological point than transcribing actual history or documented words of Jesus. It is clear, however, that later scholars and leaders wanted to imbue Jesus with divinity.