The claim that Jesus was based on Jesus ben Ananias (from Josephus) is historically untenable given the robust bedrock consensus of historical facts about Jesus.

Mike places this claim in the broad category of "Jesus was based on X" mythicist theories (Osiris, Mithra, Homer, etc.) and argues they are uniformly weak on evidence. He notes Josephus's Jewish War was not even written when the gospel was already being preached in Jerusalem within years (possibly days) of the crucifixion; chronology alone disqualifies the claim. He then lists bedrock historical facts about Jesus that enjoy cross-ideological scholarly consensus (atheist, agnostic, Jewish, Christian): Jesus was a real historical figure; born in Nazareth; had 12 disciples; was known for miracles and exorcisms; considered himself God's eschatological agent and used the title "Son of Man" (connecting to OT); died by Roman crucifixion under Pontius Pilate at Passover; his disciples betrayed/fled; post-resurrection appearance experiences motivated rapid proclamation despite persecution. He names Richard Carrier and Robert Price as Jesus mythicists to avoid.