Is Jesus really a myth? A Bible scholar claims he has uncovered new evidence that proves the Romans invented the entire life story of Christ

Eureka moment: Joseph Atwill, above left, says he made his discovery while studying War Of The Jews by Josephus, which he says contains dozens of parallels between Jesus and Roman Emperor Titus Flavius

Mr Atwill argues that these ancient 'confessions' provide 'clear evidence' that the biography of Jesus is 'actually constructed, tip to stern, on prior stories, but especially on the biography of a Roman Caesar'.

Mr Atwill accepts that his theory will upset some believers but is confident that it will be accepted in good time.

But bible academic Professor James Crossley, from the University of Sheffield, compared Mr Atwill's theory to a Dan Brown fiction book.

He told Mail Online: 'These types of theories are very common outside the academic world and are usually reserved for sensationalist literature.

'They are virtually non-existent in the academic world.'

He also suggested the theories are not taken seriously by experts.

Mr Crossley said: 'People do debate about how much we can know about Jesus, but the idea that Romans invented stories about Jesus is outside of the academic world.'

He added that this sort of theory can be 'irritating' to religion academics.

On his theory, Mr Atwill said: 'I present my work with some ambivalence as I do not want to directly cause Christians any harm, but this is important for our culture.

'Alert citizens need to know the truth about our past so we can understand how and why governments create false histories and false gods.

'They often do it to obtain a social order that is against the best interests of the common people.'