Josephus and other contemporaries on Jesus

[Angrboda]

Since the topic came up in great detail in the Why believe the Bible? thread, I thought why not make a thread to cover this topic.

What are your opinions on Josephus' writings? Is the TF partially authentic or entirely fabricated?

What about the more elusive James reference?

And while we're at it why not go ahead and discuss others as well? Pliny, Justin, Clement, the Apostle Paul, etc.

I'm curious to hear views from both atheists and theists here on these writings as well. Let's compare and contrast our views and interpretations.

The following article has a rather extensive discussion of the Testimonium Flavianum, and is probably a good resource to start with.

Jesus Myth - The Case Against Historical Christ