"Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened
the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class
hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace.
Christus [Christ], from whom the name had its origin, suffered
the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands
of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous
superstition [Christ's resurrection] thus checked for the
moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source
of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and
shameful from every part of the world find their center and
become popular".
In
about 112 A.D. the Roman governor in what is now northern Turkey
wrote to Emperor Trajan regarding Christians in his district:
"I
was never present at any trial of Christians; therefore I
do not know what are the customary penalties or investigations,
and what limits are observed. . . whether those who recant
should be pardoned. . . whether the name itself, even if innocent
of crime, should be punished, or only the crimes attaching
to that name. . . . Meanwhile, this is the course that I have
adopted in the case of those brought before me as Christians.
I ask them if they are Christians. If they admit it I repeat
the question a second and a third time, threatening capital
punishment; if they persist I sentence them to death. For
I do not doubt that, whatever kind of crime it may be to which
they have confessed, their pertinacity and inflexible obstinacy
should certainly be punished. . . the very fact of
my dealing with the question led to a wider spread of the
charge, and a great variety of cases were brought before me.
An anonymous pamphlet was issued, containing many names. All
who denied that they were or had been Christians I considered
should be discharged, because they called upon the gods at
my dictation and did reverence. . .and especially because
they cursed Christ, a thing which it is said, genuine Christians
cannot be induced to do." (Bettenson, p. 3)
These
passages indicate that Christianity was wide spread in the Roman
empire within 80 years of Christ's death. Again, these are eyewitness
accounts, not historians looking back years later.
The
popular historian Will Durant, himself not a Christian, wrote
concerning Christ's historical validity:
"The
denial of that existence seems never to have occurred even
to the bitterest gentile or Jewish opponents of nascent Christianity"
(Durant, The Story of Civilization, vol. 3, p. 555).
And
again, "That a few simple men should in one generation
have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so
lofty an ethic and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood,
would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in
the Gospels" (Ibid., p. 557).
It
is a substantial thing that an historian who spends his life
considering historical facts should affirm the reality of Christ's
existence as well as the rapid growth of the early movement.
The
Jewish historian Josephus, writing for the Roman government
in the 70's A.D. records some incidental things regarding Christ
and the church. He confirms that John the Baptist died at the
hand of Herod (as recorded in the gospels) as well as the death
of,:
"The
brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James
. . . he delivered them to be stoned" (Josephus,
Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, ch. V, p. 20; Book
XX, ch. IX, p. 140 ).
Again
we have sources external to the Bible that demonstrate the historical
reliability of the text. Josephus, who was probably alive during
the time of Christ, is attesting to the reality of his existence.
What this also tells us is that within 40 years of Christ's
death, the knowledge of who he was, was widespread enough that
Josephus could reference him and expect readers to know exactly
who he was talking about.
Christisnity
Introduction | The
resurrection of Jesus Christ | the
Bible as history
Christianity and miracles | about
Jesus Christ | the accuracy
of The Bible
