I’m not sure if any of you caught the Christ Files doco that was on TV on Easter Sunday. I thought it was really worthwhile viewing, being very clear and well produced. The show had a close connection with the book by the same name by John Dickson. In light of the show, I thought it might be worthwhile to post some summaries of the book that Ryan and I (but mostly Ryan) did last year for The Bible Talks.

This first instalment looks at Jesus as recorded in the ancient pagan writings. Of course, the Bible is our only trusted source of information for a clear picture of Jesus. However, it is reassuring to know that Jesus didn’t just appear in an isolated pocket of the world with no witnesses to verify his existence. Rather, he came into human history and his life was documented by believers and non-believers alike. Even though these non-believing writers were often very dismissive and critical in their writings, the fact that they wrote lends support to Jesus as a real historical figure. Here is part one:

—

Jesus in ancient pagan writings
Do ancient references to Jesus exist outside the bible?
Yes! There are quite a lot of references to Jesus by writers who not only weren’t Christian,
but many of whom didn’t even like Christians. This summary looks at ‘pagan’ authors. By this we mean Greeks and Romans who worshipped the ancient Greek/Roman religions.

Tacitus: ancient Roman historian 56 AD-120 AD

What he wrote:
‘Christians derive their name from a man called Christ, who, during the reign of emperor Tiberius, had been executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate. The deadly superstition, thus checked for the moment, broke out afresh not only in Judea, the first source of he evil, but also in the City of Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world meet and become popular.’ (Annals 15.44)

Lucian of Samosata: ancient Greek satirist and lecturer115 AD-200 AD

What he wrote: He referred to the founder of Christianity as…
‘…the one whom they still worship today, the man in Palestine who was crucified because he brought this new form of initiation into the world…Moreover, that first lawgiver of theirs persuaded them that they are all brothers the moment they transgress and deny the Greek gods and egin worshipping that crucified sophist and living by his laws. (the death of Perigrinus 11-13)

Celsus: Greek intellectual writing in Ad 175.

What he wrote: Celsus said Jesus was the illegitimate product of his mother’s affair with a Roman soldier, and performed miracles by Egyptian sorcery… ‘having tried his hand at certain magical powers, Jesus returned from there (Egypt) and on
account of those powers gave himself the title of God.’ (True Doctrine)

From these sources we get a picture of Jesus as a troublemaker, a religious phony. However, the details in these references corroborate many of the details of Jesus’ life found in the gospels. In coming weeks we’ll look at other sources –such as Jewish writers, other gospels
and the evidence of the biblical gospels.

Other names to Google:
Thallos, Pliny the Younger, Mara bar Serapion, Suetonius