The gospel of Jesus Christ is more enduring than fame, more precious than riches, more to be desired than happiness. (Joseph B. Wirthlin)
Thinking about the musings from DAY 35: Rest…Relax…Reflect…
I would submit to you that the evidence presented in the writings found in the Torah, Old Testament, and New Testament all seem to acknowledge the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed a real person.
What if, however, you subscribe to the idea that those three books, all of course combining to create what is better known as the Holy Bible, is considered nothing more than: myth, legend, and children’s tales?
In other words, is there outside, independent corroboration that Jesus of Nazareth did in fact exist?
Yes there is.
Actually, yes there are…
There are at least 3 sources…outside, independent corroboration…that validates the birth and existence of Jesus of Nazareth:
1) Flavius Josephus;
2) Tacitus and;
3) Pliny the Younger;
The first, “outside, independent corroboration” comes from Flavius Josephus. A first century, Jewish historian, (Flavius) Josephus describes Jesus on two occasions:
A) Josephus refers to James as: “the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ.” And;
B) “About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he…wrought surprising feats….He was the Christ. When Pilate…condemned him to be crucified, those who had…come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared…restored to life….And the tribe of Christians…has…not disappeared.”
It is highly unlikely that a Jew would speak in such terms about Jesus of Nazareth as a whole in that passage.
Why would someone with a Jewish background, be motivated to describe Jesus of Nazareth, in this manner?
What is confirmed by historians is the accuracy and validity of the writings of Joseph himself. The claims of Joseph stating that Jesus of Nazareth was a ‘wise man’ who did ‘wrought surprising feats’, who was in fact crucified under Pilate and those who chose to follow his teachings are still, to this day, referred to ‘(the tribe of) Christians,’ are difficult to ignore or deny.
A second, “outside, independent corroboration” is from Tacitus. He was a Roman historian around the time that Rome had been destroyed by fire during the reign of Nero, around 64 CE. Tacitus wrote the following:
“Nero fastened the guilt … on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of … Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome….”
Tacitus notes that the Christians got their name from a guy called ‘Christus’, which is Latin for ‘Christ’.
‘Suffered the extreme penalty,”, is a reference to crucifixion.
‘A most mischievous superstition,”, is a reference to Christ rising from the grave.
A third, “outside, independent corroboration” comes from Pliny the Younger. A Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor, Pliny the Younger wrote several letters to the then Emperor Trajan of the Roman Empire around the year 112 CE. Pliny the Younger wrote the following regarding Jesus of Nazareth:
“They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food – but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.”
Christians met on certain, scheduled days for worship. That worship was directed at Christ, confirming their early belief in his divinity. Hymns sung to Christ, ‘as to a god’, is unique in that Christ had actually lived on earth.
What about this reference from Pliny about the early Christians: “bound themselves by a solemn oath…”.
What is that all about?
That is most likely a reference to the early Christians binding themselves to the moral standards put forth by Jesus of Nazareth.
Moral standards? What moral standards? Didn’t all belief systems have a set of moral standards?
Well, yes, they all did, as I have explained in the following posts:
Day 18: The Basics Of Polytheism/Animism;
Day 19: The Validity Of Polytheism/Animism;
Day 20: The Basics Of Hinduism;
Day 22: The Validity Of Hinduism;
Day 23: The Basics Of Buddhism;
Day 24: The Validity Of Buddhism;
Day 25: The Basics Of Confucianism;
Day 26: The Validity Of Confucianism;
Day 27: Daoism…Or Is It Taoism?;
Day 29: The Validity Of Daoism…Or Is It Taoism?;
Day 30: The Basics Of Judaism;
Day 31: The Basics Of Judaism – Part 2 and;
Day 32: The Validity Of Judaism
Ok, so if Polytheism/Animism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Judaism all have some sort of moral standards, than why does Pliny the Youngers’ reference to: “bound themselves by a solemn oath…”, regarding Jesus of Nazareth matter?
That will be covered next time.
Do not feel discouraged if you are having a difficult time understanding the significance of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Do not feel discouraged if you are still overwhelmed with the information provided by Flavius Josephus, Tacitus and Pliny the Younger. Instead, embrace the idea that having additional outside, independent corroboration helps to validate what you may already know regarding Jesus of Nazareth.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 KJV
Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?
Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 36: Jesus…The Outside, Independent Corroboration.
If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.
Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:
This is one of my favorite blogs so far