Wednesday, July 4, 2007

More than a Fairy Tale

Following are some quotes mentioning Jesus gleaned from extra-biblical sources:

Now there arose at this time a source of further trouble in one Jesus, a wise man who performed surprising works, a teacher of men who gladly welcome strange things. He led away many Jews, and also many of the Gentiles. He was the so-called Christ. When Pilate, acting on information supplied by the chief men around us, condemned him to the cross, those who had attached themselves to him at first did not cease to cause trouble, and the tribe of Christians, which has taken this name from him is not extinct even today.--Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, Chapter Three, Part Three, early 2nd century A.D.

From the same book: ...so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned...--Book 20, Chapter Nine, Part One

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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, 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 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, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.--Tacitus, Annals: Book XV, A.D. 109

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He banished from Rome all the Jews, who were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Chrestus.--Seutonius (A.D. 69-140), Lives of the Caesars, sec. 25.

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The link at the top of the page lists other references to early Christianity, as well.

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