Jesus a historical figure?
Originally posted by tiassa
You're on. Provide a primary source document from history demonstrating the historical existence of Jesus.
thanx,
Tiassa
First, since I suppose that the eyewitness accounts of the New Testament scriptures are off limits for this discussion, I will use the secular sources.
Let's start with the writing of of Flavius Josephus, a Roman Historian, of Jewish heritage, for the time period that the Gospels were written. For those that don't know, that would be the time period of approxiamtely 60 to 70 AD.
Josephus writes:
The second mention of Jesus in the Antiquities (Book 20, Ch. 9, Par. 1).
Now it is said that the elder Ananus was extremely fortunate...but the younger Ananus, who had been appointed to the high priesthood, was rash in his temper and unusually daring. He followed the school of the Sadducees, who are indeed more heartless than any of the other Jews, as I have already explained, when they sit in judgment. Possessed of such a character, Ananus thought that he had a favourable opportunity because Festus was dead and Albinas was still on the way. And so he convened the judges of the Sanhedrin, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, the one called Christ, whose name was James, and certain others, and accusing them of having transgressed the law delivered them up to be stoned. Those of the inhabits of the city who were considered the most fair-minded and who were strict in observance of the law were offended at this. They therefore secretly sent to King Agrippa urging him, for Ananus had not even been correct in his first step, to order him to desist from any further such actions. Certain of them even went to meet Albinus, who was on his way from Alexandria, and informed him that Ananus had no authority to convene the Sanhedrin without his consent. Convinced by these words, Albinus angrily wrote to Ananus threatening to take vengeance upon him. King Agrippa, because of Ananus' action, deposed him from the high priesthood which he had held for three months and replaced him with Jesus the son of Damnaeus.
- trans. Louis Feldman (Loeb Edition), modified by G. Goldberg
The complete section on Pilate containing the account of Jesus. (Antiquities, Book 18, Ch. 3)
1. But now Pilate, the procurator of Judea, removed the army from Cesarea to Jerusalem, to take
their winter quarters there, in order to abolish the Jewish laws. So he introduced Caesar's effigies,
which were upon the ensigns, and brought them into the city; whereas our law forbids us the very
making of images; on which account the former procurators were wont to make their entry into the
city with such ensigns as had not those ornaments. Pilate was the first who brought those images to
Jerusalem, and set them up there; which was done without the knowledge of the people, because it
was done in the night time; but as soon as they knew it, they came in multitudes to Cesarea, and
interceded with Pilate many days that he would remove the images; and when he would not grant
their requests, because it would tend to the injury of Caesar, while yet they persevered in their
request, on the sixth day he ordered his soldiers to have their weapons privately, while he came and
sat upon his judgment-seat, which seat was so prepared in the open place of the city, that it
concealed the army that lay ready to oppress them; and when the Jews petitioned him again, he gave
a signal to the soldiers to encompass them routed, and threatened that their punishment should be no
less than immediate death, unless they would leave off disturbing him, and go their ways home. But
they threw themselves upon the ground, and laid their necks bare, and said they would take their
death very willingly, rather than the wisdom of their laws should be transgressed; upon which Pilate
was deeply affected with their firm resolution to keep their laws inviolable, and presently
commanded the images to be carried back from Jerusalem to Cesarea.
2. But Pilate undertook to bring a current of water to Jerusalem, and did it with the sacred money, and derived the origin of the stream from the distance of two hundred furlongs. However, the Jews were not pleased with what had been done about this water; and many ten thousands of the people got together, and made a clamor against him, and insisted that he should leave off that design. Some of them also used reproaches, and abused the man, as crowds of such people usually do. So he habited a great number of his soldiers in their habit, who carried daggers under their garments, and sent them to a place where they might surround them. So he bid the Jews himself go away; but they boldly casting reproaches upon him, he gave the soldiers that signal which had been beforehand agreed on; who laid upon them much greater blows than Pilate had commanded them, and equally punished those that were tumultuous, and those that were not; nor did they spare them in the least: and since the people were unarmed, and were caught by men prepared for what they were about, there were a great number of them slain by this means, and others of them ran away wounded. And thus an end was put to this sedition.
3. Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
Cornelius Tacitus
Cornelius Tacitus,the Roman historian, (c55-c117). In his book Annals, which covered the history of Rome from the death of Augustus (AD14) to the death of Nero (AD69), he related the story of the Neronian persecution of the Christians. It narrated how Nero tried to blame the burning of Rome in AD64 on "the common people called Christians." He went on to explain that the Christians "derived their name and origin from Christ, who, in the reign of Tiberias, had suffered death, by the sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate."