Ancient secular writings about Jesus
Some people try to use the argument that Jesus never existed - that mentions of him only exist in the Bible. While it is true that many of the people who wrote about Jesus were believers of him, it is also true that some of the most important writers of his era, who were not believers (so far as we know), also wrote about him. Here are a few examples:
Cornelius Tacitus, who was born during the first century of this era, about 1900 years ago, was a Roman historian. In writing about the reign of Nero, and an incident in which Nero was trying to deflect blame for a destructive fire, Tacitus alludes to the death of Christ and to the existence of Christians in Rome:
"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. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired." - Tacitus, The Annals, Book XV.
Flavius Josephus also was a Roman historian who was born during the first century, the same century in which Jesus lived. Josephus was Jewish and was a commander of the Jewish forces, in Galilee, before being defeated by the Romans, after which he became an historian. Josephus not only wrote about Jesus, but he also wrote about John the Baptist.
Josephus and Tacitus are widely considered two of the very most important historians who lived during the first century, and both of them wrote about Jesus. And there were other writers during the first century and second century who also allude to Jesus.
Lucian of Samosata, for example, was a satirist who lived during the second century of this era, more than 1800 years ago. His writing is full of scorn, and contains more than a few inaccuracies in terms of how he characterizes the nature of Christianity, but his writings nonetheless allude to Jesus, to Christianity, as well as to the devotedness of Christians during the second century:
" . . . the man who was crucified in Palestine because He introduced this new cult into the world. For having convinced themselves that they are going to be immortal and live forever, the poor wretches despise death and most even willingly give themselves up."
There were many other writers who alluded to Jesus and to his followers during the first and second century of this era. It is interesting to note that when writing about Jesus, people very often either became believers or haters of Jesus. It might seem that few of the people who knew enough about Jesus to write about him were able to remain neutral about him. Some became believers who were willing to die for their belief in Jesus, while others scorned and mocked them for their belief and devotion.
By George Konig
November 7, 2004
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