Can you post some evidence regarding jesus's existence
Dylan,
Here is a copy and paste from one of my recent academic articles:
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (
ca AD 69-after 122)
Of one of his writings, it was reported that ‘De vita Caesarum, which treats Julius Caesar and the emperors up to Domitian, is largely responsible for that vivid picture of Roman society and its leaders, morally and politically decadent, that dominated historical thought until modified in modern times by the discovery of non-literary evidence. The biographies are organized not chronologically but by topics’ (Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2014. s. v. Suetonius).
Suetonius’s mention of Jesus is contentious among historians. It is recorded that he wrote in his life of Claudius, ‘Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome’ (Suetonius 1914a:25.4). This expulsion from Rome is also mentioned in the New Testament at Acts 18:2 and Wright noted that, even though this is controversial, ‘the episode took place in about 49 AD’ (Wright 1992:355).
During the reign of Nero, Suetonius reported, ‘Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition’ (Suetonius 1914b:16.2). Wright’s comment was that ‘Suetonius is no more reliable than a tabloid newspaper. Mere proximity to the event is not enough’ (Wright 1992:16).
Suetonius wrote during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117-138) and although, ‘racy and unreliable though he often is’, these extracts about Chrestus ‘are normally regarded as referring to actual events…. It has often been pointed out that the difference in pronunciation between Chrestus and Christus would be minimal in this period’ (Wright 1992:355).
These citations by Suetonius are contentious among historians because (1) Suetonius is not always reliable as an historian; (2) the statement, ‘he expelled them from Rome’ is ‘very vague’ and he may be confusing what he heard about Christ at that time with what happened in the time of Claudius (Foakes-Jackson 1924:48, n. 3); (3) ‘Chrestus was not Jesus the Messiah but a pretender whose name has not survived’ (Judge and Thomas, in Barnett 1999:45); and (4) the Christian interpretation of Chrestus arose from the fifth century historian Orosius, and Chrestus is an independent person (Slingerland). Barnett contends that ‘most scholars believe’ that when Suetonius wrote of ‘Chrestus’, he was referring to Jesus ‘Christus’ and there were Christians in Rome by AD 49 (Barnett 2003:21).
Eusebius Pamphilus of Caesarea (
ca 265-339)
Cairns noted that Eusebius’ greatest work,
Ecclesiastical history (Eusebius Pamphilus 1890a), surveyed church history from apostolic times until 324. Scholars regret the lack of careful documentation of his sources, which is a modern phenomenon (Cairns 1981:143). Schaff’s assessment was that ‘whatever may be said of the defects of Eusebius as an historical critic and writer, his learning and industry are unquestionable, and his Church History and Chronicle will always remain an invaluable collection of information not attainable in any other ancient author’ (Schaff 1889a:9).
The earliest documentation of the life of Jesus that we have is in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the Acts of the Apostles.
Oz
