FACTOID # 31: Think Antarctica is inhospitable? Think again - its land area is only ninety-eight percent ice. Reassuringly, the other 2% is "barren rock".
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

Encyclopedia > Historical Christ

The existence of Jesus is accepted by two major world religions, Christianity and Islam, based on their respective scriptures, the Bible and the Qur'an. However, the true historicity of Jesus is difficult to determine, as few reliable records of his life exist. While Christianity considers Jesus to be the Christ (Messiah) and Son of God and Islam views him as a prophet, secular historians and most other world religions (including Judaism) tend to regard him as an ordinary human, and a few dispute whether he ever existed. // Jesus, or Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ, is Christianitys central figure, both as Messiah and, for most Christians, as God incarnate. ... The status of Jesus in theology varies widely from religion to religion. ...                       The month, day or even year of Jesus birth cannot be exactly ascertained. ... Among historians who are Christian Biblical scholars, the literature suggests the following detailed timeline for Jesus. ... This article concerns critical reconstructions of the Historical Jesus. ... This article presents a description of Jesus life, as based on the four gospels. ... According to the canonical Gospels, Jesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ by Christians, worked many miracles in the course of his ministry. ... According to the New Testament, especially the Gospels, Jesus, also called Christ, had the power to lay his life down and to take it up again, being both human and God as well as the Promised Messiah. ... A large variety of names and titles have been used to describe Jesus, many of which reflect various theological understandings or different beliefs about him. ... As historian E. P. Sanders has observed, of all the religions that existed within the Roman Empire, only two have widespread followings today: Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, both of which have their origins in Roman-occupied Palestine, both of which claim to be based on the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament... There are many relics of Jesus that people believe or believed to be authentic relics of the Gospel accounts. ... Various authors and filmmakers have created dramatic portrayals of Jesus and his life. ... There are no undisputed historical images of Jesus; he sat for no portraits which are preserved and of unquestioned authenticity and undoubted provenance. ... // Jesus, or Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ, is Christianitys central figure, both as Messiah and, for most Christians, as God incarnate. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ...   Islam? (Arabic: الإسلام al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ... The Bible (sometimes The Book or Good Book), from Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, plural of βιβλιον, biblion, book, originally a diminutive of βιβλος, biblos, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos, meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material), is the classical name for the... The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al KarÄ«m or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Christ is the English representation of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated as Khristós), which means anointed. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ anointed one, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew ) initially meant any person who was anointed by God. ... In numerous religions, including Abrahamic religions, Jah religions, Sikhism, and many forms of Paganism, a prophet is an intermediary with a deity, particularly someone who claims to speak for the deity or interprets the deitys will or mind. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ...


The few detailed accounts of Jesus' life from the time period describe various remarkable events and miracles, including virgin birth and resurrection. These events are believed to have literally happened by many Christians, but most non-Christians and even some liberal Christians do not believe that these events actually occurred, based partly on the general principle that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" and partly on a perceived lack of evidence from more neutral sources. However, many Christians nonetheless maintain that there is good historical evidence for Biblical miracles. Some also claim that a philosophical opposition to the supernatural causes most historians and scientists to be unfairly biased against any account of miraculous happenings, disregarding the specific historical evidence available. [1] [2] For the U.S. hockey teams victory in the 1980 Winter Olympics, see Miracle on Ice, or Miracle (movie) According to many religions, a miracle is an intervention by God in the universe. ... The Virgin Birth is a key doctrine of the Christian faith, and is also held to be true by Muslims. ... Resurrection of the Flesh (1499-1502) Fresco by Luca Signorelli Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto Resurrection is most commonly associated with the consisting of the reuniting of the spirit and the body of an individual, or the raising of a person from death back to life. ... // Introduction Liberal Christianity, Progressive Christianity or Liberalism is a movement within Christianity that is characterized by the following features: internal diversity of opinion an embracing of higher criticism of the Bible with a corresponding willingness to question supernatural elements of biblical stories (e. ... Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (UK spelling, scepticism) sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a scientific, or practical, epistemological position (or paradigm) in which one questions the veracity of claims unless they can be scientifically verified. ... The supernatural (Latin: super- exceeding + nature) comprises forces and phenomena which are beyond the realm of current scientific understanding, and which may actually directly contradict conventional scientific understandings. ...


Many scholars see the Biblical narrative of Jesus' life as a mythologized account of a historical figure's life, aimed at winning new converts rather than at being a neutral historical record. The difficulty of distinguishing which parts of Jesus' life are historical and which are mythological is one of the main obstacles for Biblical historians. Even accurate accounts of events in Jesus' life likely changed in subtle ways during retellings. Others may have been exaggerated on purpose, and some may even have been entirely new events, possibly reinterpreted from older stories; virgin births and sacrifice were common features of Pagan godmen myths, such as Osiris-Dionysus. Within a Christian context, Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are a catch-all terms which has come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ... The term Osiris-Dionysus is used by some historians of religion to refer to a group of deities worshipped around the Mediterranean in the centuries prior to the birth of Jesus. ...


Although the existence of a historical figure named Jesus is almost universally accepted by Christians and Muslims, and not questioned by most others, there is a school of thought, called mythological school, which sees Jesus as a later interpolation into one of the mystery religions which resemble Christianity. This theory is commonly known as the Jesus Myth. Others see the apparent relationship between Gnosticism and Christianity as being based on a historical figure acting as the focal point for the linking of Jewish religious traditions and political history with a mystery religion, a syncretism—ultimately more popular among Gentiles than Jews—which would become Christianity. This article concerns critical reconstructions of the Historical Jesus. ... The Jesus-Myth idea is the position of a small group of scholars that a literal and historical Jesus did not exist but instead portrays abstract, symbolic, and metaphorical allusion of a higher knowledge, awareness and consciousness which is not readily apparent to one who adheres to the perception of... In the mathematical subfield of numerical analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points from a discrete set of known data points. ... A mystery religion is any religion with an arcanum, or body of secret wisdom. ... The Jesus-Myth idea is the position of a small group of scholars that a literal and historical Jesus did not exist but instead portrays abstract, symbolic, and metaphorical allusion of a higher knowledge, awareness and consciousness which is not readily apparent to one who adheres to the perception of... Gnosticism is a blanket term for various mystical initiatory religions and sects, which were most prominent in the first few centuries CE. The occult nature of gnostic teaching and the fact that much of the evidence for that teaching has traditionally come from critiques by orthodox Christians made it difficult... Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought. ... The word Gentile (from the Latin gentilis, a translation of the Hebrew Nochri/נכרי) has several meanings. ...

Contents


Contemporary sources

Christian writings

Jesus features prominently throughout the New Testament, but since later parts of the Bible were largely based on earlier ones, it is the oldest remaining Christian texts that are the most valuable for getting a relatively accurate account of Jesus' life. The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ...


The main source of (debatably) historical information about Jesus in the Bible is contained within the Gospels. Some also claim that evidence for a historical Jesus is provided by the Epistles, especially those by Paul. ... For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... The word epistle is from the Greek word epistolos which means a written letter addressed to a recipient or recipients, perhaps part of exchanged correspondence. ... An early portrait of the Apostle Paul. ...


The Gospels

The Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke do not claim to be written by first-hand witnesses (though a tradition, now disputed by scholars, has all four written by apostles), and thus these may be subject to the distortions any second- or third-hand account would tend to have. The Gospel of John is especially believed by some to have been written by an apostle; however, many others dispute this authorship for a number of reasons. The Synoptic Gospels is a term used by modern New Testament scholars for the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke of the New Testament in the Bible. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the sequence of the canon as printed in the New Testament, and scholars agree it was the fourth to be written. ... El Grecos rendition of John the Apostle shows the traditional author of the Johannine works as a young man. ...


Some historians believe that the texts on which the Gospels were based were written within living memory of Jesus' lifetime. They therefore accept that the accounts of the life of Jesus in the Gospels provide valid evidence for the historical existence of Jesus, and a partially reliable account of his life and death. However, despite the relatively small amount of time between the creation of the Gospels and the events they describe, few believe that the Gospels are a fully reliable source of historical information, and some reject them entirely as being purely mythological accounts.


Believers in Biblical inerrancy, such as Christian fundamentalists, reject all claims that the Gospels are anything less than the literal truth regarding Jesus' life. However, subjecting the Bible to the same level of source criticism as secular historical texts receive raises questions of historiography, and the majority opinion among Biblical scholars is currently that the Gospels are only partially accurate accounts as historical documents. While most secular historians and Bible scholars consider the Gospels biased and distorted, rejecting the supernatural and miraculous claims within, many believe that they are nonetheless based on historical events; the chief disagreement is to what extent. Biblical inerrancy is the view that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is in every detail infallible and without error in the original autographs. ... Fundamentalist Christianity is a fundamentalist movement, especially within American Protestantism. ... Historiography is writing about rather than of history. ... The supernatural (Latin: super- exceeding + nature) comprises forces and phenomena which are beyond the realm of current scientific understanding, and which may actually directly contradict conventional scientific understandings. ... According to many religions, a miracle, derived from the old Latin word miraculum meaning something wonderful, is a striking interposition of divine intervention by God in the universe by which the operations of the ordinary course of Nature are overruled, suspended, or modified. ...


A significant factor in considering the historicity of the Gospels is the Synoptic problem: in some areas, the first three Gospels seem to contradict each other, while in other areas they are so close in wording that one could almost be a direct copy of the other. The most common theories explaining these discrepancies are that either some of the Gospels drew partly from a common source, or that the Gospels were based, directly or indirectly, on one another. The synoptic problem concerns the literary relationship between and among the first three canonical gospels (the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke), known as the synoptic gospels. ...


There are also discrepancies between the earliest known manuscripts of the Gospels—some in particularly important places, such as Mark 16. This raises uncertainty about which manuscript is the most accurate or most reflects the original texts. Furthermore, some of the texts seem to have been edited or censored. For example, part of Mark 10:46 reads: "And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho," which suggests to some that there may be missing text explaining what happened between Jesus' arriving at and leaving Jericho. This raises the issue of whether there was deliberate distortion of the text. However, one of the more ancient texts of that passage, the Codex Vaticanus, lacks the phrase "and they came to Jericho." Mark 16 is the final chapter of the Gospel of Mark. ... The Secret Gospel of Mark refers to a previously unsuspected gospel mentioned in a letter that presents itself as written by Clement of Alexandria. ... A section of the Codex Vaticanus, containing 1 Esdras 2:1-8 The Codex Vaticanus (The Vatican, Bibl. ...


Although the traditional stance of the early Church was that the Gospels of Matthew and John were the first two to be written, the Gospel of Mark is now considered by almost all Biblical historians to be the earliest of the four (see Markan priority). These scholars date it before AD 70[3], fairly close to the early oral preaching about Jesus' life. Similar preaching may also have survived in part through the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, as it is believed that those two Gospels both based much of their accounts on Mark and on another, unknown and possibly even earlier, document—a hypothetical "sayings Gospel" dubbed the Q document by New Testament scholars. The Gospel of Mark is traditionally the second of the New Testament Gospels. ... Markan priority is the hypothesis that the Gospel of Mark was the first written of the three Synoptic Gospels, and that the two other synoptic evangelists, Matthew and Luke, used Marks Gospel as one of their sources. ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally: according to Matthew, Greek: Κατα Μαθθαιον) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Q document or Q (Q for German Quelle, source) is a postulated lost textual source for the Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke. ...


The Epistles

Information lacking.


Apocrypha

Jesus is also a large factor in New Testament apocrypha, works that some early Christians, notably in the Council of Laodicea, chose to exclude from the canon, based on judgments regarding whether or not they were inspired by God. The category of New Testament apocrypha ( reminds the modern reader of the wide range of responses that were engendered in interpreting the message of Jesus of Nazareth during the first several centuries of the Common Era, as mainstream Christianity emerged. ... The Council of Laodicea was a regional synod of approximately 30 clerics from Anatolia, (now modern Turkey). ... The Biblical canon is an exclusive list of books written during the formative period of the Jewish or Christian faiths; the leaders of these communities believed these books to be inspired by God or to express the authoritative history of the relationship between God and his people (although there may... Rembrandts The Evangelist Matthew Inspired by an Angel. ...


Some Gnostic texts also provide fairly early accounts of Jesus' life, and these can be considered valuable for never becoming part of the canon and thus not having to adhere to "mainstream" Christian sensibilities. However, Gnostic texts tend to be more allegorical than historical, so the search for evidence of Jesus' life centers more around other early writings that give more of an impression of being based on real events. Gnosticism is a blanket term for various mystical initiatory religions and sects, which were most prominent in the first few centuries CE. The occult nature of gnostic teaching and the fact that much of the evidence for that teaching has traditionally come from critiques by orthodox Christians made it difficult... An allegory (from Greek αλλος, allos, other, and αγορευειν, agoreuein, to speak in public) is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than and in addition to the literal. ...


Lost texts

Although the four Canonical Gospels were once believed to be the earliest written records of Jesus' life, many scholars now believe that earlier texts once existed, but are now lost. Such postulated early texts include the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Signs Gospel, and the Q document. It is possible that these would be some of the most reliable Christian documents on Jesus' life, were they still extant. For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... The Gospel of the Hebrews (see About titles below), is a lost gospel that is only preserved in a few quotations in the Panarion of Epiphanius, a church writer who lived at the end of the 4th century AD, who goes on to say that. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Q document or Q (Q for German Quelle, source) is a postulated lost textual source for the Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke. ...


Non-Christian writings

Of the non-Christian commentators living within memory of Jesus, very few are said to have written anything at all about Jesus or Christianity. This is not surprising; most writers of the time whose works have survived had little interest in the Middle East in general, and Palestine in particular, and so would have little reason to write about a local religious leader who preached there for a handful of years. A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... ...


Nonetheless, several major non-Christian historians of the time are attested by various groups to have written material relating to Jesus: Pliny the Younger, Josephus, Suetonius, and Tacitus. Pliny the Younger condemned Christians as easily led fools, as did the rhetorician Lucian some years later. There is an obscure reference to a Jewish leader called "Chrestus" in Suetonius. Surviving manuscripts of Tacitus (in a passage in the Annals written c. 115) summarize popular opinion about Jesus, but do not demonstrate access to any independent source of information. Of the four, Josephus' writings are the most interesting to scholars dealing with the historicity of Jesus. Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (63-ca. ... Josephus (ca. ... Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (75 AD – 160 AD), commonly known simply as Suetonius, was a Roman writer. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (ca. ... Lucian Lucian of Samosata (Greek, Λουκιανὸς Σαμοσατεύς, Latin, Lucianus; c. ... The Roman historian Tacitus wrote concerning the Great Fire of Rome, in his Annals (c. ... The Annals, or, in Latin, Annales, is a history book by Tacitus covering the reign of the 4 Roman Emperors succeeding to Caesar Augustus. ...


Will Durant, philosopher and historian, wrote in his book Caesar and Christ (pp. 554-5) William Durant William James Durant (November 5, 1885—November 7, 1981) was an American philosopher and writer. ...

"The oldest known mention of Christ in pagan literature is in a letter of the younger Pliny (ca. 110), asking the advice of Trajan on the treatment of Christians. Five years later Tacitus described Nero's persecution of the Chrestiani in Rome, and pictured them as already (A.D. 64) numbering adherents throughout the empire.... Suetonius (ca. 125) mentions the same persecution, and reports Claudius' banishment (ca. 52) of 'Jews who, stirred up by Christ [impulsore Chresto], were causing public disturbances', the passage accords well with the Acts of the Apostles, which mentions a decree of Claudius that 'the Jews should leave Rome'. These references prove the existence of Christians rather than of Christ; but unless we assume the latter we are driven to the improbable hypothesis that Jesus was invented in one generation." (Durant, 1944)

However, there was no mention of these passages by early Christian writers, and in the case of Tacitus nothing was noted about Christianity until the "translation" by Sulpicius Severus. The most substantial non-Christian source is Josephus. Both John the Baptist and James the Just are also documented in Josephus, and the only record that unambiguously mentions Jesus himself is that of Josephus. However, its authenticity is still greatly debated as well. For other uses, see number 64. ... For other uses, see number 52. ... The Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca, 1449 John the Baptist (also called John the Baptizer) is regarded as a prophet by at least three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Mandaeanism. ... For people and places called Saint James, see the disambiguation page. ...


Josephus

Main article: Josephus on Jesus In AD 93, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus published his work Antiquities of the Jews. ...


Many Christians use a passage from the Jewish historian Josephus as evidence that the Bible is not the only contemporary document proclaiming the truth of their faith and its history. However, John Dominic Crossan and K. H. Rengstorff have noted that the passage has many internal indicators that seem to be inconsistent with the rest of Josephus' writing and with what is known about Josephus, leading them to think that part or all of the passage may have been forged. John Dominic Crossan (born Nenagh, Co. ...


Josephus, as a historian, recorded details on many people claiming to be Messiahs in Roman Judea; however, on Jesus, Josephus appears to have written only one passage, quoted by Eusebius as part of a larger text (the only source for this, and many other texts written by Josephus), as well as a shorter passage stating that Jesus was thought to be the brother of James the Just and was referred to as the "Christ." The longer passage declares that Jesus was a wise man (or more than a man) who converted many Jews and non-Jews and was the Christ. The second passage goes on to say that he was crucified by Pontius Pilate at the instigation of the Jewish authorities and rose from the dead on the third day following. In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ anointed one, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew ) initially meant any person who was anointed by God. ... Josephus (ca. ... Eusebius is the name of several significant historical people: Pope Eusebius - Pope in AD 309 - 310. ... For people and places called Saint James, see the disambiguation page. ... Ecce Homo (Behold the Man!), Antonio Ciseris depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a scourged Christ to the people of Jerusalem Pontius Pilate (Latin Pontius Pilatus) was the governor of the small Roman province of Judea from AD 26 until around AD 36, although Tacitus believed him to be the...


While the passage is often cited as proof of Jesus' existence, most critical scholars hold that it is a forgery, or has at least been heavily edited by a later hand. Several reasons are given for this: It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with :The Historical-Critical Method. ...

  1. First, the text contains several hapax legomena, often evidence of a different author.
  2. Second, the text as it stands could only have been written by a Christian, not a Jew like Josephus.
  3. Third, the logical flow between two paragraphs is interrupted by the "Jesus passage," though it must be admitted that Josephus' logical flow is not always exemplary in the rest of his writings.

The passage is first mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea in the context of a debate, where this provides the necessary piece of evidence. Origen, who discussed the shorter reference, made no reference to that text, saying that the one reference was all that existed. This has led to the conclusion by many critics that some Christian, possibly Eusebius himself, falsified the text. All surviving copies of the Jewish Antiquities contain this text, so it is impossible to determine if Josephus had written a less-flattering text about Jesus that was later edited, or if that text is entirely an insertion. A hapax legomenon (pl. ... Eusebius of Caesarea (~275 – May 30, 339) (often called Eusebius Pamphili, Eusebius [the friend] of Pamphilus) was a bishop of Caesarea in Palestine and is often referred to as the father of church history because of his work in recording the history of the early Christian church. ... Origen ( 182– 251) was a Christian scholar and theologian and one of the most distinguished of the Fathers of the early Christian Church. ... Antiquities of the Jews was a work published by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the year A.D. 93. ...


Scholars who feel that the passage is a result of partial rather than complete forgery, including Karl Adam, suggest that the declaration that Jesus was Messiah and the phrase "he was a teacher of men who accepted the truth with joy" are the only major interpolations in the text. The discovery of a 10th century manuscript which seems thus slightly more neutral, written more from the point of view of a commentator, lacks the flaw of Josephus' Jewish perspective seeming to conflict with the pro-Jesus messages in the text. No explanation has been provided as to how this text came to be and why it differs from the other texts. Some scholars consider this text to also be a forgery or to be in error, since the author, Agapius of Hierapolis, seems to have quoted it from memory. Saint Agapius was a martyr, who was killed at Caesarea in A.D. 306. ... The theatre Hierapolis (Arabic Manbij or Mumbij) is an ancient Syrian town occupying one of the finest sites in Northern Syria, in a fertile district about 16 miles southwest of the confluence of the Sajur and Euphrates. ...


Other figures in early Christian lore are more unambiguously mentioned in Josephus' writings than Jesus. For example, Josephus frequently mentions John the Baptist. However, he refers to Jesus only twice, once by name alone and the second time in a passage which is only debatably authentic. The Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca, 1449 John the Baptist (also called John the Baptizer) is regarded as a prophet by at least three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Mandaeanism. ...


Roman records, and those of Josephus, refer to a series of troublemakers, including many who claimed to be Messiah. However, Jesus is never mentioned explicitly amongst them—although others, such as Simon bar Kokhba, Theudas, Menahem ben Judah, and an Egyptian who had a large following of 30,000, are clearly identified; some of these also seem to be alluded to in the Book of Acts. In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ anointed one, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew ) initially meant any person who was anointed by God. ... Simon bar Kokhba was a Jewish military leader who led Bar Kokhbas revolt against the Romans in 132, establishing an independent state of Israel which he ruled for three years as Nasi (prince, or president). His state was conquered by the Romans in 135 following a two-year war. ... Theudas is also the name of a follower of Paul of Tarsus, who taught Valentinius, for more information, see Theudas (teacher of Valentinius) Theudas (Thoo duhs) Personal name meaning, gift of God. ... The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ...


Pliny the Younger

Around 112 AD, in a correspondence between Emperor Trajan and the provincial governor of Pontus and Bithynia, Pliny the Younger, a reference is made to Christians. In it, Pliny asks for the advice on how to handle Christians who refused to worship the emperor, but instead worshiped "Christus" as a god. However, Pliny simply recounts what the beliefs of the arrested were; he does not mention the name "Jesus". Pliny's words are 112 is also the standard emergency phone number in the European Union and on GSM cellphones, analogous to 911 in the US. Events Imp. ... Emperor Trajan Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus (September 18, 53-August 9, 117), Roman Emperor (98-117), commonly called Trajan, was the second of the so-called Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire. ... Pontus was a name applied in ancient times to extensive tracts of country in the northeast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) bordering on the Euxine (Black Sea), which was often called simply Pontos (the Main), by the Greeks. ... Bithynia as a province of the Roman Empire, 120 AD Bithynia was an ancient province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Black Sea (Euxine). ... Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (63-ca. ...

"Christians... asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. " (Pliny to Trajan, Letters 10.96–97)

In a later writing, Pliny mentions that he had discovered that Christianity is a foolish superstition.


Suetonius

Gaius Suetonius (c.69 AD–140 AD) wrote the following in 112 AD as part of his biography of Emperor Claudius (12 Caesars): Iudaeos, impulsore Chresto, assidue tumultuantes Roma expulit ("As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome."). Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (75 AD – 160 AD), commonly known simply as Suetonius, was a Roman writer. ... ... Events Pope Pius I succeeded Pope Hyginus. ... 112 is also the standard emergency phone number in the European Union and on GSM cellphones, analogous to 911 in the US. Events Imp. ... A statue of Emperor Claudius Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Drusus (August 1, 10 BC–October 13, 54), originally known as Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, was the fourth Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, 41 to his death in 54. ... A statue of Emperor Claudius Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Drusus (August 1, 10 BC–October 13, 54), originally known as Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, was the fourth Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, 41 to his death in 54. ...


Some have interpreted Chrestus as a misspelling of Christus, and thus as a possible reference to Jesus. However, Suetonius implies that the person in question was in Rome in 54 AD, making the likelihood that he is writing about Jesus very slim. Events October 13 - Roman Empire emperor Claudius dies after being poisoned by Agrippina, his wife and niece. ...


The term Chrestus also appears in some later texts applied to Jesus, indicating that such a spelling error is not unthinkable. However, Chrestus is itself a common name in Rome, meaning good or useful. It was a particularly common name for slaves, and, indeed, the passage deals with a slave revolt. As such, this passage is not held by the vast majority of scholars to be a reference to Jesus.


Tacitus

Main article: Tacitus on Jesus The Roman historian Tacitus wrote concerning the Great Fire of Rome, in his Annals (c. ...


Tacitus wrote two paragraphs on the subject of Jesus and Christianity in 116 AD. The first states that Christians existed in Rome in Nero's time (54-68 AD). The second states that Christianity arose in Rome and Judea, and that Jesus was sent to death by Pontius Pilate. Tacitus' description of Christianity is decidedly negative, as he calls it a "dangerous superstition" and "something raw and shameful," which makes it relatively improbable that the text was interpolated by later Christians. Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (ca. ... Events Roman Emperor Trajan completes his invasion of Parthia by capturing the cities of Seleucia, Ctesiphon and Susa, marking the high-water mark of the Roman Empires eastern expansion. ...


Some scholars suggest that the second paragraph is merely describing Christian beliefs that were uncontroversial (i.e. that a cult leader was put to death), and that Tacitus thus had no reason not to assume as fact, even without any evidence beyond that spiritual belief. Others, including Karl Adam, claim that, as an enemy of the Christians and as a historian, Tacitus would have investigated the claim about Jesus' execution before writing it.


Jewish records

There are very few historical documents from the late Second Temple era. Aside from the works by Josephus, the oldest text from that period, the Mishnah, is a law code, and not a record of legal proceedings, nor a general history. Drawing of Herod the Greats Second Temple in Jerusalem A stone (2. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ...


Jewish records of the period, both oral and written, were compiled into the Talmud, a collection of legal debates and stories so large that it fills over 30 volumes. There is no mention of anyone called "Jesus" (in Heb. Yehoshuah) within it, the closest match being a person (or persons) called Yeshu from the Babylonian Talmud. However, the description of Yeshu does not match the biblical accounts of Jesus, and the name itself is usually considered to be a derogatory acronym for anyone (possibly, but not necessarily, Christians) attempting to convert Jews from Judaism, standing for yemach shemo vezichro ("erased be his name and memory"). Additionally, the term does not occur in the Jerusalem version of the text, which would be expected to mention Jesus more often than the Babylonian version, rather than less. The Talmud (תלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. ... hihihihihi nothing on this page i feel good install a rheem crunchy nut lol mama mia ...


However, the lack of references to Jesus in Talmudic writings may simply be due to Christianity being a minor, negligible organization when most of the Talmud was created, in addition to the Talmud being more concerned with teachings and law than with recording history.


Pseudepigraphical writings

A number of pseudepigraphical writings—texts presumed to have been written by persons unknown under others' names—intended to supplement the historical evidence for Jesus' existence begin to accumulate in the 2nd century. Whatever their internal details, the very existence of these writings and interpolations into authentic documents has genuine historical value—to document an apparent need on the part of Christians to supplement existing documentation to support the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth, by providing the kind of documents they felt ought to have existed. Pseudepigrapha (from the Greek words pseudos = lie and epigrapho = write) is a text or a number of texts whose claimed authorship or authenticity is incorrect. ... // Events Roman Empire governed by the Five Good Emperors (96–180) – Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius. ...


The only known text from this time which claims to be a form of official governmental record and which also mentions Jesus is the collection known as the Letters of Herod and Pilate. They are found in some 6th century manuscript copies of the work of Justus of Tiberias (who was of the same time as Josephus), and were said to have been found among the records of the Roman Senate. Virtually all scholars dispute the attribution of the texts to Herod Antipas or Pontius Pilate, and consider them pure (and obvious) propaganda. Early commentators stated that Justus had no mention of Jesus. This Buddhist stela from China, Northern Wei period, was built in the early 6th century. ... Herod Antipas (born 20 BC) was an ancient leader (Tetrarch) of Galilee and Peraea. ... Ecce Homo (Behold the Man!), Antonio Ciseris depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a scourged Christ to the people of Jerusalem Pontius Pilate (Latin Pontius Pilatus) was the governor of the small Roman province of Judea from AD 26 until around AD 36, although Tacitus believed him to be the...


The letter titled as "from Herod" describes Herod's apparent anxiety at having just mocked Jesus, since, according to the letter, Jesus is partly divine. It also goes on to describe the apparent divine retribution acted on him and his family, causing their death. The response from Pilate describes Pilate's apparent remorse, and his belief in the resurrection, and that Jesus went down to the dead; in addition, it contains claims of quotes from three other writers supporting the version of the nativity in Luke, and mentions an Angel smiting Herod.


In addition, there are three dispatches claiming to be from Pilate to the Emperor. In these, the author (supposedly Pilate) proclaims that Jesus is the Christ, performed many miracles, that Jesus rose from the dead (literally: the earth opening a chasm, and the dead rising from it, including Abraham, Noah and Isaac), that the Jews were struck dead by divine retribution (falling into the chasm), performed exorcisms, etc.


There are also accounts of the trial and death of Pilate, in which, among other miraculous events, the emperor says Christ and all the statues of other gods crumble into dust.


Palatine graffito

This graffito drawn by a Roman soldier on a wall near the Palatine hill in the second century may show Jesus with the head of a donkey, or may show Dionysus.
Enlarge
This graffito drawn by a Roman soldier on a wall near the Palatine hill in the second century may show Jesus with the head of a donkey, or may show Dionysus.

A piece of wall graffiti found on the Palatine hill and dating from the second century depicts a man worshiping a crucified man with a donkey's head. The Greek caption reads, "Alexamenos worships God." It is presumed that this image makes fun of a convert to Christianity within the ranks of the soldiers, and would indicate that at least this soldier understood Jesus to have been really crucified. The donkey's head is thought to be mocking Judaism, as the belief that Jews worshipped a donkey's head was common throughout the ancient world (see history of anti-Semitism), while the crucified form suggests Jesus. That some Romans also believed that Christians worshipped a donkey's head we know from Tertullian's fiery rebuttal of the claim in his Apologeticum (which incorrectly blames Tacitus for making up the story): The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... The Palatine Hill (Latin Palatium) is the centermost of the seven hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city of Rome in Italy. ... Binomial name Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 The donkey (Equus asinus, hence also ass) is a domesticated animal of the horse family, Equidae. ... Bacchus by Caravaggio The god Dionysus is occasionally confused with one of several historical figures named Dionysius, a theophoric name that simply means [servant] of Dionysus. ... Graffiti on the banks of the Tiber river in Rome, Italy. ... The Palatine Hill (Latin Palatium) is the centermost of the seven hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city of Rome in Italy. ... Binomial name Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 The donkey (Equus asinus, hence also ass) is a domesticated animal of the horse family, Equidae. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... This is a partial chronology of hostilities towards or discrimination against the Jews as a religious or ethnic group. ... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicized as Tertullian, (ca. ...

For, like some others, you are under the delusion that our god is an ass's head. Cornelius Tacitus first put this notion into people's minds. In the fifth book of his histories, beginning the (narrative of the) Jewish war with an account of the origin of the nation; and theorizing at his pleasure about the origin, as well as the name and the religion of the Jews, he states that having been delivered, or rather, in his opinion, expelled from Egypt, in crossing the vast plains of Arabia, where water is so scanty, they were in extremity from thirst; but taking the guidance of the wild asses, which it was thought might be seeking water after feeding, they discovered a fountain, and thereupon in their gratitude they consecrated a head of this species of animal. And as Christianity is nearly allied to Judaism, from this, I suppose, it was taken for granted that we too are devoted to the worship of the same image. But the said Cornelius Tacitus (the very opposite of tacit in telling lies) informs us in the work already mentioned, that when Gnaeus Pompeius captured Jerusalem, he entered the temple to see the arcana of the Jewish religion, but found no image there. [4]

There is not enough context available in the graffiti to certainly verify any of these assumptions, or even the identification as Jesus—Dionysus, who was also believed by some to have been crucified, and who had a more longstanding legend, was associated with the donkey. Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Latin: CN·POMPEIVS·CN·F·SEX·N·MAGNVS¹) (September 29, 106 BC – September 29, 48 BC), commonly referred to in English as either Pompey or Pompey the Great was a distinguished and ambitious Roman military leader, provincial administrator and and politician of the 1st... Bacchus by Caravaggio The god Dionysus is occasionally confused with one of several historical figures named Dionysius, a theophoric name that simply means [servant] of Dionysus. ...


Jesus as myth

Main article: Jesus-Myth The Jesus-Myth idea is the position of a small group of scholars that a literal and historical Jesus did not exist but instead portrays abstract, symbolic, and metaphorical allusion of a higher knowledge, awareness and consciousness which is not readily apparent to one who adheres to the perception of...


Some have argued that, based on a lack of physical evidence, Jesus may never have existed outside the mythological realm at all. Perhaps most prolific of these Biblical scholars disputing the historical existence of Jesus is a professor of German, George Albert Wells. However, currently the position that Jesus never existed is a minority view among scholars. [5] In addition, at the other end of the spectrum are (almost exclusively Christian) historians who have supported the Christian claims of the resurrection and who do not believe the notion of Jesus being purely legendary to be plausible—scholars such as Thomas Arnold [6], A. N. Sherwin-White, [7][8], and Michael Grant. [9][10][11] George Albert Wells (born 1926) is an Emeritus Professor of German at Birkbeck College, but he is more widely known as a New Testament scholar. ... Thomas Arnold (June 13, 1795 - June 12, 1842) was a famous schoolmaster, head of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... There are several people with the name Michael Grant: Michael Grant - the historian who wrote about the Roman empire. ...


Jesus and syncretism

The existence of Gnosticism and various mystery religions with similarities to Christianity has led the mythological school to suggest that Christianity was strongly influenced by these, essentially building a mystery religion on the foundation of a Judaic tradition (syncretism). This would have included linking the two through Jesus' attempts to fulfill Old Testament prophecies. More generally, it would have included mythologizing a Jewish leader into a Son of God, and a representative of wisdom and knowledge. A mystery religion is any religion with an arcanum, or body of secret wisdom. ... The Jesus-Myth idea is the position of a small group of scholars that a literal and historical Jesus did not exist but instead portrays abstract, symbolic, and metaphorical allusion of a higher knowledge, awareness and consciousness which is not readily apparent to one who adheres to the perception of... Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought. ... The Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Hebrew Bible) constitutes the first major part of the Bible according to Christianity. ...


Some of the most well-known early adherents of the mythological school include Voltaire, Friedrich Engels, and David Strauss (1808-1874), who was the most intellectually influential early mythologist. Strauss accepted that Jesus had existed, but believed the miraculous aspects of the Gospel accounts to be mythical. According to the Slovenian scholar Anton Strle, Nietzsche lost his faith in Christianity as a result of reading Strauss' book Leben Jesu. Another important mythologist was Paul-Louis Couchoud (1879-1959), a philosopher and a consistent defender of the thesis that Jesus did not exist. The tone of this article is inappropriate for an encyclopedia. ... Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels (November 28, 1820–August 5, 1895) was a 19th-century German political philosopher. ... David Friedrich Strauss (January 27, 1808 – February 8, 1874), was a German theologian and writer. ... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Prof. ... Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ... Paul-Louis Couchoud (1879-1959) was a philosopher and a versatile researcher. ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...


Another integral part of this view is the idea the early Christians did not believe in a flesh and blood man; they believed in a supernatural, spiritual, non-physical force–similar to how many people believe in their God. Author G.A. Wells says regarding the New Testament: George Albert Wells (born 1926) is an Emeritus Professor of German at the Birkbeck College, University of London, but he is more widely known as a New Testament scholar. ...

"It is not just that the early documents are silent about so much of Jesus that came to be recorded in the gospels, but that they view him in a substantially different way—as a basically supernatural personage only obscurely on Earth as a man at some unspecified period in the past, 'emptied' then of all his supernatural attributes (Phil.2:7), and certainly not a worker of prodigious miracles which made him famous throughout 'all Syria' (Mt.4:24). I have argued that there is good reason to believe that the Jesus of Paul was constructed largely from musing and reflecting on a supernatural 'Wisdom' figure, amply documented in the earlier Jewish literature, who sought an abode on Earth, but was there rejected, rather than from information concerning a recently deceased historical individual. The influence of the Wisdom literature is undeniable; only assessment of what it amounted to still divides opinion."

During the first and second centuries BC, Hellenic philosophy merged with various minor deities to produce mystery religions, in which a Life-death-rebirth deity was used as an allegory for the search for wisdom. Such religions quickly replaced or absorbed local religions and became the dominant beliefs in many places throughout the Mediterranean, with the resulting variations of the central god-man figure becoming known as Osiris-Dionysus. A mystery religion is any religion with an arcanum, or body of secret wisdom. ... The category life-death-rebirth deity also known as a dying-and-rising god is a convenient means of classifying the many divinities in world mythology who are born, suffer death or an eclipse or other death-like experience, pass a phase in the underworld among the dead, and are... Wisdom is the ability to make correct judgments and decisions. ... Satellite image The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Alanic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ... The term Osiris-Dionysus is used by some historians of religion to refer to a group of deities worshipped around the Mediterranean in the centuries prior to the birth of Jesus. ...


Some scholars, most notably Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, who wrote The Jesus Mysteries, think that Jesus was one of the forms of Osiris-Dionysus. CNN's David Dodson, in a review of their book, however, noted that "while the authors discuss many examples of elements of Osiris/Dionysus in the Jesus story, they virtually ignore the more direct ties to Jewish tradition and prophecy. This oversight undermines the credibility of many of their arguments, and could have the tendency to mislead the novice reader in this subject" [12]. On the other hand, the Canberra Times said Dr. Timothy Freke is a scholar of Western religion and philosophy. ... Peter Gandy is a scholar of Western religion and philosophy. ... The Jesus Mysteries: Was the Original Jesus a Pagan God? is a book by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy that attempts to reconstruct the true origins of Christianity. ... The term Osiris-Dionysus is used by some historians of religion to refer to a group of deities worshipped around the Mediterranean in the centuries prior to the birth of Jesus. ... Cable News Network (CNN) is a cable television network that was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner & Reese Schonfeld [1] [2] (although the latter currently is not recognized in CNNs official history). ... The Canberra Times newspaper was founded in 1926 in Canberra, Australia by a local family called the Shakesperes. ...

"The theory is not new. For two centuries at least, scholars have been aware of the intriguing parallels between the accounts of Jesus' life and that of preceding and contemporaneous figures such as Osiris, Dionysus, and Mithras. What is new is the powerful scholarship brought to the issue by authors Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy in The Jesus Mysteries, just published in Australia. The result, which draws strongly on the Gnostic gospels discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945, is so persuasive that is doubtful whether theological scholarship will ever be the same."

A recent book, The Pagan Christ: Recovering the Lost Light (2004), by professor, priest, and religious writer Tom Harpur, discusses another possible origin, based partly on the writings of Dr. Alvin Boyd Kuhn and Egyptologist Gerald Massey. Massey's The Historical Jesus and Mythical Christ: A Lecture., published in 1880, explores the similarity between what has been written about Jesus and what has been written about Jehoshua Ben-Pandira, who "may have been born about the year 120 B.C." From page 2 of the lecture: "... according to the Babylonian Gemara to the Mishna of Tract 'Shabbath', this Jehoshua, the son of Pandira and Stada, was stoned to death as a wizard, in the city of Lud, or Lydda, and afterwards crucified by being hanged on a tree, on the eve of the Passover. ..." See Yeshu. Osiris (Greek language, also Usiris; the Egyptian language name is variously spelled Asar, Aser, Ausar, or Ausare) is the Egyptian god of death and the underworld. ... Bacchus by Caravaggio The god Dionysus is occasionally confused with one of several historical figures named Dionysius, a theophoric name that simply means [servant] of Dionysus. ... Mithra and the Bull: fresco from Dura Europos late 2nd–early 3rd century Mithras was the central savior god of Mithraism, a syncretic Hellenistic mystery religion of male initiates that developed in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and was practiced in the Roman Empire from... 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tom Harpur (born ca. ... Gerald Massey (May 29, 1828 - October 29, 1907), English poet, was born near Tring, Hertfordshire. ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC - 120s BC - 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC Years: 125 BC 124 BC 123 BC 122 BC 121 BC - 120 BC - 119 BC 118 BC... hihihihihi nothing on this page i feel good install a rheem crunchy nut lol mama mia ...


Jesus and Gnosticism

Main article: Gnosticism and the New Testament This article discusses the relationship between Gnosticism and the New Testament. ...


Gnosticism was a mystery religion which incorporated many elements from Christianity. The Gnostics were highly concerned with secret, esoteric interpretations of the teachings of Jesus, and less so with their literal content, which they may even have regarded as allegory. Gnosticism is a blanket term for various mystical initiatory religions and sects, which were most prominent in the first few centuries CE. The occult nature of gnostic teaching and the fact that much of the evidence for that teaching has traditionally come from critiques by orthodox Christians made it difficult...


The Gospel of John and the general epistles of Paul and John have often been connected with Gnosticism. If they were written by Gnostics, then these texts may not have been intended as historical material of Jesus, reducing their value as evidence for his existence. The Pastoral Epistles of Paul, on the other hand, are not usually viewed as Gnostic. The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the sequence of the canon as printed in the New Testament, and scholars agree it was the fourth to be written. ...


Christian theologians generally see Paul and John as refuting both contemporary Gnostic and Hellenistic philosophies, although they may have used terminology from both systems to do so. For example, Professor James Dunn argues "John was deliberately attempting to portray Jesus in a manner as attractive as possible to would-be (Christian) Gnostics, while at the same time marking out the limits he himself imposed on such a presentation." (Unity and Diversity in the New Testament 1977, p302) James D. G. (Jimmy) Dunn was for many years the Lightfoot Professor of Divinity in the Department of Theology at the University of Durham. ...


Other views

Earl Doherty suggests that Paul's idea of Jesus was derived from his reading of the Torah. In this view, Paul was not interested in "nor [had he] heard of" any actual person named Jesus from Nazareth (or Bethlehem), but rather believed in a metaphysical Jesus who died on some ethereal plane at the beginning of time, or some far-off time in history. In this view, the Jesus of Nazareth character was made up after Paul's time by a composite of Old Testament prophecies, with embellishments added by many people, and the interpretations of the meaning of Jesus was also informed by messianic, apocalyptic and resurrectionist myths that were common during the late Hellenistic age. Earl Doherty, currently living in Canada, is the author of The Jesus Puzzle, a work published in 2000 by the Canadian Humanist Association arguing that Jesus never lived. ... An early portrait of the Apostle Paul. ... Torah, (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially law. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakh–the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses, but can also be used in the general sense to also include both the Written... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ anointed one, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew ) initially meant any person who was anointed by God. ... Look up Apocalypse on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Apocalypse is a Greek word and is formed by the combination of apo (away) with calypse (disclose). ... Resurrection of the Flesh (1499-1502) Fresco by Luca Signorelli Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto Resurrection is most commonly associated with the consisting of the reuniting of the spirit and the body of an individual, or the raising of a person from death back to life. ...


Another persistent theory is that Jesus' existence is based on a whisper campaign to expel the Roman rulers, originally intending to portray Jesus as a revolutionary leader rather than as a purely spiritual savior. A whisper campaign is a method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are spread about the target, while the source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while spreading them (for example, a political campaign might distribute anonymous flyers attacking the other candidate). ... The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus). ...


Historical view of Jesus' life

Main article: Historical Jesus This article concerns critical reconstructions of the Historical Jesus. ...


Nazareth or Nazirite?

Some scholars have argued that the (largely Greek) Pauline Christians were unfamiliar with Jewish culture and that the term "Nazarene" was unfamiliar to those transcribing Aramaic oral tradition into Greek. This school suggests that a more appropriate translation of the historical rabbi Jesus, who came to be so thoroughly mythologized, was "Jesus the Nazirite". Nazarene may also mean a member of the Church of the Nazarene. ... A Nazarite or Nazirite, Nazir in Hebrew, was a Jew who took an ascetic vow described in the Book of Numbers at 6:1-21. ...


Some scholars argue that there is no evidence Nazareth existed before the 4th century AD. Against this theory is the fact that all four Gospels specifically speak of a place named Nazareth (see Mark 1:9, Luke 1:26, John 1:46) in contexts where it cannot possibly be a confusion with "the Nazirite". (See also Matthew 2:23, which also speaks of a location called Nazareth, but has a quote which adds to the Nazarene/Nazirite confusion.) In addition, Dr. Ray Pritz observes that the Gospels frequently give examples of Jesus drinking wine, which was forbidden for Nazirites. One such example is Luke 7:34, in which Jesus says, "The Son of Man has come eating and drinking and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard.'" Nazareth (Arabic الناصرة an-Nāṣirah; Hebrew נָצְרַת, Standard Hebrew Náẓərat, Tiberian Hebrew Nāṣəraṯ) is an ancient town in northern Israel. ... (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ...


In 1962, a 15 cm x 12 cm marble slab with four lines of inscription in Hebrew square character was found by Israeli archeologists in Caesarea, indicating that priests from Jerusalem were assigned to live in the village of Nazareth in Galilee. The slab bears the first non-Christian mention of Nazareth and is dated from the late 3rd or 4th century AD. This suggests that Nazareth at least existed around the time the Gospels started to be transcribed. 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Caesarea Palaestina, also called Caesarea Maritima, a town built by Herod the Great about 25 - 13 BC, lies on the sea-coast of Israel about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa, on the site of a place previously called Pyrgos Stratonos (Strato or Stratons Tower, in Latin Turris Stratonis). ... // Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ... (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ...


Dr. Stephen Pfann of the University of the Holy Land has been conducting excavations in Nazareth since 1996, and claims to have found pottery dating from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD, associated with agricultural terraces and wine presses [13]. Based on this evidence, Dr. Pfann argues that in the 1st century, "Nazareth was tiny, with two or three clans living in 35 homes spread over six acres (2.5 hectares)" [14]. 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...


See also

This article concerns critical reconstructions of the Historical Jesus. ... This article outlines the history of Christianity and provides links to relevant topics. ... The Jesus Seminar is a controversial group founded in 1985 by Robert Funk under the auspices of the Westar Institute. ... Markan priority is the hypothesis that the Gospel of Mark was the first written of the three Synoptic Gospels, and that the two other synoptic evangelists, Matthew and Luke, used Marks Gospel as one of their sources. ... The Two-Source Hypothesis is the most commonly accepted solution to the synoptic problem among biblical scholars, which posits that there are two sources to Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke: the Gospel of Mark and a lost, hypothetical sayings collection called Q. The Two-Source Hypothesis was first... A 19th century picture of Paul of Tarsus The Pauline epistles are those books in the New Testament that are traditionally attributed to Paul of Tarsus. ... Some religions believe that the Bible was inspired or received in singular events. ... hihihihihi nothing on this page i feel good install a rheem crunchy nut lol mama mia ... The Jesus-Myth idea is the position of a small group of scholars that a literal and historical Jesus did not exist but instead portrays abstract, symbolic, and metaphorical allusion of a higher knowledge, awareness and consciousness which is not readily apparent to one who adheres to the perception of... The God Who Wasnt There is an independent documentary that explores the theory that Christ is a myth. ... The category of New Testament apocrypha ( reminds the modern reader of the wide range of responses that were engendered in interpreting the message of Jesus of Nazareth during the first several centuries of the Common Era, as mainstream Christianity emerged. ... Textual criticism is a branch of philology that examines the extant manuscript copies of an ancient or medieval literary work to produce a text that is as close as possible to the original. ...

External links