I did a little research but by the time I got back, the thread was closed.
non-Biblical references to Jesus:
One is from Tacitus, circa 115 AD. My author does not suggest that there is anything suspicious about this passage. The passage that has obvious later additions is from Josephus.
Here's the passage from Tacitus. The context is that of a horrific fire that occurred in Rome in 64 AD. Somebody was trying to blame Nero for it, so Nero blamed the Christians:
Therefore to scotch the rumour, Nero substituted as culprits, and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians. Christus, the founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberious, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate, and the pernicious superstition was checked for the moment, only to break out once more, not merely in Judaea, the home of the disease, but in the capitol itself, where all things horrible or shameful in the world collect and find a vogue.
This is from "The Historical Jesus," by John Crossan, 1991.
Tacitus
Annals
This message has been edited by AdminJar, 01-10-2006 11:25 AM
This message has been edited by AdminJar, 01-10-2006 11:26 AM
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