Running Away from History

RUNNING AWAY FROM HISTORY

Many people regard Christianity as unhistorical and many who say Jesus never lived, taking it as a myth. These rationalists have written books indicating Christ as a myth while some say the question of whether Jesus ever lived is open. These are seen in the books of J.M. Robertson, Gilbert Murray and John Allegro. The article of Allegro on the Daily mail newspaper in October 1967 shows that the idea of Christ myth is not dead and that some people are anxious to believe that the Christian story is false. Unfortunately, there is no evidence for that. It has been communist policy to deny Jesus Christ’s historical existence reason for the subjection to this propaganda in Eastern Europe and Asia. This became part of communist position in 1842 when the German theologian Bruno Bauer was deprived of his chair on account of his heterodox opinions; which influenced Karl Marx who thought he had been cruelly wronged by the men of religion.
History matters to Judiasm and Christianity because if it can be proven that the founder never lived then it will fail to exist. Christianity is good news about a historical person, who was executed under the Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. He matched his teachings with moral miracle of his sinless life and his resurrection from the grave. What makes the Christian claim so challenging is that the historical figure is known by some of the writers of the New Testament document. It is all about the historical Jesus who was God manifest in human flesh. It is a fact not an idea or myth.
A non_christian, Pliny the Younger who was sent by the emperor Trajan to govern the province of Bithynia in Northen Turkey, in AD112 wrote in one of his letters to the emperor concerning Christianity. That he found Christians everywhere and that pagan temples had close down, sacred festivals and demand for sacrificial animals ceased. He executed Christians who persisted in their faith but was perplexed about the nature of their crime; as he confessed that no enormities were practiced in the Christian assemblies. Their problem was that they refused to worship the imperial statue and the images of the gods and that they met on a certain fixed day and sang to Christ as God. They took an oath not to commit crime. Cornelius Tacitus, the greatest historian of imperial Rome says Christians were hated and persecuted in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate. He notes that in destroying the temple at Jerusalem in AD70, the Roman general Titus hoped to put an end to both Christianity and Judaism. These writings justify the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth. The Samaritan historian Thallus, wrote in Rome about AD52 as Julius Africanus tells us the darkness that fell when Jesus died on the cross (Mark 15:33). Thallus says it was an eclipse of the sun, but noted that it is unreasonably as it seems to him. Of course true since these can’t be total eclipse when the moon is full. So Jesus’ death was well known in Rome as early as the middle of the first century as the non_christian historian comments. The inscriptions belonging to the time of Clausius Caesar (AD41-AD54) gives an order that if anyone is found tampering with graves, the person is liable to death penalty. Something which the Roman historians such as prof. Momigliano and Prof. Blaiklock regard as reaction concerning the report on the crucifixion of Jesus and its sequel. Suetonius, a court official under Hadrian records that Clausdius expelled the Jews from Rome for making disturbances at the instigation of chrestus. Orosius dates this to AD49. Aquila and Pricilia were among those expelled (Acts 18:12). Pliny (AD61-140?) wrote about events which took place 30 years before they were born, and their official position gave them access to good historical information; hence establishing the historicity of Jesus.
The Jewish after AD70 thought the Christians did not help them in the life and death struggle against Rome. So the relations between Judaism and Christianity by the end of first century were very poor reason why there’s not much about Christ in Jewish writings. Josephus, one of the Jewish commanders in the war with Rome wrote the antiquities of the Jews (Published AD93) and his Jewish war (published AD75-79) to inform Romans of the his fathers religion; Judaism. Josephus wrote about Pilate, Annas, Caiaphas, the Herods, Quirinus, Felix, Festus and others; names familiar in New Testament. He talks of John the Baptist, his preaching, baptising and execution. He talks of James ‘the brother of Jesus, the so_called Christ’ as well. He talks of Jesus in the time of Pilate (AD26-36) as a wise man, doubting if he should be called a man as he did marvellous deeds. He confesses that Jesus appeared to his followers the third day after his death. Mishah, the Jewish law code and Talmuds has evidences such as the unusual birth of Jesus. The Rabbi Eliezer wrote with opposition to Christianity but indirectly attesting to a prophecy of the Gospel story as he refers to Jesus as ‘born of a woman’ and ‘seek to make himself God’ and his return. So the Jews supported the historicity, unusual birth, miracles, teaching, disciples, messianic claims, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the author of the Christian faith.
From the discoveries at Qumran, the dead sea scrolls have been used by Edmund Wilson and John Allegro to say that it has disproved Christianity. Their literature shows that the community was non_conformist baptising sect of Judaism, Zealous for purity, antagonistic to marriage, living in monastery disclosed by excavations. Prof. Rowley notes that the dead sea scrolls can only tell us about the sect from which they came, enriching our knowledge of the Jewish world at the time of Christ and in the proceeding two centuries. They do not overthrow or confirm a single Christian octrine. If Allegro had considered the evidence by Tacitus and Suetonius, Pliny and Josephus he would not have claimed the New Testament stories of Jesus to be a reminiscence of real essene history; getting lost in his created myth. There is not doubt that Jesus lived and died under Pontius Pilate.
Christian evidence based un archaeological findings especially from acrostics of ancient world. This show evidences of Christian existence as seen in those found in Pompeii destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79. Anagram from the acrostic show the Christian view of Jesus being the alpha and Omega, as well as indicating the cross in the arrangement of the letters. The fish was also symbolic to Christians with each letter in fish representing Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour in Greek. A tomb was discovered outside Jerusalem in 1945 with decoration style and coins indicating approximately AD50. The inscription in Greek said Jesus help and another in Aramais (?’Jesus, let him arise’). These indicate the historical figure of Jesus. The pool of Bethesda was discovered around the church of st. Anne in Jerusalem with five porticos. Bethesda is also mentioned in one of the dead sea scrolls confirming the gospels of John. The French archaeologist Pere Vincent also dug out the pavement (Gabbatha) in 1930’s. this measures fifty yards square ,and was buried under piles of rubble in the fall of Jerusalem in AD70. This confirms John’s gospel (John19:13). The same vindication was seen with the accuracy of Luke’s gospel and Acts until discoveries show them to be accurate, reliable historical material for the understanding of first century world. Inscriptions have confirmed him accurate in the nomenclature of local officials and others such as proofs that Gallio was proconsul in AD51.
In looking at New Testament evidence we note that its reliability is well attested. Also in like manner as classical scholars accept the writing of Thucydides ‘History’ and the case of Tacitus with gap from oldest manuscript of 1500 and 800 years so shall it be for the exceptionally attested New Testament. With variant readings in these manuscripts, no single point of doctrine hangs on disputed reading. In addition the extant manuscripts do not have large gaps from autograph copies. Paul who was a violent opponent of Christianity testify for the resurrection as he tells us in 1Corinthians 15; as he says at the time he wrote the letter ‘AD53), most of the people who so Christ after resurrection were still alive.
The gospels are not biographies of Jesus as it concentrates up to half of its account on his death. They are not histories as it brings God and his actions into the story lacking the interest in chronology or what is happening in the outside world. But the gospels are proclamations of good news about Jesus; God’s way of rescue for men. Reason why it took some time for the Christians to write down their gospels as they were busy preaching this gospel. The teaching of Jesus falls into a poetic form when retranslated to Aramaic reason why the people could remember the Gospels. The New Testament offer reasonable grounds for belief; it does not induce people to believe: Pontius Pilate and the Pharisees had the evidence but did not believe. Atheists runaway from truth, neglecting the evidence while some escape it by intentionally running away from Christian living as Aldous Huxley testifies of himself. We find that the Jews came to conclusion that Jesus was God almighty accommodating himself to human nature and living in their midst; as we find in the gospels.