The Christ: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidences of His ExistenceRemsburg, John E. (John Eleazer)
Religion
The Christ: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidences of His Existence
Remsburg, John E. (John Eleazer)
Jesus Christ -- Historicity; Jesus Christ -- Rationalistic interpretations; Rationalism
Philo was born before the beginning of the Christian era, and lived
until long after the reputed death of Christ. He wrote an account
of the Jews covering the entire time that Christ is said to have
existed on earth. He was living in or near Jerusalem when Christ's
miraculous birth and the Herodian massacre occurred. He was there when
Christ made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He was there when the
crucifixion with its attendant earthquake, supernatural darkness, and
resurrection of the dead took place--when Christ himself rose from the
dead, and in the presence of many witnesses ascended into heaven. These
marvelous events which must have filled the world with amazement, had
they really occurred, were unknown to him. It was Philo who developed
the doctrine of the Logos, or Word, and although this Word incarnate
dwelt in that very land and in the presence of multitudes revealed
himself and demonstrated his divine powers, Philo saw it not.
Josephus, the renowned Jewish historian, was a native of Judea. He
was born in 37 A. D., and was a contemporary of the Apostles. He was,
for a time, Governor of Galilee, the province in which Christ lived
and taught. He traversed every part of this province and visited
the places where but a generation before Christ had performed his
prodigies. He resided in Cana, the very city in which Christ is said
to have wrought his first miracle. He mentions every noted personage
of Palestine and describes every important event which occurred there
during the first seventy years of the Christian era. But Christ was
of too little consequence and his deeds too trivial to merit a line
from this historian's pen.
Justus of Tiberius was a native of Christ's own country, Galilee. He
wrote a history covering the time of Christ's reputed existence. This
work has perished, but Photius, a Christian scholar and critic of
the ninth century, who was acquainted with it, says: "He [Justus]
makes not the least mention of the appearance of Christ, of what
things happened to him, or of the wonderful works that he did"
(Photius' Bibliotheca, code 33).
Judea, where occurred the miraculous beginning and marvelous ending of
Christ's earthly career, was a Roman province, and all of Palestine
is intimately associated with Roman history. But the Roman records
of that age contain no mention of Christ and his works. The Greek
writers of Greece and Alexandria who lived not far from Palestine
and who were familiar with its events, are silent also.
Josephus.
Late in the first century Josephus wrote his celebrated work,
"The Antiquities of the Jews," giving a history of his race from
the earliest ages down to his own time. Modern versions of this work
contain the following passage:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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