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Why I believe in Christ – a historic context
This is a continuation of a series to state why
I believe. The first message was Why I believe there is one truth (find it
here). The second message was
Why I believe there is a God (find it
here).
There are many ways that I could approach why I
believe in Christ but I want to ensure that I avoid empty rhetoric and blind
faith alone. I do believe that there comes to a point in which my faith is blind
and illogical but that does not mean that my entire faith has to be that way.
God has provided many ways for me to believe that Christ is very real.
While it is true that many use the Bible as a
source of historic proof that there was indeed a man named Jesus who existed, I
think that would not be the best place to start as one who is questioning the
existence of Jesus would also question the reliability of the Bible. Another
method I could try to use would be the millions of Christians, Muslims, and even
other religions who acknowledge that there was a Jesus who existed and this
Jesus was a very good teacher.
These alone would be sufficient evidence for me
based on the amount of people who actually believe that Jesus existed and the
influence that He has left on the world. Many of the legends of past such as
Zeus and other legends that even have Christ-like stories have all faded
thousands of years ago and do not have the impact that Jesus did. There is
something different about this Jesus.
However there are some historic sources that are
outside of the Bible that mention Jesus that were written within a few decades
of Jesus’ existence. The first is a Jewish historian named Flavius Josephus
(A.D. 37-95) who wrote the Antiquities of the Jews about 94 A.D. Josephus was a
devout Jew and was not a Christian by any records that we have. He wrote this
information not trying to prove Jesus was the Christ but rather writing about
Jewish history. The two quotes from Josephus that reference Jesus are as
follows:
“He (Annas the Younger) convened a judicial
session of the Sanhedrin and brought before it the brother of Jesus the
so-called Christ -- James by name -- and some others, whom he charged with
breaking the law and handed over to be stoned to death.” - Antiquities 20.200
“Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise
man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a
teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He was the Christ. And
when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned
him to the cross, those who loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he
appeared to them alive again at the third day, as the divine prophets had
foretold these and 10,000 other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe
of Christians, so named from him, is not extinct at this day.” - Antiquities
18.63-64 (Greek)
Now some may find it hard to believe that a
devout Jew would write these words about Jesus. They may make a case that these
words were written by someone (the Christians or perhaps the Catholics
specifically) who had sabotaged his writings and inserted these paragraphs to
help prove that Christ existed. I find this hard to believe though. First let’s
say there were only 50 of these books released, someone would have to go to all
50 and replace them (inserting a paragraph on something already written would be
too obvious) all in and get rid of every single copy. This would not have been
an easy task. The Catholics tried to get rid of other writings at other periods
of history and yet they were unable to do so and we still have some of these
writings that exist today.
A more logical explanation would be that
Josephus was writing about Jesus in a mocking tone. It is hard to hear tone when
reading but go back and read the two paragraphs in a tone of voice that would be
mocking and see how the paragraph reads differently now. Looking at the two
paragraphs this seems to be more easy for me to believe then a conspiracy that
changed the writings.
Another source that acknowledges Jesus is the
Epitome from Church History of Agapius. The passage is as follows:
“At this time there was a wise man who was
called Jesus. And his conduct was good and he was known to be virtuous. And many
from among the Jews and other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him
to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not
abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days
after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly he was perhaps the
Messiah concerning who the prophets have recounted wonders.”
A Roman source written was Cornelius Tacitus
(A.D. 55-117), Annals which was written in the 2nd century A.D.
“But neither the aid of men, nor the emperor's
bounty, nor propitiatory offerings to the gods, could remove the grim suspicion
that the fire had been started by Nero's order. To put an end to this rumor, he
shifted the charge on to others, and inflicted the most cruel tortures upon a
group of people detested for their abominations, and popularly known as
"Christians". Their name came from one Christus, who was put to death in the
principate of Tiberius by the Procurator Pontius Pilate. Though checked for a
time, the destructive superstition broke out again, not in Judea only, where its
mischief began, but even in Rome, where every abominable and shameful iniquity,
from all the world, pours in and finds a welcome. Annals 15.44”
There are other Jewish and Roman sources which
could also help support that there was a real Jesus who existed. Later as I will
discuss the historical relevance of the Bible but there is enough evidence
outside of the Bile that shows that there was a Jesus who existed. It would be
foolish for me to question many other historic figures, some of which have less
historic evidence than this for their existence.
This article is only to lay a foundation of who
Christ is by showing Jesus’ existence. I will continue on in future articles by
focusing more on who Jesus is and why I believe in Him. However if He never
existed then the rest of my beliefs would be foolish indeed.
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