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Non
biblical accounts of
New Testament events and/or people
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Flavius Josephus (AD
37?-101?, a Jewish historian) mentions John the Baptist and Herod -
Antiquities, Book 18, ch. 5, par. 2
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"Now some of
the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from
God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John,
that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who
was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as
to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and
so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be
acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the
putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the
purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was
thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness."
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Note:
There is dispute as to the reliability of the Josephus
accounts. However, there is no textual/manuscript reason
for doubting them since the extant Greek manuscripts all agree
with the texts in question; namely, the quotes shown on this
page. However, the reason the quotes are in doubt is
because of the text in italics in the various quotes;
they seem a little too favorable regarding Christ. Also,
it appears that the writings of Josephus were transmitted to
us through the Christian community.
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Flavius
Josephus (AD 37?-101?) mentions
Jesus - Antiquities, Book 18, ch. 3, par. 3.
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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 drew over to him both many
of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And
when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us,
had condemned him to the cross, (9) those that loved him at the
first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the
third day; (10) as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten
thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of
Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
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There is debate
among scholars as to the authenticity of this quote since it
is so favorable to Jesus. For an examination of
this please see
Regarding the quotes
from the historian
Josephus about Jesus.
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Flavius
Josephus (AD 37?-101?) mentions
James, the brother of Jesus - Antiquities, Book 20, ch. 19.
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"Festus was now
dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the
sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of
Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some
others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an
accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them
to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of
the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of
the laws, they disliked what was done."
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Flavius Josephus (AD
37?-101?) mentions Ananias the High Priest who was mentioned in Acts
23:2
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Now as soon as
Albinus was come to the city of Jerusalem, he used all his
endeavors and care that the country might be kept in peace, and
this by destroying many of the Sicarii. But as for the high
priest, Ananias (25) he increased in glory every day, and this
to a great degree, and had obtained the favor and esteem of the
citizens in a signal manner; for he was a great hoarder up of
money
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Acts
23:2, "And the high priest Ananias commanded those
standing beside him to strike him [Paul] on the mouth."
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Tacitus (A.D.
c.55-A.D. c.117, Roman historian) mentions "christus" who is
Jesus - Annals
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"Consequently,
to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted
the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their
abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from
whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty
during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our
procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition,
thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea,
the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things
hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their
centre and become popular."
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Ref. from http://classics.mit.edu/Tacitus/annals.mb.txt
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Thallus Circa AD 52,
eclipse of the sun. Thallus wrote a history of the Eastern
Mediterranean world from the Trojan War to his own time. His
writings are only found as citations by others. Julius Africanus
who wrote about AD 221 mentioned Thallus' account of an eclipse of the
sun.
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"On the whole
world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were
rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other
districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third
book of his History, calls, as appears to me without
reason, an eclipse of the sun."
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Is this a
reference to the eclipse at the crucifixion? Luke
23:44-45, "And it was now about the sixth hour,
and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45
the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in
two."
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The oddity is
that Jesus' crucifixion occurred at the Passover which was a
full moon. It is not possible for a solar eclipse to
occur at a full moon. Note that Julius Africanus draws
the conclusion that Thallus' mentioning of the eclipse was
describing the one at Jesus' crucifixion. It may not
have been.
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Julius Africanus,
Extant Writings, XVIII in the Ante–Nicene Fathers,
ed. by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1973), vol. VI, p. 130. as cited in Habermas, Gary
R., The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of
Christ, (Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company)
1996.
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Pliny the Younger
mentioned Christ. Pliny was governor of Bithynia in
Asia Minor. Pliny wrote ten books. The tenth around AD
112.
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"They (the
Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed
day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn
to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not
to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or
adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they
should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their
custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food—but
food of an ordinary and innocent kind."
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Pliny, Letters,
transl. by William Melmoth, rev. by W.M.L. Hutchinson
(Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1935), vol. II, X:96 as cited
in Habermas, Gary R., The Historical Jesus: Ancient
Evidence for the Life of Christ, (Joplin, MO: College
Press Publishing Company) 1996.
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The Talmud
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"On the eve of
the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the
execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, "He is
going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and
enticed Israel to apostasy. Any one who can say anything in his
favor, let him come forward and plead on his behalf." But
since nothing was brought forward in his favor he was hanged on
the eve of the Passover!"
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Gal.
3:13, "Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is
written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree."
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Luke
22:1, "Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
which is called the Passover, was approaching. 2And
the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might
put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people."
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This quotation
was taken from the reading in The Babylonian Talmud,
transl. by I. Epstein (London: Soncino, 1935), vol. III, Sanhedrin
43a, p. 281 as cited in Habermas, Gary R., The Historical
Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ, (Joplin,
MO: College Press Publishing Company) 1996.
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Lucian (circa
120-after 180) mentions Jesus. Greek writer and
rhetorician.
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"The
Christians, you know, worship a man to this day—the
distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified
on that account. . . . You see, these misguided creatures start
with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time,
which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion
which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them
by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the
moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and
worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they
take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly
goods alike, regarding them merely as common property."
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Lucian, The
Death of Peregrine, 11–13, in The Works of Lucian of
Samosata, transl. by H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler, 4 vols.
(Oxford: Clarendon, 1949), vol. 4, as cited in Habermas, Gary
R., The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of
Christ, (Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company)
1996.
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Though Lucian
opposed Christianity, he acknowledges Jesus, that Jesus was
crucified, that Christians worship him, and that this was done
by faith.
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Sources
- McDowell, Josh, Evidence that
Demands a Verdict, San Bernardino, CA, Here's Life Publishers,
Inc. 1979.
- Habermas, Gary R., The Historical
Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ, (Joplin, MO:
College Press Publishing Company) 1996.
- Encarta on the Web at http://encarta.msn.com
.
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