Enda80

Anyone ever tried to argue that the Romans or the Sadducees tried to cover things up as a reason for there existing no contemporary references to Jesus (from the years 30 to 60 CE) or the early followers of the Way?

I know this may sound as if I am transposing modern day conspiracy thinking to the 1st century CE ("Caligula meets Area 51") but I anticipate that some apologist will try this. One would have to resort to this to explain why, oh, Philo Judeaus wrote nothing about those revenants who popped out of their graves when Jesus gets killed.

On a related note, except for that Pliny the Younger reference, what are some of the earliest references to the Nazarenes (Ebionites) or to Christians or to Paul that we find in Judahite or non-Abrahamic (Pagan) literature?

Clivedurdle

Wouldn't a complete cover up have been impossible? Someone somewhere would have left a note, hey mum, I saw Jesus resurrected today, that the roman's or whover would not have found.

Actually a mystical messiah religion that then later becomes historicised seems a much more plausible reason for the lack of evidence.

ElectEngr

<< coffee - spewed >>

:rolling: :rolling:

BRILLIANT

Later,
ElectEngr

Ulrich

There are actually a couple of Roman conspiracy theories regarding beginnings of Christianity. The Roman Piso theory has been around for at least 10 years now, it suggests that the Roman Piso family wrote the Gospels and played the parts of the early Church Fathers under assumed names. There is another new theory along the same lines, on which a book is being published by one of the posters in this Forum (sorry, I forgot the name of the book, but I am sure someone will supply it). This theory holds that Josephus authored the Gospels as well as his own histories at the behest of his Roman benefactors.

Both of these theories boil down to the same premise, however, that the Christian religion was conceived by the Romans as a way of placating the subversive Jewish population.

andrewcriddle

There are practically no genuinely contemporary accounts of events in Judea for this period. (Philo of Alexandria is about the only exception and his references are limited to those that support his political aganda.)

For most of our knowledge about this period in Judea the Christian writings and Josephus are our earliest sources. Without Josephus we would lack any basic understanding of the political events in this time and place.

Andrew Criddle