The Reliability of the Secular References to Jesus

Highly reliable sources

There are two of these: Tacitus and Josephus.

Tacitus

Tacitus turns out to be an extremely rich source of data that confirms important aspects of Christian history:

  1. He regards "Christus" as the founder of the movement. This mitigates against ideas that Paul or some other person was the ideological head of Christianity.
  2. He confirms the execution of Jesus under Pilate, during the reign of Tiberius.
  3. He indicates that Jesus' death "checked" Christianity for a time. This would hint at the probability that Christianity was recognized to have had some status as a movement (albeit not under the name "Christianity") prior to the death of Jesus.
  4. He identifies Judaea as the "source" of the movement. This mitigates against ideas that Christianity was designed piecemeal from pagan religious ideas.
  5. He indicates that Christians in Rome in the mid-60s A.D. were dying for their faith.

References and more information on Tacitus:

Josephus

Josephus ends up being a rich source for confirmation of the Gospel record:

  1. Jesus had a brother named James, who was an important member of the church;
  2. Jesus was a wise and virtuous man;
  3. Jesus had disciples, both among the Jews and Gentiles.
  4. Jesus was called "Christ" by some.
  5. Jesus was a worker of surprising deeds - an allusion perhaps to miracle-working power.
  6. Jesus was executed by Pilate by means of crucifixion.
  7. His execution was prompted in part by the leaders among the Jews.
  8. Christians were "named" from Him - which confirms Tacitus' own usage of the terminology.

References and more information on Josephus:

Moderately reliable sources

There are three of these: Thallus, Pliny and Lucian.

Pliny

What do we learn about Jesus and/or Christianity from this historian/writer?

  1. We learn that Jesus was worshipped, and that believers died for belief in Him, in the early second century.
  2. We learn of several aspects of worship that correspond with the NT: Worshipping on a fixed day, practice of the Eucharist, and the ethical grounding of Jesus' teachings.

References and more information on Pliny:

Lucian

What do we learn about Jesus and/or Christianity from this historian/writer?

  1. Jesus is clearly regarded as the founder of Christianity.
  2. Lucian also confirms the method and place of Jesus' execution.
  3. Most of all, we learn a great deal about the attitudes and practices of Christians in Lucian's time, and about the corresponding attitude of pagans like Lucian towards Jesus and the Christians. Jesus is recognized as a sage and a teacher of some worth; yet Christian belief is generally regarded as absurd.

References and more information on Lucian:

Marginally reliable or unreliable sources

There are three of these: Suetonius, the letter of Mara Bar-Serapion, and the Talmud.

Bibliography

  1. Alli.Luc - Allinson, Francis G. Lucian Satirist and Artist. New York: Copper Square Publishers, 1963.
  2. Barn.Leg - Barnes, T. D. "Legislation Against the Christians." Journal of Roman Studies 58, 1968, pp. 32-50.
  3. Benar.Tac - Benario, Herbert W. An Introduction to Tacitus. Athens: U. of Georgia Press, 1975.
  4. Benk.EC49 - Benko, Stephen. "The Edict of Claudius of A.D. 49." Theologische Zeitschrift 25, 1969, pp. 406-18.
  5. Benk.PagRo - Benko, Stephen. Pagan Rome and the Early Christians. Bloomington: Indiana U. Press, 1984.
  6. Blaik.MM - Blaiklock, E. M. Jesus Christ: Man or Myth? Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984.
  7. Chars.DSS - Charlesworth, James H., ed. Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
  8. Chars.JesJud - Charlesworth, James H. - Jesus Within Judaism. New York: Doubleday, 1988.
  9. Chars.JDSS - Charlesworth, James H., ed. John and the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York: Crossroad, 1991.
  10. ChilEv.Stud - Chilton, Bruce, and Craig A. Evans. Studying the Historical Jesus. London: E. J.Brill, 1994.
  11. Chilv.Tac - Chilver, G.E.F. A Historical Commentary on Tacitus' Histories I and II. Oxford: Clarendon, 1979.
  12. Cross.MedP - Crossan, John D. - The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant. San Francisco: Harper, 1991.
  13. Cutn.JGMM - Cutner, Herbert. Jesus: God, Man or Myth? New York: Truth Seeker, 1950.
  14. Dor.Tac - Dorey, T. A., ed. Tacitus. London: Routledge, 1969.
  15. Dud.Tac - Dudley, Donald. The World of Tacitus. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1968.
  16. Drew.WH - Drews, Arthur. The Historicity of Jesus. New York: Arno Press, 1972. (Originally published 1912.)
  17. Dunn.EvJ - Dunn, James G. D. The Evidence for Jesus. Louisville: Westminster, 1985.
  18. Feld.JosMod - Feldman, Louis H. Josephus and Modern Scholarship. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1984.
  19. Feld.JosJes - Feldman, Louis, ed. Josephus, Judaism, and Christianity. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1987.
  20. Fowl.LucSam - Fowler, H. W. The Works of Lucian of Samosata. Oxford: Clarendon, 1905.
  21. Fox.PagChr - Fox, Robin Lane. Pagans and Christians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987.
  22. Franc.EvJ - France, R. T. The Evidence for Jesus. Downers Grove: IVP, 1986.
  23. Gran.Grec - Grant, Michael. Greek and Roman Historians: Information and Misinformation. London: Routledge, 1995.
  24. Gran.Tac - Grant, Michael. Tacitus: The Annals of Imperial Rome. Penguin Books, 1973.
  25. Haber.VerdH - Habermas, Gary R. The Verdict of History: Conclusive Evidence for the Life of Jesus. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984.
  26. Hada.FJos - Hadas-Lehl, Mirielle. Flavius Josephus. New York: Macmillan, 1993.
  27. Harm.Luc - Harmon, A.M. Lucian. Loeb Classical Library, v.5 Cambridge: harvard Press, 1972.
  28. Harr.GosP5 - Harris, Murray. "References to Jesus in Early Classical Authors." Gospel Perspectives: The Jesus Tradition Outside the Gospels. Sheffield: JSOT, 1985.
  29. Harr.3Cruc - Harris, Murray. 3 Crucial Questions About Jesus. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994.
  30. Harv.JesC - Harvey, A. E. Jesus and the Constraints of History. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1982.
  31. Hoff.JesH - Hoffmann, R. J. and Larue, Gerald, eds. Jesus in History and Myth. Buffalo: Prometheus, 1986.
  32. Hutch.Tac - Hutchins, Robert Maynard. The Annals and the Histories by P. Cornelius Tacitus. Chicago: Encyclopedia Brittanica, Inc., 1952.
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  47. Twel.GosP5 - Twelftree, Graham. "Jesus in Jewish Traditions." Gospel Perspectives: The Jesus Tradition Outside the Gospels. Sheffield: JSOT, 1985.
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  52. Well.JesL - Wells, G. A. The Jesus Legend. Chicago: Open Court, 1996.
  53. Wilk.JUF - Wilkens, Michael J. and J. P. Moreland. Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.
  54. Wilk.ChrRom - Wilken, Robert L. The Christians as the Romans Saw Them. New Haven: Yale U. Press, 1984.
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  56. Wils.EvJ - Wilson, Ian. Jesus: The Evidence. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1984.

Gary: In service of my risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Maranatha!

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