A document of history is a source written by a non-Christian, i.e. a Jew or a Roman.
Source 1
The Antiquities of the Jews: This was written around 93 CE by a Jewish historian named Flavius Josephus. He said that:
ò Jesus was a wise teacher. ò Jesus worked miracles. ò Jesus won followers among both Jews and gentiles (non-Jews). ò Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate. ò Jesus’s followers claimed that he had risen from the dead.
Source 2
The Annals: This was written around 115 CE by a Roman senator and historian named Tacitus. He said that:
ò The Roman authorities thought that Jesus was a trouble-maker. ò Jesus was executed during the reign of the Emperor Tiberius (who died in 37 CE).
Source 3
The Letter to the Emperor Trajan: This was written around 111 CE by a Roman procurator named Pliny the Younger. He said that:
ò The followers of Jesus had spread throughout the Middle East and Asia Minor. ò His followers met every day before sunrise and prayed to Jesus ‘as to a god’.
POINT!
These Jewish and Roman authors confirmed two things: (a) Jesus really existed; and (b) Jesus founded a new religion.
In fact, most scholars today agree that Jesus existed. But what about the claim that we do not have any reliable sources of evidence about his life?
Tischendorf knew that most of what we know about Jesus comes from the documents of faith that have been passed on since ancient times.
Documents of Faith REMEMBER!
A document of faith is a source written by a member of the early Christian community.
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Christianity’s documents of faith can be found in the New Testament. This is a collection of twenty-seven books. All of them were written during the latter half of the 1st century CE.
