7. Testimony Non-Christian Writers (3)

Little is known of the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus, but his surviving writings present an invaluable picture of Roman life in the first century AD. He lived through the reigns of over a half dozen Roman emperors and has been called the “greatest historian” of ancient Rome. In his Annals (ca. 116 AD) he describes the Christian persecution under Nero:

“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. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man’s cruelty, that they were being destroyed.” [13]

In this paragraph Tacitus confirms that:

·         Christus (Latin for “Christ”) was executed by Pilate during the reign of Tiberius.

·         the movement, members of which were called Christians, began in Judea .

·         these Christians were executed by Nero in the most horrendous ways for “hatred against mankind” (in 64 AD).

·         the church in Rome was by the year 64 large enough to be made a scapegoat for the burning of the city.