Tacitus and Pliny The Younger. Support for the Bible?
Tacitus statue, Austrian Parliment Building, Vienna
Introduction
The Bible’s New Testament was written primarily to convince people of the claims for Christianity and to diminish doubts for its believers. However, to use the Bible to support the Bible is problematic and is a fallacy called circular reasoning, when the proposition is backed by the proposition itself. It becomes the Bible is true because it is the Word of God and the Word of God says the Bible are true. Using support from the Bible to further prove Christian claims is also a logical fallacy of begging the question as the truth of the Bible is assumed to be ultimate truth, which actually is doubtful due to many errors (here), contradictions (here), and adulterations (here) that apologists have not been able to dismiss adequately; these are addressed elsewhere.
Christians are often surprised when they are exposed to non-fundamentalist religious scholars who can demonstrate that apologetic explanations are often not adequate and can sometimes be dismissed. To circumvent these issues Christian apologists have proposed sources outside the Bible, known as extra-biblical sources. Three often encountered are the writings of Josephus, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger. Josephus and his Antiquities were discussed in an earlier blog post (here). In this section Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger will be examined.
A. Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56-120 at age 64) is known to us as Tacitus and was a Roman historian and politician, a senator. He wrote a book called the Annals around 116 AD and wrote about Jesus in Book 15, chapter 44 of those works. He is often cited by Christian apologists as evidence for Jesus and the Bible being historical. The Annals covers his historical writing from AD 14 - 68 (1). According to the consensus of scholars he is one of greatest historians of antiquity and used as his sources earlier historians, imperial archives, senatorial records (Acta Senatus) and perhaps oral stories Among his later books, he included the early suppression of Christians (2).
Annals 15:44
Such indeed were the precautions of human wisdom. The next thing was to seek means of propitiating the gods, and recourse was had to the Sibylline books, by the direction of which prayers were offered to Vulcanus, Ceres, and Proserpina. Juno, too, was entreated by the matrons, first, in the Capitol, then on the nearest part of the coast, whence water was procured to sprinkle the fane and image of the goddess. And there were sacred banquets and nightly vigils celebrated by married women. But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order…
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… [paragraph breaks by the author]
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.(3) The writings of Tacitus indicates, unlike the Antiquities of Josephus, no forgeries or interpolations. Scholars are in general agreement that his writings are unchanged. He viewed Christianity as evil and a mischievous superstition. Using unknown specific sources he is probably writing this around 116 AD. He tells the story of Jesus being arrested by Pontius Pilate and crucified with “the extreme penalty”. Judaea is mentioned as the birthplace of the movement and chronologically matches the Gospel timeline. Jesus is identified as “Christus”.
B. Pliny the Younger (Letters Book 10: 96-97)
Pliny the Younger was governor of Pontus/Bithynia, now modern Turkey, from 111-113 AD. There he encountered early Christians and wrote the emperor of Rome, Trajan, for advice. We have many of his letters saved from antiquity. One letter discusses early encounters he had with Christians. The letters to Trajan regarding the Christians in his area were probably written 110- 112 AD, thus probably about 6 - 7 years before Tacitus wrote the Annals. Pliny wrote of the many Christians who were unwilling to denounce their beliefs and worship other gods and the emperor. He detailed them meeting once per week for sharing food and to take oaths for honesty, against criminal activity and adultery. Pliny “discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.” Thus, the writings of Pliny the Younger only document the growing religion, practices, and their rejection of worshipping the Roman Gods and the emperor. They do not support any of the Christians claims and supernatural beliefs, but some of their practices and beliefs.
Pliny to the Emperor Trajan
Pliny, Letters 10.96-97
“It is my practice, my lord, to refer to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better give guidance to my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never participated in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know what offenses it is the practice to punish or investigate, and to what extent. And I have been not a little hesitant as to whether there should be any distinction on account of age or no difference between the very young and the more mature; whether pardon is to be granted for repentance, or, if a man has once been a Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name itself, even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name are to be punished.
Meanwhile, in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome.
Soon accusations spread, as usually happens, because of the proceedings going on, and several incidents occurred. An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ--none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do--these I thought should be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.
They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.
I therefore postponed the investigation and hastened to consult you. For the matter seemed to me to warrant consulting you, especially because of the number involved. For many persons of every age, every rank, and also of both sexes are and will be endangered. For the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to imagine what a multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity for repentance is afforded.”(4).
Trajan to Pliny
“You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.”(4)
Conclusion
The writings of Tacitus only support Jesus as a historical figure. The spreading religion of Christianity is mentioned but no specifics for the divinity and supernatural claims of Jesus as Christ, nor the Jewish Messiah are included. There is no specific mention of the resurrection. Scholars indicate that “a most mischievous superstition” does not refer to the resurrection but is a general slur against the movement. Since he was writing about 100 years after the death of Jesus he could not have been an eyewitness nor interviewed any. The Annals of Tacitus only mention that Jesus was executed by the Romans as a criminal and that a movement started that spread to Rome. We do not know if his reporting of these events come from specific records or only what the Christians were saying and believing at the time.
The letters of Pliny the Younger also only support the growing Christian religion in Turkey where he was governor and what the local Christians there believed. They do not help us to know if the Christian beliefs and Bible are true. His letters were about 100 years after the death of Jesus. They do not change the opinion of top secular religious scholars and historians around the world that Jesus was historical, but a failed rural apocalyptic preacher.
Both the Annals of Tacitus and Letters of Pliny the Younger detail some examples of what early Christians did, and in some cases believed, but give us no evidence for those beliefs being true. From these two authors we are left not even able to ascertiain if Jesus was only a myth or actual historical figure.
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