"The Christ Files" (Student Questions and Tasks)

1. What is unique about Christianity from a historical perspective?

• It is said that Jesus claims to be divine & the Son of God and to have all authority in Heaven & on earth.
• There were central claims of Christianity that can be checked out - (including such things as tangible historical evidence, events...)
• The Bible is a historically reliable book, not just a collection of generic stories. The detailed accounts can be verified in time, place & people are confirmed by secular history & archaeology.

2. What types of academic research into Christianity are usually reported by the media? Why do you think this is?

• The ones that were controversial, sensational and scandalous-like fringe claims surrounding about Jesus were usually reported by the media.

• Apologetics

3. When were the Gnostic Gospels written and what was there focus?

• The Gnostic Gospels were written during the 2^nd & 3^rd centuries.

• Believed to have been written between AD 200 and 400.

• The main focus was on Gnosticism and the sayings & teachings of Jesus.

• It’s a collection of about fifty-two texts based upon the ancient wisdom teachings of several prophets and spiritual leaders including Jesus.

• It is now generally believed that the evidence suggests that Gnosticism was a Jewish movement which subsequently reacted to Christianity or that Gnosticism emerged directly in reaction to Christianity.

• Also focused on post discussions of the resurrection of Jesus.

4. Some people claim, on the basis of the Gospel of Phillip that Jesus married Mary Magdeline. On what basis do they reach this conclusion and why do mainstream scholars challenge this thinking?

• This conclusion was reached as many came believed that the missing word on one of the famous written scripts (was assumed) as mouth. It might not be, but if it was, it would’ve been a holy kiss.

• This had been a rumour that was not popular until the late 20th century as a result of wild speculation (that ignores all historical facts) found in 2 related books.

• The Gnostic gospels indicated that Jesus would kiss her on the mouth and that she was the most favoured disciple.

• Scholars challenge this because there had been no mention whatsoever in any historical writing or in any passage of Scripture of Christ about Jesus ever having a wife - at least not in the commonly understood sense.

5. What did Celsus in the late second century claim and how do his claims aid the case for Christianity?

• He wrote the “True Doctrine”

• He wrote two controversial plays.

• Celsus wrote his work True Discourse (or, True Reason) as a polemic against the Christians in approximately 178 CE. Celsus divided the work into two sections, the one in which objections are put in the mouth of a Jewish interlocutor and the other in which Celsus speaks as the pagan philosopher that he is. Celsus ridiculed Christians because they advocated blind faith instead of reason.

• He claimed that Jesus called Himself as God and that claimed that Jesus’ birth was suspicious.

• The miracles were merely Egyptian sorcery.

6. Who was Tacitus, when did he write and how is his writing helpful to the Christian cause?

• Little is known for certain about the origins of Tacitus, although he is believed to have been born, around A.D. 56, into a provincial aristocratic family in Gaul (modern France) or nearby.

• He wrote the “Annals”.
• His disdain for Christianity did not prevent from showing accurate details of Jesus’ life.
• He was a Roman historian and he wrote in 114 C.E. (He wrote major works on the history of the Roman Empire.)
• He tells us when and where Jesus lived and that he was known as Christ (special one from God) and the circumstances of his death.

7. Who was Pliny, when did he write and why is his writing helpful to the Christian cause?

• He was a Roman soldier and wrote to ask whether they should continue executing the Christians.
• He wrote in 110 CE.
• Pliny had certain unique qualifications that make this reference more valuable than we might suppose. Prior to being a governor, he held a position as a state priest. His job as state priest included acting as an overseer in the state religion.
• As a member of the priesthood, in order to "safeguard the wise conduct of religion," Pliny should be expected to be "in the know" about religion.
• Pliny would conduct his own research (or use what he already knew) in order to do his job to the best of his abilities. He did not get into the Emperor's good graces or into high positions by being lazy or unprepared.
• In light of the fact that Christianity was recognized as a threat to public order, Pliny certainly had to know something about it in order to fulfil his duties. It is therefore likely that, while his knowledge of Christianity itself was largely second-hand, he also had firsthand knowledge of basic facts such as Jesus' existence.
• More important here, however, is the testimony by Pliny that Christians died for their faith. This was extremely unlikely to have happened if Jesus had not existed.