Secularism towards the name of Jesus Christ in this world:
10 Key Bible Verses on Persecution | Crossway Articles
Secular Definition: denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis: of or relating to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal: not pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to sacred):
Attest Definition: provide or serve as clear evidence of: declare that something exists or is the case: be a witness to; certify formally:
- to bear witness to; declare to be correct, accurate, or genuine, in words or writing, esp. officially: to attest the truth of a statement. 2. to give proof or evidence of; manifest: This essay attests your talent. 3. to put on oath. 4. to testify or bear witness: to attest to a person’s reliability.
Case in point…
One day, as I was conversing with an unbeliever, some rude comments came from her about Christians, calling us ‘stupid’ while talking about Liberal abortion views. This person at the same time also wanted to be my friend, but her constant use of my Lord God’s Name in vain basically repulsed me to the point that I kept my distance and from taking the relationship any further than just surface level and neighborly friendly.
Another example is of a girl behind the counter who stood at the register while glaring at the words “Jesus” on my t-shirt and who then proceeded to take my order with a ‘lackluster and lackadaisical attitude.’ Patiently, I went ahead and placed my order, paid, and smiled while saying thank you as I carried on my day, knowing that deep down the secular world at large is hostile when it comes to the name of my Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”)
For those who are unbelieving, who are unsure, and who are confused about the person of Jesus Christ, also, for those who doubt that the Bible is really from the Word of God pertaining to His Son Jesus Christ.
I have this question to present: “Did you know that non-biblical, secular, and worldly writers who have been named throughout history have attested to the person of Jesus Christ by acknowledging and writing about His existence?
No? Well, here goes.
Here are several secular and non-biblical sources and writers from these website links below showing that throughout history, they have been known to attest (provide veracity and support) for the existence of the person of Jesus Christ. Among them are some prominent historical figures, such as in the excerpts and examples below:
9 Secular Extra-Biblical Sources Supporting Jesus Christ (logosherald.com) :
JOSEPHUS (37 AD -100): They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.
TACITUS (56 AD-117): 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.
PLINY THE YOUNGER (61 AD -113): 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.
LUCIAN (115 AD – 200): He said that Christians “revered him [fraud leader Peregrinus] as a god…next after that whom they still worship, the man crucified in Palestine because he introduced this new cult into the world.”
CELSIUS (2nd century AD): “who having hired himself out as a servant in Egypt on account of his poverty, and having there acquired some miraculous powers on which the Egyptians greatly pride themselves, returned to his own country, highly elated on account of them, and by means of these proclaimed himself a God.”
Mara Bar-Serapion (70 AD -?): “What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise King? It was just after that that their kingdom was abolished. Nor did the wise King die for good; He lived on in the teaching which He had given.”
Suetonius (Life of Claudius): “As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.”
Thallus (5 AD – 60): “On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness, Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun.”
Phlegon (80 AD -140): “Phlegon records that, in the time of Tiberius Caesar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth hour to the ninth.” (in Sextus Julius Africanus’ History of the World)
And with regard to the eclipse at the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place, Phlegon too, I think, has written in the thirteenth or fourteenth book of his Chronicles.
He imagines also that both the earthquake and the darkness were an invention; but regarding these, we have in the preceding pages made our defence [sic], according to our ability, adducing the testimony of Phlegon, who relates that these events took place at the time when our Saviour suffered.” (Origen).
Here are some more excerpts from even more sources who wrote about Christ throughout history from another website source as well:
Early Secular Writings Regarding Christ (nelsonprice.com)
BABYLONIAN TALMUD (Completed in the 6th Century A.D.): The Babylonian Talmud is a Rabbinic commentary of the Jewish scriptures (Tanach: Old Testament). They are a look into what is a hostile source was saying about Jesus. They could not deny the miracles but claimed that it was sorcery rather than admit to what was a known fact.
TOLEDOTH YESHU (6 Century): The text itself is closer to the 14th century. Mentions the empty tomb and that the Jewish leaders found it empty. That Jesus was crucified on the eve of the Passover and that He claimed to be God. That Jesus performed sorcery, he healed, and that he taught Rabbis. All of this from a hostile source, with the references above it is a historical fact that Jesus did miracles. His enemies could not refute it, rather they explained it away as sorcery!
JULIAN THE APOSTATE (332-363 A.D.): “As he bled, the dying emperor groaned, “You have conquered, O Galilean,” referring to Jesus Christ.
CLEMENT OF ROME (100 A.D.): Clement affirms the Resurrection, Gospels and that Jesus was sent to earth by God to take away our sins.
IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH (50-107 A.D.): …nearness to the sword is nearness to God; to be among the wild beasts is to be in the arms of God; only let it be in the name of Jesus Christ. I endure all things that I may suffer together with him, since he who became perfect man strengthens me…We have not only to be called Christians, but to be Christians.”
QUADRATUS (125 A.D.): “The deeds of our Savior were always before you, for they were true miracles; those that were healed, those that were raised from the dead, who were seen, not only when healed and when raised, but were always present. They remained living a long time, not only whilst our Lord was on earth, but likewise when he had left the earth. So that some of them have also lived in our times. Eusebius, IV, III
EPISTLE OF BARNABAS (130-38 A.D.): Mentions the Resurrection, miracles, content of the Gospels and the crucifixion of Jesus.
ARISTIDES (138-161 A.D.): And he was crucified, being pierced with nails by the Jews; and he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. He sent the apostles into all the world and instructed all by divine miracles full of wisdom. Their preaching bears blossoms and fruits to this day, and calls the whole world to illumination.” Carey, “Aristides,” 68.
JUSTIN MARTYR (106-167 A.D.): He mentions as facts many things about Jesus and Christianity, such as: The Magi (wise men who brought gifts from Arabia), King Herod, His crucifixion, His garments parted among the Roman soldiers, the apostles leaving him on the night of his arrest, his fulfilled prophecies, His resurrection and His ascending into heaven among many others. These quotes can be found in his debate with Trypho the Jew.
HEGESIPPUS (2 Century): Only fragments remain of his original work in the writings of Eusebius. They show that Hegesippus traveled extensively trying to determine if the stories of Jesus and the apostles were true. He found that they were accurate, even in the troubled church in Corinth.
TRAJAN (53-117 A.D.): Trajan is a Roman Emperor who wrote a letter [see letter] in response to the Governor of Asia Minor, Pliny the Younger. Pliny needed advice in dealing with “Christians” who renounced their belief in Jesus due to fear of torture and execution.
MACROBIUS (4TH-5TH Century): Pascal (Pensees) mentions a quote of Augustus Caesar as an evidence to the murder of the 7-20 male babies (this is based on the population of Bethlehem in 4-6 B.C., which was 700-1,000 people) by King Herod in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).
King Herod heard that a king was to be born and his fear and mental instability caused him to kill these male children under two years of age. King Herod killed his Wife, mother in law, and three sons. This is in character with his life of murder and paranoia. King Herod’s reign was described by his enemies as, “He stole to the throne like a fox, ruled like a tiger, and died like a dog.” Saturnalia, lib. 2, ch.4.
HADRIAN (106-167 A.D.): Justin Martyr quotes this Roman Emperor’s letter to Minucius Fundanus, proconsul of Asia Minor. This letter deals with accusations from pagans against the Christians. And this, by Hercules; you shall give special heed to, that if any man shall, through mere calumny, bring an accusation against any of these persons, you shall award to him more severe punishments in proportion to his wickedness. Justin Martyr, The First Apology, Chapters, 68-69.
JUVENAL (55-127 A.D.): Juvenal makes a reference of the tortures of Christians by Nero in Rome.
SENECA (3 B.C.-65 A.D.): Seneca mentions the cruelties that Nero imposes upon Christians.
HIEROCLES (284-305 A.D.): In this quote, Hierocles condemns Peter and Paul as sorcerers. Again, their miracles could not be denied, rather they claimed that they used sorcery. “And this point is also worth noticing, that whereas the tales of Jesus have been vamped up by Peter and Paul and a few others of the kind, –men who were liars and devoid of education and wizards.” Eusebius, The Treatise of Eusebius, ch. 2.
ANTONIUS PIUS (86-161 A.D.): And you, indeed, seem at such times to ignore the gods, and you neglect the temples, and make no recognition of the worship of God. And hence you are jealous of those who do serve Him, and persecute them to the death.
Take these sources as you will, all I know is that from the time the Lord Jesus walked this earth until now, countless lives have been transformed simply from learning about Him and by hearing His Words preached and in believing the Gospel Message! All the way down from the time of the Pharisee Nicodemus who would visit Jesus by night (as not to be seen conversing with Him) to his all-out requesting the body of the ‘recently crucified’ Lord down from the cross so that he could give Him a proper rich man’s burial in a borrowed tomb!
Not to mention the ‘infamous Saul to Paul conversion’ on the Road to Damascus, on down to the lives that have been ‘radically changed’ of countless lost people throughout all of the centuries of time until now! To those who have been undeniably regenerated, there is something raw, real, and ultimately supernatural to be had, said, and believed about the God/Man and person of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
And that something is that He definitely did and does exist, and He is definitely coming back again to this earth whether one wants to believe it or not! The fact that countless lives have been changed, converted, and regenerated attest to this reality! For faith is the substance of things hoped for… the evidence of things not seen!
My sincere advice is to let yourself have faith in God’s Word and let God change you from the inside out, let Him give you a heart of flesh for that heart of stone, let Him give you a new spirit with new affections! Let God’s Son shine into the dark places of your life, let Jesus into the door of your heart and mind, let Him transform you into a new creature!
Because after all… from the infamous and historical testimonies that have been written down, recorded, documented, and attested throughout time… it is undeniably clear that we will definitely not regret it.
Did Jesus really exist? Is there any historical evidence of Jesus Christ? | GotQuestions.org
Until next time… Maranatha!
Sincerely & In Christ,
Candy Austin
(I have no Accolades….
I am just a Nobody,
Trying to tell everybody,
All about Somebody,
Who can save Anybody!)
My Mission is to be ‘Salt and Light’ to a Lost and Dying world,
To be an Ambassador for Jesus Christ.
All for Him and His Glory!