The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-06
TIE RELIGIOUS DISCUSSION.
The Silence of Contemporary Pagan Histor!
Rs to the Events Recorded IN the Gospels.

To THE EDITOR OF The SUS-Sir: Is IL not
singular that in an age Of brilliant intellectual
activity-the age in which 1t is claimed that
Christ was born-no writer who knew HIN
personally has ever mentioned Him Uf the
four writer's outsi6c Ct the Gospels mentioned
by my kind mentor MI. Moffat. not one was II
contemporary of Christ. But. waving this. let
us examine the evidence they are Claimed to
present.
Regarding the passage OF Josephu9 III An
Equities. xx., 81. l. 1t has been questioned not
only as to its Renuineness but as tc the fact
which it pnrports to record. Josephus says
that James was executed by the commands Of
n council of Judges Hegesiprus, Christian
historian, quoted by Euscbius Hist. Eccl.. =.
IL. tells US that Jamss was killed in riot.
Orieen Contra. Cell. l, Az quotes this passage
With ahditional Interpretations, evidently his
own. The Rev $ 3qring; Gould. in comment
us that the name OF Jesus was substituted
The passage, in Tacitus Ann. XIV. "a is
In all the pagan writings no other paragraph
would have served the Christian fathers so ad-
mirably as this one. Tertullan who largely
quotes 1acitus does not mention IL, and Glenn
ems Alexandrinus who made a special effort 10
bring together every admission or recognition
Of Christ and Christians made by pagan writer's
before his time. entirely. overlooGs i. The
annals were written about the year lO7. year
later, than the epistle OF the younger Pliny.
pliny was ,proconsm 60 the province Of BIZ
s%r uR Es s eg MM%s51T r B and II
writes Of a scct called Christians who met on a
certain stated day before It was light and ad-
Christ as to Il god y
sue,t99ptuff wrote his laycs| later than the
reference to, the Christians. In his life OF
Is NeI9 XVI abe ne says; freaking OF Nero; he
Sn sort m so S4G on tnH rFs
ni;,@!edca}D ,EiseWRsre tElaniius. %v. nc speaks
Of one Chrestus." but Chrestus was com
rone Of these wa born Ct The 4a,e Fl
,|,eyewitnesses" the writer's Of the four
t GSspeIs ns are to the sms o9er
that g. Mathew wrotte, his Gospel in the
we know is written in Greek II it is a trans
ll!ntion. readers who have compared Pon"s
translation, may know how unreliable ali trans
iatlon5 are. II it is COMPILATION, its character
are put forth by The writ" writer's Of M"rE and Luke
announces himself as a mere compiler Of the
fourth Gospel; the authorship is q matter OF
cohl.Gture. The wri ter announces himself as
the disciple whom Jesus loved" hutthe other
cipe. The most conservative critics claim that
It was written by John IN his old age. with the
thjs ,.mr 3i ms ttiendS Bmt lev thlngS IN
cries OF old men.
The loose Jointed letter of a Real Ameri-
can hardly calls for comment. Bv implicn-
ton one may infer that he finds comfort in
Saycn. II he will read the latters "Introduc-
ton TO the Science of Language he will either
abandon babel or Snvce. Regarding Christian
ioiSrries. he will find them discussed IN Judge
Yates History Of the Christian Church and
In Lea Studies In Church History" As 10
parallels 10 the heatitudes the Rev. DR. Briggs
bible Studies" liz. seq. tells, US that in the
Arnmair literature current at the beginning Of
the Christian ara there were abundant paral-
lels TO the wise sentences and moral maXimS
OF the Sermon on the Mount. the rich and
discourses and the fiery zeal Of His denuncia-
depth Of His esoterc instruction" Beth Paul
anu hlohammed We're catacptics and subject
tovlsIonS. and my allusion to them went not
beyond this fact
From the beginning OF recorded time the
orthodox clergy. med cine man. shaman or
priest have lain as Lockwood across the stream
OF human progress, flooding hack its waters
INTO miasmati c pools. We see this most clearly
n What are known as the Christian centuries.
Al their dawn. as the fostering pools enlarged.
one by one the lights Of the brilliant intclects
OF Rome went out to ha no more rel indled. and
Tor ten centuries n darkness darker than dark
est Africa overspread all Europe. Feminine
virtue was hanished from the castle and the
cottage and the human intellect was held as in
an iron ring The few mutilated MANUSCRIPTS
that mad escaped the fatuous zeal Of lustful and
I'm hec'le priests were allowed to moulder In
iar-away cloisters ntil the zeal Of the conquer
more free mankind The stream of time has
become too deep and broad for pr,psty flood
wood TO ever more set back its currents They
nav" carried them out into the great ocean to
soon sink waterlogged or to lie and rot worth
leSSS ulph us shoreS. QUERCus.
MATFRJnWN v