Giannah Marie B.

Tesaluna BSA-1 RE 112 TTH 1:30-3:00 HR

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RE 112 GUIDE QUESTIONS #2: HISTORICAL EVIDENCES OF JESUS’

EXISTENCE

Answer the following guide questions based on the topic: HISTORICAL EVIDENCES

OFJESUS’ EXISTENCE in page 4 of the RE 112 Compilation of Readings. Just

present your answers in bulleted form. These will be used for the recitation next

meeting.

1. How can we be so sure that the writers of the New Testament did not just create

Jesus out of their own imagination?

• The faith sources are not the only sources of information about Jesus.

• We also have the non-biblical and non-Christian sources to help

substantiate that Jesus actually did exist.

2. Who was the Jewish source and what did he say about Jesus?

• The Jewish source was Josephus Flavius, he stated that Jesus was a

wise man and He was the Christ.

3. Who were Suetonius and Tacitus? What were their accounts about Jesus?

• Suetonius and Tacitus were both Roman historians. Suetonius is also a

lawyer who compiled biographies of the first 12 Roman emperors. Their

accounts about Jesus was that, Suetonius refers to the expulsion of

Jews from Rome by Claudius at the instigation of Chrestus. While

Tacitus, he wrote on his book Annals that “they got their name from

Christ” who had been executed during the reign of Pontius Pilate.
4. Who was Pliny the Younger? What additional information did he mention about

Jesus?

• Pliny the Younger was a governor of one of the Roman provinces in Asia

Minor about the year 110 C.E. The additional information that he did

mention about is that they sang in alternate verses of hymn to Christ, as

to God.

5. What is your personal reaction over the accounts of these Non-Christians or

Non-believers about Jesus Christ? Were they helpful in realizing or accepting

Jesus’ existence in the past? Why?

• I want a neutral reaction because some people have had a non-religious

upbringing, and that's the person's preference since we all have different

ones.

• For me, they also helped in realizing the past of Jesus existed in the

past. Others are willing to believe and will grow in faith as they learn how

to pray and comprehend the Bible. Additionally, some people may have

formerly believed in God but later found it impossible to do so because

of difficulties in their personal life.

6. Does it matter for a Christian whether or not Jesus existed in the past? Why?

• It doesn't matter to a Christian whether Jesus did not exist in the past.

It's because the sources we need are also crucial. There are no existing

tales of Jesus from eyewitnesses or recent history. We have later

accounts of Jesus' life events written by people who weren't there, and

most are biased. But to clear things out, it doesn't matter; for others, it

may matter since we all have different thoughts and beliefs.