Historical Context

✦ Three primary theories pertaining to the origin of Christianity:

(1) Christian Theology: Christianity is a true and divine transition from Judaism (which also means a termination of the host religion, or that somehow both versions are correct).
(2) Historical Jesus (Traditional): Jesus was an eccentric man who started a movement (for unknown reasons) based on his own convictions, despite life threatening opposition from Jewish culture and Roman authority. His ministries generated perceptions that he performed miracles, which were either staged or based on sensationalized rumors. Jesus’ ministries upset either the Jewish people or Roman authority, or both, to the point that he is crucified and dies on the cross. His disciples flee in fear. However, several apostles, including Paul, erroneously think or know they see Jesus alive afterward, motivating them to carry on with the movement.
(3) Mythicism: A person filling the role of Jesus never actually existed. The Christian religion, including the Pauline letters were fabricated by unknown persons, and eventually the movement took hold.

✦ For the purpose of this website, Christian Theology is not considered for the following reasons:

It involves belief in events that violate laws of nature and physics.
It violates the theology of its host religion (Judaism):
- The idea that a man could be a son of God exists in the Hebrew Bible,[1] but never implies the man is divine. Equating a man with God is never suggested in the Hebrew texts and is viewed as idolatry. However, the concept of divinity for a man as a son of a god was common in pagan cultures of that time (see the free download paper for examples).
- The idea that God would require or accept a human sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins (Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God) is abhorrent to many Jews and has no basis in Mosaic Law.
The early movement misrepresented Jewish scripture:
- Jesus did not meet messianic prophecies described in the Hebrew Bible. For an understanding of these prophecies, please ask a Jewish rabbi and not a Christian evangelist. The Jewish messiah is not divine and never implied to be so.
- In the Christian version of a messiah, Jesus promised his disciples that his Second Coming would happen within their lifetimes.[2] The Apostle Paul harped on this incessantly in his seven letters. This promise is entirely missing from the decades-later Gospel of John, probably when it became all too apparent in later years this was not going to happen.
- The theology of three separate, individual, divine beings that are mystically combined into one single god makes absolutely no sense. This concept is glossed over as a Mystery that cannot be understood by man, even though the concept of the “Trinity” was invented by men decades after the time of Jesus (and vigorously debated for centuries to come, even to this day).

✦ The Mythicist theory is generally rejected by most historical and bibilical scholars. The idea that complex, numerous, varied, and disjointed early Christian writings were somehow fabricated by Roman elites during the end of the first century CE seems preposterous, and to what end? If it were a single, more coherent work of an identifiable narrative then it would be more reasonable. Such a coherent work would quickly and easily be seen as a work of fiction for its intended purpose (entertainment, social influence, gain of wealth, fame, etc.). However, there is no evidence for such a source, nor an understanding for what its motivation might have been.

✦ This website presents an alternative theory for the historical Jesus - one that relies more heavily on the character of the early Christian writings presented in Paul's seven letters and the Synoptic Gospels. This alternative theory presumes there are reasonable human explanations behind the character of these early narratives.

✦ Jesus’ ministry began as a collaboration with local Roman authority in Judea under the direction and control of Pontius Pilate. Many biblical scholars generalize Pilate’s character as a typical Roman governor who desired nothing more than to keep the peace. However, we know, even in today’s politics, very powerful men will defy norms and reason to achieve goals not understood by academics. Pontius Pilate could have been such a man with personal goals beyond the norm. He could have had simple desires (naive, ambitious, unreasonable, visionary, disgust with strange beliefs, who knows?) to manipulate the culture of the Jewish people. There are hints from ancient sources that Pilate was cruel and incompetent. However, he reigned as governor for ten years (26 - 36 CE), which suggests some level of competency. He deliberately clashed with Jewish religious doctrine by erecting effigies of Caesar in Jerusalem, but then removed them after fervent protests. Pilate may have desired to improve attitudes of the Judean people to pay taxes, be more acceptant of outside culture, promote submissive behavior, etc. The Roman Prefect before Pilate, Valerius Gratus, appointed and fired a quick succession of five Jewish high priests, but by the time Pilate had become governor, Rome had curtailed this power. Three decades before, during a golden age, Herod the Great was the Roman-appointed “King of the Jews”. Maybe Pilate was pursuing his own dream of Make Judea Great Again. The narratives suggest Pontius Pilate was obsessed with this title. Even Jesus responded, “Thou sayest.”[3] Jesus never referred to himself as “King of the Jews”. Pilate used the title as a type of defense, as in, `Are you sure you want to crucify your king?’[4] In John 19:19, Pilate penned the charge, “King of the Jews” and put it on the cross. The charge is clearly a mockery and spiteful,[5] rather than a serious charge of sedition. Jewish priests took the charge as an insult, since they asked Pilate to change the inscription.[6] However, Pilate responded in what appears to be animosity with, “What I have written I have written.”

✦ In the earliest Christian texts, the Apostle Paul documented a horrible accusation of blanketed blame on the Jews for killing Jesus (1 Thessalonians 2:14-15, c. 50 CE). This is mirrored in the Gospels where Pilate is reluctant to crucify Jesus despite the demands of the Jewish court. The Jewish people saw through Jesus’ teachings as not being divine from their god, and as such, rejected him.

✦ Pontius Pilate may have had curiosity, interest, or sympathy for leaders of a Jewish movement (John the Baptist and, subsequently, Jesus) who were openly and publicly supportive of tax collection for Rome, who had tax collectors as followers, promoted peace, submission to oppression (love your enemies, turn the other cheek, blessed are the peacemakers), criticized Jewish religious orders, never criticized Roman authority, and publicly proclaimed a centurion had the greatest faith in all Israel.

✦ John baptized tax collectors (Luke 3:12-13), told them it was righteous to "collect the appointed amount" and tax collectors were noted as his followers (Matthew 21:32, Luke 7:29). Jesus was a "friend of tax collectors" (Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:34), dined with many (or a large company of) tax collectors (Matthew 9:10, Mark 2:15, Luke 5:29), one of Jesus' disciples was a tax collector (Matthew 9:9-10), Jesus stayed overnight with Jericho's chief tax collector, Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-7), Jesus instructed Peter to pay the half-shekel tax and not give offense to the collector (Matthew 17:24-27), and "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's" (Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17, Luke 20:25).

✦ Like John the Baptist and Jesus, Pontius Pilate was just a man. A man can experience curiosity, interest, or sympathy. However, a current, predominant theory that Pilate had no qualms crucifying Jesus, or did so because he was afraid of a self-proclaimed king being a threat to Rome, is not supported by any early texts (Christian or otherwise). If one presumes that Pontius Pilate may have had curiosity, interest, or sympathy for Jesus, it explains why Pilate would not have let the Sanhedrin stone Jesus. Stoning would have meant an instant and sudden death. Letting the Sanhedrin stone Jesus would have been much simpler for Pilate, if he had no qualms for Jesus' death. Almost everything in the Synoptics - the quick sequence of events with the betrayal and arrest on the same night of the Lord's Supper (multiple attestation in 1 Corinthians 11:23), a personal meeting/trial with Pilate, the odd sequence of the 'crucifixion' (no nails mentioned, removed on the same day per Pilate's authorization, no stabbing in the Synoptics, all Jesus' acquaintances watching the from a distance in the Synoptics, a Roman centurion at the crucifixion site), and guards at the tomb per Pilate's direct involvement, demonstrates that Pilate was in control, and even directing events. Early post writings (Tertullian) support Pilate's complicated involvement, not indifference.

✦ The betrayal and arrest story, as written, was clearly preplanned between Jesus and Judas. A sudden arrest in the middle of the night at a remote location outside the walls of the city, different from the location of the supper meeting (otherwise how would Judas know the odd time and place to bring the hastened arresting party [for formal custody to preempt death plots? - Matthew 12:14 26:4, Mark 3:6 11:18, Luke 19:47 22:2]), initiated by a command from Jesus, "One of you eating with me will [or shall] betray me." It is a type of direction or command, unless you believe in divine preeminence. A formal arrest was a type of protective custody, especially if ending up in Roman custody - again, as written.

✦ The crucifixion described in the Gospel accounts was very unusual, and completely survivable. A Roman centurion declared Jesus’ supposed “death”.[7] Oddly, Pilate was personally involved with directing who could take Jesus from the cross.[8] Jesus appeared live after the crucifixion to his closest followers, causing them to think he had risen from death. This provided the motivation to continue a movement which, unknown to them, was simply a misunderstood Roman interference in local justice, growing into something far beyond anyone's dreams.

✦ Tertullian in Apologeticum, V (c. 197 CE) and Eusebius in Church History, 2.2 (c. 313 CE) document that Pilate informed Tiberius Caesar of Jesus’ resurrection and miraculous works, requesting a formal declaration of Jesus as a god, but the Senate rejected it. Tertullian in particular wrote serious, detailed works, and was a respected church historian, meticulous in his arguements, and not prone to indiscriminate or fabricated entries. However, some scholars believe the documented account of Pilate’s request is legendary because they cannot explain how it fits within their existing paradigms. Misunderstanding human events is a shortsighted reason to automatically conclude the events are only legend.

✦ There are numerous references that support the basic premise that Christianity began early in the first century CE in Judea:

Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus (56 - 117 CE) wrote in The Annals of Imperial Rome, XV.42:
To suppress this rumour [suspicions on the burning of Rome in 64 CE], Nero fabricated scapegoats - and punished with every refinement the notoriously depraved Christians (as they were popularly called). Their originator, Christ, had been executed in Tiberius’ reign by the governor of Judaea, Pontius Pilatus. But in spite of this temporary setback the deadly superstition had broken out afresh, not only in Judaea (where the mischief had started) but even in Rome.
Luke 3:1 states that John the Baptist started his ministry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar (29 CE).
References to a few New Testament figures by Flavius Joesphus in his Antiquities of the Jews.
Scholarly accepted dating of the Apostle Paul’s seven letters.

✦ Two important goals of Roman occupation included:

Collection of taxes
Enlist men to serve in its fielded armies

✦ The Jewish people considered Israel to be land promised to them by God (Genesis and Exodus in the Hebrew Bible).

✦ The Jewish people felt they were God’s chosen people.[9]

✦ The mere Roman presence was a defilement of the Holy Land

✦ The relations between the Jews and the Roman occupiers were contentious and combative:

In 63 BCE Rome first conquered Judea.
In 54 BCE Marcus Licinius Crassus stole the Jewish temple treasury.
Around 28 CE Pontius Pilate stole the Jewish temple treasury to pay for an aqueduct. When the Jewish people protested, Roman soldiers beat many in the crowd to death.
Jewish Zealots offered violent resistance to the Roman occupation.
Jewish sects were convinced God would throw off Roman rule through the power of their faith and obedience to God. As one example, from PBS Frontline “Apocalypticism Explained” the Essenes had a War Scroll prophesizing a final battle of the sons of light against the sons of darkness. In the first Jewish revolt against Rome (66-70 CE), the Essenes, following this battle plan, literally marched out to war under their self-perceived power of God against Roman soldiers and were annihilated. The Essenes expected a final battle led by the forces of God to bring triumph.
In 70 CE Rome brutally crushed the four-year Jewish rebellion. The Roman general Titus burned the Jewish temple and laid Jerusalem in ruins. Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants were slaughtered.
In 73 CE Roman governor Flavius Silva laid siege to Masada. Approximately a thoudand Jewish men, women, and children chose mass suicide rather than submit to Roman capture.
From 132 to 135 CE during the Second Jewish Revolt, the Jews recaptured Jerusalem.
In 135 CE Emperor Hadrian crushed the Jewish revolt, attempted to annihilate the Jewish presence in Jerusalem, and renamed Judea to Palestine.

✦ A primary source of fervent Jewish resistance to the Roman occupation was their religious culture (established beliefs and loose ethnic unity).

✦ The intense and passionate conflict between the imperialism of the Roman Empire and the self-perceived entitlement of the ancient Jewish culture was a breeding ground for evolved theology and human manipulation. Was Christianity born of human conflict and Roman attempts to manipulate religious forces in Judea?

[1] 2 Samuel 7:14, Psalms 2:7 89:26-27

[2] Matthew 16:27-28 24:34, Mark 9:1, 13:30, Luke 21:32

[3] Matthew 27:11, Mark 15:2, Luke 23:3, John 18:34

[4] Mark 15:9 12, John 18:39 19:15

[5] Matthew 27:37, Mark 15:26, Luke 23:38, John 19:19 19:15

[6] John 19:21

[7] Mark 15:45

[8] Matthew 27:58, Mark 15:43 45, Luke 23:52, John 19:38

[9] Exodus 3:7, Deuteronomy 7:6-24, 2 Samuel 7:8-16 23-24