For since the
beginning of the world
Men have not heard
nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen
any God besides You,
Who acts for the one
who waits for Him.
You meet him who
rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in
Your ways.
You are indeed angry,
for we have sinned––
In these ways we
continue; and we need
To be saved.
Isaiah 64:4–5
In man’s
hunt for purpose in regards to our lives, the reason why we exist, the fact
that we have a desire to have a god in our life, or to just cast aside any
thought of a god and to live as a person pleases is an age old process. Those
who would condemn the Christian Religion as being nothing more than man’s hunt
for a purpose of our existence relish in their unbelief and vilify those who do
believe in the Christian Religion and the God who they worship. In our study of
the Christian Religion and the fact that some would protest that we do not have
historical facts that God has a religion and commands us to follow His religion
I have approach this issue appealing to the fact that many heathen people wrote
in regards to our Christian Religion. Some Pagans, or heathens, upon studying
and writing against the Christian Religion became Christians and give testimony
of our Savior Jesus Christ.
I will
confine my essay to include a list of Pagan writers who touched upon Jesus
Christ and any of the particulars of the life of Jesus Christ. Those Pagans
that converted to Christianity, their testimonies should be looked upon as
being the more authentic; therefore, I will confine my list to those Pagans who
converted to Christianity in the first three centuries as it is in this time
period in which men had the best means of informing themselves of the truth of
the history of Jesus Christ. Some Pagan who said they converted to the
Christian Religion, those philosophers who made this decision under the reigns
of Christian emperors, some may have done so partly out of worldly motives.
Let us look
at those Pagans that converted to Christianity that made mention of Jesus Christ
and the particulars of His life. I will suppose that some learned Pagan writer
who lived some sixty years after our Savior’s crucifixion and was shown that
false miracles were done in obscurity, and they occurred before few or no
witness, and then wrote: “But his works were always seen because they were
true; they were seen by those who were healed, and raised from the dead, were
seen not only at the time of their raising but long afterward. They were not
only seen while Jesus Christ was on this earth, but survived after Jesus
departed from this world, and some are living in our days.”
Would you
not admit that this is a glorious attestation for the cause of Christianity
because it came from the hand of a famous Athenian philosopher. Actually, those
words in italics above did come from one who lived about sixty years after the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and was a famous philosopher in Athens. It might
be said that this philosopher would write such words for he became a convert to
the Christian Religion. Let us look at this account impartially and see if his
testimony is not much more valid for that reason. As a Pagan philosopher he
would not have said or write what he did for he would have been considered to
be not sincere, or that he did not believed it and we would have been told that
he embraced the Christian Religion. In the case of this man, he did thoroughly
examine the truth of the history of Jesus Christ, and the excellency of the
Christian Religion, a religion he taught, and was convinced of and became a
proselyte and died a martyr. Who was this man? It was Aristides (Here is the
reference from Jerome, Illustrious Men 20): Aristides, a most eloquent
Athenian philosopher, and a disciple of Christ while yet retaining his
philosopher's garb, presented a work to Hadrian at the same time that Quadratus
presented his. The work contained a systematic statement of our doctrine, that
is, an Apology for the Christians, which is still extant and is regarded by
philologians as a monument to his genius. This Athenian philosopher was famous
for his learning and wisdom and did convert to Christianity. We cannot question
that he perused and approved of the apology of Quadratus Estimated Range of
Dating: 120-130 A.D. He is said to have been the first of
the Christian apologists.The apology is now lost but was extant in the time of
Ado. Vinesis, 870 A.D., who was highly esteemed by the most learned Athenians
as the author gives witness. This apology must have contained tremendous
arguments for the truth of Jesus Christ and His history, because in it he
asserted the divinity of our Saviour which could not but engage him in the
proof of His miracles. A side note: Those who teach that Jesus Christ was not
considered to be God, Divine and of the same essence of God are teaching a lie
or they just don’t know the history of the Christian Religion.
Someone may
cavil that this account is not so acceptable and must be question as an
evidence for the Christian Religion and to make cause for his belief. Yet, we
must consider, in this case before us, who were the person we appeal to for
they were of an opposite persuasion until they were persuaded of the truth of
the facts which the report. They bear evidence to a history in defense of the
Christian Religion. These former Pagan men were attesting to facts they heard
as Pagans and had they not found reason to believe them they would have stayed
as Pagans and made no mention of them in their writings.
When a
person is born of Christian parents they are trained up in the Christian Religion
and guide themselves by the rules of Christian faith. the believe what has been
delivered by the evangelists. Pagans do the same thing before they became
Christian and were guided by the common rules of faith; that is, they examined
the nature of the evidence which could be sine in the common fame, traditions,
and the writings of those person who were related to them. With all this, the
number, concurrence, veracity, and private characters of those persons, and
being convinced of all accounts had they not the same reason to believe in the
history of Jesus Christ as those who were not actually eye–witnesses. Were they
not bound by all the rules of historical faith, and of right reason, to give
credit to this history? Yes, and this is what they did and published these same
truth themselves, suffered may afflictions, and even death. It was the Savior
Jesus Christ who induced these men to embrace His doctrine. While saying that I
also admit that there were many other motives that conduced this admission, as
the excellency of His precepts, the fulfilling of prophecies, the miracles of
His disciples, the irreproachable lives and magnanimous sufferings of their
followers. No matter the nature, whatever collateral arguments may be advanced
more or less with the philosophers of that age, it is certain, that a belief in
the history of Jesus Christ was one motive with every new convert; this can be
traced as being the very basis and the foundation of Christianity.
I will add
as I have already done, the many particular facts which are recorded in
Scripture, attested to by Pagan authors, the testimony of those I am now going
to produce, will extend to the whole history of our Savior, and, to those
actions which are related of Him and His disciples in the books of the New
Testament. The evidence appears from the quotations of the evangelists and will
confirm any doctrine or account of Jesus Christ. Any learned man who examines
the writings of our most sacred fathers will refer to several passages in
Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clements of Alexandria, Origen, and Cyprian, those who
show plainly that each of these early writers ascribed to the four evangelists
by name, their respective histories; so there is no room for doubting of their
belief in the history of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels. These men
were inquisitive and deep in the knowledge of Pagan learning and philosophy.
Therefore as I continue to give evidence for the Christian Religion I will turn
our thoughts and learning upon such evidence as can be found in the writings of
several men who attest to the truth of the Christian Religion.
But now, O LORD,
You are our Father;
We are the clay,
And You our potter;
And all we are the
Work of Your hand.
Do not be furious, O LORD,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Indeed, please look—we all
Are Your people!
Isaiah 64:8–9
Be glad and rejoice in God
Richard L. Crumb
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