Its widely believed that the Acts of Pilate that were recirculated twice, one just prior to the Edict of Milan by Maximin II and one again during the fourth century, were both fraudulent edited documents. The first recirculation was determined by Eusebius (a Roman historian) who confirmed that its dates were completely off base. However, both of these altered documents shouldnt be confused with the original document from the first century that was archived in Rome, with availability to Caesar Antonius Pius (Augustus) as well as the Roman Senate. Many believe that this original document is indeed authentic, as it was customary for a governor to send the emperor records detailing significant events that occurred under his jurisdiction. Also, many early Christians (long before the time of Eusebius) appealed to the “Acts of Pilate” when settling issues amongst Gentiles. One of the main reasons this original document is believed to be in existence is due to the fact that Justin Martyr references it twice in his ‘First Apology’ which was written much earlier that the second and third forged documents were ever in circulation. If this original document did not exist, Justin Martyr couldn’t have appealed to it, yet he mentions it in two separate statements. Martyr also mentions the passion and the crucifixion of Christ and then references the evidence being ascertained from the ‘Acts of Pontius Pilate’. Likewise, Tertullian (whose stories haven’t been entirely consistent) also references twice this report made from Pilate to Tiberius, including Christ’s death sentence, report of the miracles, and resurrection. He also states that the entire story was reported to Tiberius Caesar, which in lieu of his potential lack of credibility, does indeed support the existence of said document, as well as it supports Martyr’s statement. The existence of this original document, based on the aforementioned, would prove the existence of Jesus Christ. It would also provide a non-biblical source supporting the events surrounding Christ’s life, death and resurrection as officially documented by credible leaders of the Roman government. There seems to be much more evidence for it then against it......just something Ive been studying and found interesting....:)
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 18:00:08 +0000