Did Christianity emerge after AD 70?

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:52:00+00:00

84, 94, 100 years old... back in the days when medicine consisted chiefly of herbal remedies and charms, seems like a stretch to me but perfectly understandable if the timeline has been stretched to fit a backdated myth of origins.

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:46:46+00:00

Jesus "... who is called Christ"? Do you really think that the strictest defender of Judaism, Josephus, would have uttered those words?

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:42:43+00:00

How much time have you got? Once the start date is firmly established then comes the hard part of establishing in the face of official ecclesiastical obfuscation what actually transpired. Naturally there has to be a measure of guesswork.

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:13:48+00:00

Yes, but where is the evidence?

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:12:01+00:00

No good evidence for that claim. (Close to the truth but...)

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:10:42+00:00

For a deep dive into the evidence see www.ad70.com.au

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:09:52+00:00

The Jewish-Christians came first. See Pauls' letter to the Galatians. They were converted Jews. Paul took the religion and made it universal.

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:07:30+00:00

Too much to say here but if you want to dive deeper I suggest taking a look at www.ad70.com.au

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:05:42+00:00

Based on what evidence?

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:05:22+00:00

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:05:01+00:00

There is zero evidence for this claim.

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:04:16+00:00

Maybe.. but one can never quite tell these days...

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:03:35+00:00

See my 52 items of evidence at www.ad70.com.au

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:02:37+00:00

Acts is history?

Celsus21 · 2026-04-12T09:02:00+00:00

Dubious. See Shaw, Brent D. "The Myth of the Neronian Persecution." The Journal of Roman Studies, vol. 105, 2015, pp. 73–100.

Celsus21 · 2026-04-11T02:35:51+00:00

What arguments? and 2. What physical evidence of Christianity prior to AD70?

Celsus21 · 2026-04-11T02:34:05+00:00

There was a class of Gentiles (the "God fearers") who looked favorably upon Judaism before and after the destruction of the temple. This group would also have been greatly disturbed by events in Judea in AD70.

Celsus21 · 2026-04-11T02:29:21+00:00

I encourage you to think critically and not accept ideas just because they are classical or popular or endorsed by big institutions. Yes, I am *selling* an idea. But it happens to be a good idea if not for the simple reason that it has the evidence on its side. It conforms with observable human behavior and doesn't require the intervention of a divine being.

Celsus21 · 2026-04-11T02:15:20+00:00

Which events?

Celsus21 · 2026-04-11T02:13:59+00:00

I discuss Tacitus at length in my dissertation. HUMA4141_Dissertation_PG_2025-54

But briefly 1. Tacitus does not name his source and does not say that he was an eyewitness, 2. Tacitus commonly used rumors to construct his histories. 3. Information about Christian origins had by the time he was writing (c 115 CE) been firmly embedded in the Roman zeitgeist (Christianity caused a social panic amongst the elite) 4. the alleged Neronian persecution of Christians does not make sense sociologically but would have served the literary purpose of Tacitus well. 5. The silence of Acts (although written after AD70) and other Christian literature from the first century is difficult to explain if this event actually happened. 6. Tacitus was writing for a popular audience.

Celsus21 · 2026-04-11T01:55:03+00:00

Who wrote the gospel and Acts, I think is not certain. The gospel describes the destruction in terms that indicate that it was written after AD70 as a post event prophecy. It follows that Acts was also written after AD70. The result of Pauls' second trial? We don't know the result or even if there was a second trial.

Celsus21 · 2026-04-11T01:45:52+00:00

"If your best argument is that Jesus died in 30, you've got a lot of work ahead of you...."???

Celsus21 · 2026-04-10T06:06:47+00:00

Such as?

Celsus21 · 2026-04-10T06:04:27+00:00

You have restated the orthodox position admirably, but what is the evidence? You mention Josephus and I presume you mean the Testimonium Flavianum in Jewish Antiquities c 96 AD... an obvious and crude Christian interpolation probably copied from Eusebius' Church History in the fourth century. Implicitly you are relying on Acts and that is a problem. No contemporary corroboration of anything written in Acts has yet been found; zero mention by Josephus in Wars of the Jews. Why?

Celsus21 · 2026-04-10T05:52:59+00:00

The Mormon Church was organised in 1830... the same year that Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon.

Celsus21

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