Steven Rutlidge - The Death of Christ: The Bible and Popular Culture vs Archaeological and Historical Evidence

The Death of Christ

The Bible and Popular Culture vs Archaeological and Historical Evidence

Steven Rutledge

First published in Great Britain in 2022 by
Pen & Sword History
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Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Steven Rutledge 2022

ISBN 978 1 39908 877 0

eISBN 978 1 39908 878 7

Mobi ISBN 978 1 39908 878 7

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M uch always goes into writing a work such as this and it is often difficult to know where to begin to credit those who have been of such great assistance along the way, but before I express my gratitude, just a brief note to the reader. First, in my citation of Biblical passages I have used almost exclusively the King James version of the Bible, simply because of a personal love of the majesty of its language and its style. For translations of Josephus and Philo I have relied primarily on the Loeb editions by H. St. J. Thackeray (for The Jewish War ), Louis H. Feldman (for Jewish Antiquities ), and C. D. Yonge (for Against Flaccus and The Embassy to Gaius ); similarly for translations of Cassius Dio I have relied on Earnest Carys translation of his Roman History . Latin translations are for the most part my own, and I have tried, probably as with any translator, with varying degrees of success to navigate between being faithful to the authors grammar and syntax but also trying to convey what I believe the sense of the Latin is attempting to communicate as well, never an easy task and one that carries with it a number of problems. Any infelicities of translation or factual errors rest solely with me. As to those to whom I owe a debt of thanks, Professor Robert Wagoner (emeritus Juniata College), an old and dear friend, is perhaps first and foremost. Many years ago he steered me away from all manner of prejudices and presumptions concerning not just Christianity but religion in general, and I could never thank him enough for the myriad of different ways in which he has helped me to view the complicated subject of religion and its place in human culture over time. I would also like to thank Professor Thomas Mertes (History, Linfield University) who lent me encouragement and had helpful suggestions on a draft of this work. Brennen Guillory, a minister at a local combined Methodist and Lutheran Church (McMinnville, Oregon), is also owed a debt of gratitude, first for inviting me initially to speak to his congregation on this subject, and then for generously looking at my manuscript with numerous suggestions from the perspective of someone of theological background in this area. Above all, as always, I owe my greatest debt to my life partner, Lori, who has now been a help and a support for nearly four decades, and who has suffered through every word of my writing, from my early undergraduate essays to the current work at hand. There simply is no greater love.

With a few exceptions, almost all abbreviations of ancient authors and works in this history follow the Oxford Classical Dictionary or the Oxford Latin Dictionary usage.