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Mike Winger idea 2019-06-19

Suetonius's reference to "Chrestus" in Life of Claudius possibly refers to Jesus — but Suetonius is chronologically challenged if it does

Discussing Suetonius as a possible extra-biblical source for Jesus

historicity of Jesus extra-biblical sources Suetonius
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-19

Suetonius's report of Claudius expelling Jews from Rome matches Acts 18 — illustrating how omissions in one source don't prove falsehood; Josephus doesn't mention this expulsion

Cross-referencing Suetonius and Acts; illustrating argument from silence

Acts 18 argument from silence Josephus extra-biblical sources
Mike Winger idea 2020-05-06

Evidence for early Christian persecution: (1) Multiple attestation across the entire NT — Gospels, Acts, Hebrews, James, 1 John, Peter, Revelation all attest to Christians paying a price for faith. (2) Earliest church fathers (Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp) confirm the theme. (3) Non-Christian sources (Tacitus, Suetonius) confirm persecution under Nero.

Evidence for early persecution — multiple independent sources

multiple attestation Tacitus Clement of Rome
Mike Winger idea 2020-05-06

McDowell responds to Moss's dismissal of Nero persecution: (1) 50-year gap doesn't warrant dismissal — McDowell's father remembers Nixon 50 years ago. (2) Suetonius provides additional support she doesn't cite. (3) Her claim that "Christian" wasn't used until end of first century is false — Acts records the term at Antioch c.47 AD. (4) Tacitus says "great multitude" — not a handful. Nero needed a sufficiently large scapegoat group.

Responding to Moss on Nero — four rebuttals

Acts 11:26 Tacitus Candida Moss Suetonius