Quote:Why mention something if everybody knows about it by word of mouth?
Then why talk about him at all?
If "EVERYBODY" knows the whole story it becomes even less likely that someone would not have written it down and commented on it.
You see, the odd thing about all of this stuff is that when xtians became numerous enough to be noticeable to the power structure, Greco-Roman writers (Celsus, Porphyry, Lucian) did begin to comment negatively about them. But these are all second century or later. Prior to this the record is blank.
I repeat an earlier observation. Judaea was no longer a remote part of the empire. It was connected by sea lane and land route to the rest of the empire and located close to one of the primary active fronts ( the Parthian frontier) of the empire. During the Augustan Age fully 1/4 of the Roman Army was stationed in Syria. That's a lot of Romans nearby. A tale about someone coming back from the dead would have been big news. Yet, not only do the Romans seemingly know nothing of jesus....they never heard of "Lazarus", either.
Yet, Apollonius of Tyana was also credited with bringing a dead person back to life and that story was written down.
http://www.askwhy.co.uk/christianity/0740Apollonius.php
Quote:Crowds were attracted by his great miracles and his wisdom. He was followed by crowds when entering Alexandria, like Christ when entering Jerusalem. When he entered the temple of Diana, a voice from above was heard saying, “Come to heaven.” He disputed with and vanquished the wise men of Greece and Asia, as Christ did the learned doctors in the temple. “A beauty shone in his countenance,” which reminds us of Christ’s transfiguration and “the words he uttered were divine.” Apollonius, like Jesus, performed many miracles like exorcisms of demons and the raising to life of a dead girl.
Bullshit? Of course. But at least Philostratus bothered to write it down.
