Quote:And since Pontius Pilate was an actual person, you would think there would be some record detailing his death sentence to a Jew named Jesus.
Actually, no. It would have been a minor issue. First off, crucifixion was reserved for rebels and slaves. The gospels claim that JC was neither. Common criminals were despatched in the arena in a far more cost-effective manner. Even the Ben-Hur notion of galley slaves is largely fiction. By the first century the Roman Navy was small as they controlled the entire coast of the Med. Roman ships mainly traveled under sail and if they needed to be rowed their own crews did the rowing.
The odds of finding an actual reference in Roman sources to such an insignificant person are astronomical. Far more likely that there would have been a reference by his followers or people writing at the time. Philo who died in 50 AD was a well-known Jewish writer and even wrote to Emperor Caligula in which he mentioned what a prick Pilate had been..... but he never mentions anything even remotely referencing anyone killed by Pilate who "multitudes" hailed as the messiah.
I wonder why?
Lastly, the fact that xtian forgers actually wrote documents purporting to be from Pilate about his actions in killing JC tells me that there were no actual reports even in the 3d-4th century. If you had actual proof, why try to invent some?
