220 Jesus (Christ) of Nazareth became a favorite of Renaissance scholars In 1516 Erasmus published the first successful critical biography of Jerome along with his edition of Jerome’s works He has been considered a Doctor of the Church since the eighth century, and the Council of Trent (16th century) described Jerome as “the greatest Doctor in explicating Sacred Scripture.” His feast day is celebrated on September 30 See also Bible translations; Cappadocians; Greek Church; Latin Church; pilgrimage Further reading: Kamesar, Adam Jerome, Greek Scholarship, and the Hebrew Bible: A Study of the Quaestiones Hebraicae in Genesim Oxford: Clarendon, 1993; Kelly, J N D Jerome: His Life, Writings, and Controversies San Francisco, CA: Harper and Row, 1975; Murphy, F X., ed A Monument to Saint Jerome: Essays on Some Aspects of His Life, Works and Influence New York: Sheed and Ward, 1952; Rebenich, Stefan Jerome London: Routledge, 2002; White, Carolinne The Correspondence, 394– 419, between Jerome and Augustine of Hippo Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 1990 Franklin T Harkins Jesus (Christ) of Nazareth (c b.c.e.–30 c.e.) religious leader The independent evidence—apart from the New Testament—that Jesus actually lived falls into three categories: Jewish, Greco-Roman, and Jewish-Christian writings outside the Bible Jewish evidence, surprisingly, is rather sparse First of all, there are no contemporary archaeological or epigraphic remains that prove Jesus’ existence What research has found corroborates the background of the New Testament but does not confirm its hero Second, there are two literary records—the Talmud and Josephus—that speak about Jesus from a Jewish perspective, but both of these have been called into question JEWISH EVIDENCE The Talmud speaks of Jesus in derogatory ways, but it is written centuries after his life and undoubtedly reflects a fiercely polemical perspective The historian Josephus writes extensively about the Jews of his firstcentury c.e generation, but only in one short passage does he mention Jesus In the Testimonium Flavianum (Testimony of Flavius) Josephus assesses Jesus as nothing less than a prodigy But as soon as he finishes his statement, he never writes of Jesus again Historians now believe that the paragraph is a total or partial interpolation, added by later scribes as it passed down through Christian monastic hands GRECO-ROMAN HISTORIES Contemporary Greco-Roman evidence is also sparse, though there are brief and uncomprehending remarks by Tacitus and Suetonius about the reputation of one “Christus.” The evidence, however, is enough to warrant that Jesus actually lived and was rather despised by the prevailing imperial authorities There are ancient references to Jesus in religious writings outside of the New Testament The main document that merits attention from historians is the Gospel of Thomas The problem is that the date of Thomas cannot be ascertained The date most often given is 100 c.e., and most likely it is much later since it was found among late Gnostic documents and seems either to use the Gospels of the New Testament or to counter their teachings Certain parts of Thomas probably have gospel-era or earlier origins It is understandable that there would be little external evidence about Jesus He probably was an embarrassment to the Jews, who would not dignify him by reviving his memory In fact, few Jewish writings survive at all during this period because of the Roman invasions Certainly, this is the time when Jews would have been debating the claims of Jesus and his followers The Romans would not have cared about Jesus, an obscure nuisance who neither founded cities nor led armies Nonetheless, the fact that he is something of a footnote to accepted contemporary writers means that he lived One other fact outside the Bible supports his existence The Christian movement spread like wildfire in spite of strong opposition, and a letter from 110 c.e addressed to the emperor Trajan describes the tenacity of the Christian resolution to believe in Jesus Many historians use such evidence to show that only a real person and a real event (like a resurrection from the dead) could have inspired the spreading of faith over such distances in such a short period of time Otherwise, their testimonies show signs of a mass delusion on the scale of which is less believable than the religious explanation THE NEW TESTAMENT STORY To understand the “real Jesus” the historian is left with the New Testament Two warnings must be issued before taking up the Bible as an information book First, the stories about Jesus are not to be taken as history or biography in the modern sense The life of Jesus is