>>141621975) Emperor Trajan (ruled 98AD-117AD) and governor Pliny the Younger (governor of Bythnia in a period surrounding AD 112) wrote back and forth about the followers of Christos and the problems they were causing. Pliny related that his investigations had revealed nothing but "harmless practices and depraved, excessive superstition" but he was worried about their sedition. He asked Emperor Trajan for more guidance in dealing with Christians. Trajan's replies indicated there were no official persecutions in law, but should be handled locally. Pliny also described to Trajan his trick of discovering Christos' followers: He would demand they renounce Christos 3 times, then when they refused he executed them.
Argument: These were minor sources written 80 years after the crucifixion.
Point: Trajan is not a minor source, being Emperor of Rome, and Pliny governor under him.
Argument: The letters only describe Christos' followers and not Christos.
Point: That Christos had followers confirms Christos.
6) Roman Emperors kept records of events that affected their rule. Their records and letters, and dates of their rule confirm events. The contemporary Emperors were as follows:
Augustus, who ruled 27BC to 14AD. (Julius Caesar's nephew Octavian). Augustus set the tax and census that brought all people back to their hometowns to be taxed and counted. The year of the tax and census were recorded by Augustus and the Senate. Accounting for sufficient time for the tax decree to travel the empire, for all people living in the Roman Empire to hear of the tax decree, and then travel to their hometowns for all of them to be counted, would have taken several years to complete.
