It is more likely Tacitus received his information (second- or third- or nth-hand) from Christian sources. This does establish Christian beliefs at the time Tacitus wrote but I just don’t see much value in it other than as a collaboration of a earlier, more credible Christian source – namely Paul.

I am also enjoying the lectures. They are extremely informative. I have done all to 3.16, but will be jumping forward to Part 5 Historical Jesus, skipping the non-Christian material for the present as I have much reading now to do of the documents that were discussed in the other lectures, particularly just about all of the non-Canonical writings.

It is rare to see people put their intellectual property out for general learning without requesting compensation. In the present economic climate, even edification seems to have its price. Thank you for your generousity.

I wish I had the opportunity to take a class like this when I was still in school. I am recommending it to members of the local atheist group, and am greatly looking forward to getting to the historical Jesus episodes.

I grew up reading the scriptures and knew almost nothing about the cultural context of the writings or how they were compiled. Thank you for doing this podcast.