There Is So Much We Can—and Do—Know About Jesus, Mary, and Miracles, by Jerry Salyer 

Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., observes in Christ, Science, and Reason that the refutation of those who have denied Jesus’ existence as a historical person may be summed up in a single word: Tacitus. This first-century Roman historian is one of the touchstones of classical studies, and for untold generations, Latin students have been expected to parse excerpts from his Annals–such as the one which confirms the brutal persecutions of early Christians by the mad Emperor Nero.

When terrible fires broke out in Rome, records Tacitus, they wrought havoc and death throughout the city. Inevitably, suspicion turned toward the insane emperor, who had expressed a desire to demolish and then rebuild a number of sectors of the capital. None dared make open accusations, but the emperor’s critics were even bold enough to pass around a purported eyewitness report that Nero had greeted the sight of the enormous blaze with merriment and song: ….

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