Show I 1 TRADITION SOT NOT HISTORY Abor A correspondent respondent of the NEWS says bays he has baa come across a statement some bome where that the very heathens heathers he athens ad bitted the fact that pilate wrote to emperor tiberius assuring hira him that christ who was a very extraordinary person and who had been put to death at jerusalem was risen again falso that tiberius Tibe riua proposed to tj the senate at rome that his oame name should be enrolled among the number of their gods gode toe rae correspondent presumably wilbea to elicit some ome comment on 00 these it is beyond doubt that pilate the gove governor of judea had to make a report of the trial and oon con damnation of christ to the itoman boman em emperor aror it ir fir alsoc clear char from the brief those evena lo in the gospels that pilate was thoroughly convinced of the innocence of the victim and that his conseal to the execution was given chiefly because he feared that a denial would be represented in home by his en enemies emiles as trea treason sob since the political charge against jesus was that he aimed at kingly authority in jerusalem there are vot not as far as aa known any authentic records of the correspondence between pilate and rome on the subject but considering the facts referred to a reasonable conclusion would be that it was in the interest of the governor to represent christ to the emperor as a dangerous and fanatical conspirator w whose bose death was necessary to the peace of the country he might personally have entertained a different opinion but be could hardly have justified himself la IS proclaiming the death sentence and refusing rel using to exercise the executive clemency he be extended to a convicted outlaw if he bad officially admitted not only the innocence of the persecuted prophet but still more his dilip ity as attested by his exit from the grave after having been put to death the probability of such a course by pilate Is too remote to be credited unless the strongest evidence should be produced for the genuineness of the records in which t the be proceedings sire are said to be found there are a great many traditions con corning the he transactions of the leading men of remote ages but on in investigation vesti gation most of them are found to be unsupported by authentic acthen tic documentary evidence this thia does not change in the least the foundations upon which the christian Carlst lan faith rests resta the evidence for the divinity of christ to la not affected by anything his executioners execution ers may have said or not said amid of him any more than the mission ot of joseph the prophet is i affected by the opinions promulgated by those who were responsible for his martyrdom As to the second statement it is i well known that it was the policy of the roman emperors to ta give the deities of all the 0 dependencies a place amo g their ow awu u gods this was done in order to avoid religious contentions at the same time the conquered peoples were required to almost worship the emperor of kame the statement has been made that at an early time the question was seriously considered of giving jesus a place among all the other deities but i 1 is in self evident that that idea would necessarily have to be abandoned since the christans Chrie Chri tans could never co with pagan gods on the other hano hand it is in apparent to students or early history that rome borne never treated the early with tile the toleration accorded to other sects their position in the roman empire was similar to that of the saints ainis in allais age shows that the early christians were considered and treated as an atheists beci because ause they bad no places of worship similar to those of their neighbors orp and their so called secret meetings were locked upon as hold held for tb the purpose ot of political conspiracies spi ammo seemed to be able to use uro every other religion for political purposes except christianity it was a new and an accountable non edoo a faith nova and cwi wwi for which its ite vot votaries aries predicted universal victory hence war was waged against it until finally con st stantina antine tant lne turned the tide seeing the utter impossibility of checking its thom are facts facto of history christianity spread not because of a conviction prevalent among the pagans that its ito great founder was waa an extraordinary man but on account of its own divine power and notwithstanding the general idea that it was originated by a criminal and that it was the most absurd of all existing creeds creed |