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by AB is an asylum run by the inmates, ciao! on September 26th, 2010

AB is an asylum run by the inmates, ciao!

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Why do the writings of Philo of Alexandria (20BCE - 50CE) fail to mention Jesus at all?

Much as Josephus would, a half century later, Philo wrote extensive apologetics on the Jewish religion and commentaries on contemporary politics. About thirty manuscripts and at least 850,000 words are extant. Philo offers commentary on all the major characters of the Pentateuch and, as we might expect, mentions Moses more than a thousand times.

Yet Philo says not a word about Jesus, Christianity nor any of the events described in the New Testament. In all this work, Philo makes not a single reference to his alleged contemporary "Jesus Christ", the godman who supposedly was perambulating up and down the Levant, exorcising demons, raising the dead and causing earthquake and darkness at his death.

With Philo's close connection to the house of Herod, one might reasonably expect that the miraculous escape from a royal prison of a gang of apostles (Acts 5.18,40), or the second, angel-assisted, flight of Peter, even though chained between soldiers and guarded by four squads of troops (Acts 12.2,7) might have occasioned the odd footnote. But not a murmur. Nothing of Agrippa "vexing certain of the church" or killing "James brother of John" with the sword (Acts 12.1,2).

Strange, but only if we believe Jesus and his merry men existed and that they established the church. If we recognize that the Christian fable was still at an early stage of development when Philo was pondering the relationship of god and man, there is nothing strange here at all.

What is very significant, however, is that Philo's theological speculations helped the Christians fabricate their own notions of a godman.

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/philo.html

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  • by Stormarm on September 27th, 2010

    Stormarm

    For the same reason that the published works of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) never mention Katherine the Great, George Washington, or Napoleon. (Or for that matter, for the same reason we find no mention of Joseph Smith in the writings of Emerson or Thoreau.)

    Philo also never mentions Annas, Caiaphas, Herod Antipas, Archelaeus, Hillel, Shammai, Gamaliel I, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, John the Baptist, or any of the various millenarian and quasi-messianic figures mentioned by Josephus.

    Also note that ALL of Philo's extant works except for his Flaccus and his Embassy to Gaius [Caligula] were written between 5 and 30 AD, before he ever might have heard of Jesus. The Flaccus written in the 30s simply discusses the Jewish community in Alexandria and their sufferings at the hands of the Roman governor Flaccus, and the Embassy (written about 40 AD) discusses only the embassy itself and its cause: Caligula's plan to errect a statue of himself in the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem. In neither of these would we expect to find any mention of a crucified millenarian apocalyptic rabbi and failed would-be-messiah whose followers as yet numbered only a few thousand scattered between Jerusalem, Antioch, and Damascus.

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  • by Franklin on September 27th, 2010

    Franklin

    To be clear, the fact that Philo didn't mention Christ is certainly no evidence that he didn't exist. Philo was just a Jewish/Greek philosopher not a historian, so there were many historical events he didn't record. Writing comprehensive history was not what he did. Furthermore, he was a Jew not a Christian, and may simply have not wanted to mention Jesus or felt that he was not important, especially since his ministry was relatively brief, being only 3 1/2 years.

    Furthermore, he may have discontinued his writing some years prior to his death. He died long before the Christian congregation had spread extensively. So, the impact of Jesus ministry may not have grown to the extent where he believed it merited mention, or by the time it did he was an old man and may not have been writing any longer or not recorded it.

    For example, Josephus wrote as much about Jesus than he did this Philo of Alexandria. So, it's not as if Philo's writings of history were so extensive as to be considered comprehensive by any measure. There are lots of other people and events recorded elsewhere that he didn't mention either.

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  • by Galaxy Hitchhiker on September 26th, 2010

    Galaxy Hitchhiker

    I never gave it much thought. Probably because to me, it doesn't matter if Philo mentions Jesus or not.

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  • by Xrhstow_A on January 18th, 2011

    Xrhstow_A

    For the speech about the torture stake is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is God’s power. For it is written: “I will make the wisdom of the wise perish, and the intelligence of the intellectual I will shove aside.” Where is the wise man? Where the scribe? Where the debater of this system of things? Did not God make the wisdom of the world foolish? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not get to know God, God saw good through the foolishness of what is preached to save those believing.

    For both the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks look for wisdom; but we preach Christ impaled, to the Jews a cause for stumbling but to the nations foolishness; however, to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because a foolish thing of God is wiser than men, and a weak thing of God is stronger than men.

    For you behold his calling of you, brothers, that not many wise in a fleshly way were called, not many powerful, not many of noble birth; but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put the wise men to shame; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put the strong things to shame; and God chose the ignoble things of the world and the things looked down upon, the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are, in order that no flesh might boast in the sight of God. But it is due to him that you are in union with Christ Jesus, who has become to us wisdom from God, also righteousness and sanctification and release by ransom; that it may be just as it is written: He that boasts, let him boast in JEHOVAH.

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  • by Xrhstow_A on January 17th, 2011

    Xrhstow_A

    Not only you do not enter to the Kingdom of Jehovah but also you do not leave the others to enter . Woe to you Pharisees! Philo was a man of the same faith with you. Do you expect Satan your father, to make a positive mention of Jehovah and his son ? Our faith is not based upon the history written by the imperfect proud man.

    Isaiah
    42:2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
    42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

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