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“Zero Degrees Celsus”
Categories: DOCTRINEHow did the idea of Jesus being the son of Pantera, the Roman soldier, come about? Do you know anything about this?Sincerely,
History Hunter
Dear History Hunter,
The story of Jesus being the offspring of an adulterous relationship between Mary and a Roman soldier named Pantera was started by a Greek philosopher named Celsus. Celsus was a vehement opponent of Christianity – no surprise that he would attempt to besmirch Mary’s reputation and Jesus’ origins. It is worth noting that Celsus wrote about Jesus’ origins over two hundred years after Jesus actually lived. Up until that point, nobody else had made this argument. Celsus wasn’t in a position to know more about Jesus’ birth story than those who had lived hundreds of years before him, but that didn’t stop Celsus from spreading lies. In fact, we wouldn’t even know about Celsus’ arguments except for the fact that Celsus’ words are preserved in a document by Origen, an early church father, who soundly refuted all of Celsus’ lies. In short, Celsus’ arguments didn’t hold any weight in 248 AD, and they don’t hold any weight today either.
