One of Pontius Pilate's rings discovered near Bethlehem

Every now and then, one of my friends, knowing of my belief in the Biblical account of the birth, death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, asks me how I know it's not just a nice fairy tale. I always answer that there is independent proof, in the form of contemporary records and, yes, physical evidence. Archaeological research keeps coming up with things that jibe with the accounts of the Gospels.

One such came to light just recently, when a 2000-year-old copper alloy, unearthed half a century ago, was given a careful cleaning, revealing the inscription, in Greek, "PILATO[U]", meaning "Of Pilate". This refers almost certainly to Pontius Pilate (Pontius Pilatus, in Latin, Πόντιος Πιλάτος in Greek), the fifth prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under the Emperor Tiberius from A.D. 26 to 36. According to the Gospels, Pilate was the one who tried Jesus and found no fault in him, but all the same handed him over to the Jews for crucifixion.

Until now, the only physical, archaeological evidence confirming the existence of Pilate is the Latin inscription found on the so-called "Pilate Stone", a limestone block relating Pilate's tribute to Tiberius. This was found in 1961 as a reused block within a staircase located in a semicircular structure behind the stage house of the Roman theatre at Caesarea, the city that served as Rome's administrative centre in the province of Judaea. Roman governors were based in Caesarea and only visited Jerusalem on special occasions, or in times of unrest. On the stone is a fragment of the dedicatory inscriptions of a building, likely a temple, constructed in honour of the emperor Tiberius. The dedication states that Pilate was "praefectus Iudaeae" -- prefect of Judea.

According to a report published yesterday in the Times of Israel, the ring was first found among hundreds of other artifacts in 1968–1969 excavations at a section of the Herodium -- the palace and burial tomb of King Herod, about three miles southeast of Bethlehem and eight miles south of Jerusalem.

Although the name "Pontius" was common for Romans, the name Pilate was not. "Pilate" is derived from the Latin pilum, referring to a military javelin, and is a Roman cognomen. There is no other evidence of the name in the province of Judaea before or during Pilate's governorship. Thus the historicity of Pontius Pilate is confirmed for a second time by this new(ish) find, as well as the Pilate Stone and contemporary historical sources.

It is beyond doubt that Pilate was the Roman governor of Judaea from A.D. 26-36 A.D. The traditional date for Christ's crucifixion, A.D. 33, fits within this historical period. Christian readers therefore have no reason for concern that the Bible is not true, even from a historical perspective. Time and time again its contents have been confirmed by such archeological discoveries as the Pilate Stone and, now, the ring of the man who caused a notice nailed to the Holy Cross to be inscribed "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum" -- "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews".

VIDEO: "Join the Catholic Church and go to hell!"

Father John Hollowell is a Roman Catholic priest, serving in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. On YouTube he has 13,000 followers, and counting. He is not yet a "rad trad" (see yesterday's post "Vatican cover-up of homosexual crimes leaves no choice for Catholics -- leave the Church or join us 'rad trads'" -- includes great video by Michael Matt) but it sounds to me he knows and keeps to the faith of our fathers (living still in spite of dungeon, fire and Francis) so will have to give Michael Matt's exhortation some serious consideration.

In this video, Fr Hollowell deconstructs and refutes three mistaken beliefs that many Protestants and other non-Catholics have about the Catholic Faith. Those who hate, or at least disagree with Catholicism quote Holy Scripture to "prove" that Catholics are wrong in their beliefs and practices. They refer, in particular, to these three passages from the Gospels. (I am using the Protestant King James Version to avoid any quibbles about the exact words.)

Matthew 23:9 - And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
John 6:54 - Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Matthew 16:18 - And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Those are the words of Jesus, the Son of God, and those who opposed Catholicism argue that we are wrong in how we interpret them. Father Hollowell explains where the Catholic interpretation comes from and why the meaning believed by Catholics for nearly 2000 years is to be preferred.



Note: For those who were wondering... The "RCIA" to which Father refers at the beginning is the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum), a process developed by the Church for prospective converts who are above the age of infant baptism. Two of Walt's agents have been teachers in this programme. Getting back to today's crisis in the Church, the problem nowadays seems to be finding someone who wants to be taught!

My kind of music

Readers will have noted my sympathy for listeners to CBC Radio whose ears are affronted by "black music". Agent 3 writes to ask what kind of music Walt would choose, were he in charge of programming for a supposedly mainstream radio network.

Obviously the question calls for an audio response. But here on the Inner Net audio without video is ... well ... unthinkable. I mean, it would be OK for Walt's blind readers, but ... errr ...
You get the picture. If not, here's the picture now, to go with the music.



Give it up for multiple Grammy winner, the polka king, St. Catharines' own Walter Ostanek! Say, folks, doesn't that bring back memories? Buffalo TV stations used to have live "polka party" shows every weekend! Yep, sandwiched in between the live bowling shows. Ah, those were the days.

Yes, Walt would definitely put some polkas on the playlist, along with some nice waltzes, and maybe the odd obarek. That would go a long way to satisfying the CBC's demand for multiculturalism too, eh.

Prefer some real down-home American music?



Stanley & Co. from beautiful downtown Townley, AL. Folks, that's what you call gospel bluegrass. When was the last time you heard anything like that on your effete big city rangdeedio? Got the "religious right" base covered too.

If you liked that -- and why wouldn't you? -- you'll find dozens of homespun versions of that fine old gospel song on YouTube. Just Google "I'll Fly Away".

Want to have some fun? Mix yourself up a CD of that kind of music -- the music of the silent majority -- and be silent no longer! Plug the CD in your car stereo, turn the volume up to "deafen" and drive through the `hood.
Don't stop. Have fun.

Footnote: This is post number 700. Had enough yet? Send an e-mail with "More!" or "No more!" in the subject line to walt.whiteman@yahoo.com. The wishes of the majority will be respected. Or maybe not... like the CBC!