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Faith may be unchanging, but each generation is influenced by the current events they experience as they become young adults. The current generation of university students have had their views on the world we live in shaped by the global pandemic, new international conflicts, and our political environment.

Of course, each generation is also influenced by the actions of the generation before. Today’s students are taking notes on the leaders of the previous generation. To university students reading this blog, you have the right to take these notes. To those of us past our college years, let us provide the rising generation with positive examples. No one should expect perfection, but each generation should strive for the best.

Photos or it never happened – I left you pondering the question of what you consider strong evidence to authenticate people from antiquity. In particular, I asked what evidence do we have for the existence of Socrates, Aristotle, or Cleopatra?

You are reading a blog post not an exhaustive history text book, so we’ll keep things simple.

Socrates, a Greek philosopher considered the founder of Western philosophy, is authenticated by the works of his students. Socrates himself never wrote any lasting written documents. Not all the works of his students were preserved – we rely mainly on the work of two students: Plato and Xenophon.

We know Aristotle existed by his own extensive writings. However, we know little about his life. Yet, his scholarship influenced many academic fields for centuries, from biology to meteorology to political science. Interestingly, his published works, characterized as “a river of gold” by Cicero, did not survive to modern times, although many of his lecture notes are still available.

People still search today for a tomb or burial place for Cleopatra, the Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC. After her death, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire. Her image survives in various art forms, such as sculptures and minted coins.

Nonetheless, most people do not doubt the existence of these individuals, although one never wrote lasting documents (Socrates), one had only a third of his writings survive (Aristotle), and one has a grave that has yet to be located (Cleopatra).

Think again about what is a realistic expectation for evidence of historical figures from antiquity.

Bought the Colossal Alaskan King crab legs and prepared them for dinner? Shook hands with the President of the United States? Climbed to the top of Mount Everest? Prove it- photos or it never happened.

We live in the age of the luxury of instant authentication: live news feeds of ongoing tornados, videos of marriage proposals, and photos to prove you met with your friends in a fancy local restaurant.

You expect me to believe that Jesus walked on the earth, that Moses once held a stone tablet of commandments, and a tree of life once grew in a place called the Garden of Eden – where are the photos, what evidence exists?

How do we authenticate events that occurred in antiquity?

I visited my local museum and saw dinosaur bones. If it weren’t for museum rules to the contrary, I could have touched them. Ancient data made accessible in modern times.

Should I expect to find a fossilized tree of life buried somewhere in the heart of Africa? If no one ever finds one, does this disprove the Bible?

What are fair expectations for authenticating Biblical people and events?

First, let’s consider how historians examine evidence about the past. Historians differentiate between primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are evidence created by people who experienced the event. For example, a government record from the time of the event or a letter written by a person who saw an event happen is a primary source. In the Bible, parts of the gospel of Luke and gospel of Matthew are primary sources as Luke and Matthew witnessed the events firsthand. The letters of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, etc. are primary sources. Biblical texts written in the original language are preferred to translations.

Secondary sources are created after the event by people who were not part of the actual event. A textbook is an example of a secondary source. Secondary sources often offer analysis of the event and integrate the event into an overall historical context.

Consider scholarly figures of antiquity. What evidence do we have for the existence of Socrates, Aristotle, or Cleopatra? The approach we use for these scholarly figures is the one we should use to authenticate Biblical people and events. Events that happened centuries before our own birth can feel distant and perhaps even unimportant. However, the people of antiquity laid the foundation of knowledge that we build upon today.

What do you consider strong evidence to authenticate people from antiquity?