History In The New Testament

When Jesus died darkness came over the earth. Didn't anyone notice?

THE HUMANIST'S CLAIM: Matthew 27:45 alleges that while Jesus was on the cross, there fell over the whole land a darkness lasting from midday until three in the afternoon. Andrew White explains that although Romans such as Seneca and Pliny carefully described much less striking occurrences of the same sort in more remote regions, they failed to note any such darkness occurring even in Judea.

Notice that the reference is to Andrew White. If you've been reading previous pages in this series you know what that means. Whatever he says you can just throw out... he likes to just make up his "facts." Click here for more on Andrew White.

Even though Andrew White is referenced in this case, this is a valid question that others have asked, so let's find out what really happened. Here is the scripture:

Matthew 27:45-46

Now from the sixth hour [noon] darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour [3 PM]. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

The three hour darkness is also recorded in Mark 15:33 and Luke 23:44–45.

Are The Gospel Accounts Reliable?

Yes, the gospel accounts are reliable. Another important point is that they circulated within the lifetimes of eyewitnesses to the events they record. Christians had many enemies, in particular the Jewish leadership. If the enemies of Christ could have found an eyewitness, who would dispute what was recorded in the gospels, that would have ended Christianity. All that was needed would be just one proven lie, and Christianity was dead. However, no such witnesses could be found. The gospels are true and accurate.

Was The Darkness An Eclipse?

I live on in Oregon and was on the edge of the path of a total solar eclipse that passed through Oregon. My wife kept telling me, the eclipse is starting! I would look outside and it did not look any darker. If my wife had not kept after me to comer outside, I might never have noticed there was an eclipse. You need to be directly in the path of totality for it to get dark.

How long does an eclipse last? Not very long. In the area of totality, it is dark for about ten minutes.

In addition, eclipses are predictable. We know when and where every total eclipse of the sun happens. There was no eclipse when Jesus was crucified. An eclipse did not cause the three hours of darkness.

Was This Darkness Recorded As Occurring in Other Locations?

No. The darkness appears to have been localized to just Palestine.

Did others in Palestine notice the darkness? Yes. For example Thallus, a Samaritan historian who wrote around 52 AD, and Phlegon, a Greek historian, both recorded the darkness. Thallus tried to explain away the darkness as an eclipse. Julius Africanus (AD 160-240) researched the topic of the darkness and wrote the following:

Phlegon, a Greek historian, wrote the following in about AD 137:

The darkness was noticed, and some of those who wrote about it, attributed it to an eclipse. However, why didn't others, such as Josephus, write about the darkness? We do not know. However, we do know that not every writer makes note of everything. Daniel Anderson notes:

Conclusion:

There was a three hour darkness during the crucifixion of Jesus, just as the gospel accounts record.

Next Accusation:

Robert Ingersoll wondered why the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, “the best historian the Hebrews produced, said nothing about the life or death of Christ; nothing about the massacre of the infants by Herod; not one word about the wonderful star that visited the sky at the birth of Christ; nothing about the darkness that fell upon the world for several hours in the midst of day; and failed entirely to mention that hundreds of graves were opened, and that multitudes of Jews rose from the dead, and visited the Holy City?” Ingersoll also asked, “Is it not wonderful that no historian ever mentioned any of these prodigies?”

Ingersoll’s questions are even more forceful when one considers that there still exist at least some of the works of more than 60 historians or chroniclers who lived in the period from 10 C.E. to 100 C.E. Those writers were contemporaries of Jesus, if in fact he ever lived.

Still another person committing the fallacy of arguing from silence. Who was Robert Ingersoll? He is showing up as a reference the humanists often use. He was a a well-know orator in the 19th century, but is largely forgotten now. Nicknamed "The Great Agnostic," he was a lawyer who dedicated his life to the defence of agnosticism. We'll take a look at what he says on the next page. Click here for more truth...