We see much of our world through the eyes of others. At the moment I'm doing just that. I'm glancing at a world as it is seen by my fellowman.
Military questions and international confrontation seem dominant topics. But over here, on another page, are observations implying that economic problems are most pressing. As I read, food and hunger, human rights, politics, productivity and taxes, imperialism—all these matters jockey for a position in my thought. Ah, here is an isolated reference to Christianity. It's not a very positive reference. Nevertheless, to me it's a bit of evidence that the word "Christ" isn't entirely lost in the tide of events.See The Interpreter 's Dictionary of the Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1962), II, 875-879
I must confess. I've been looking at the scene of the first century A.D. as Bible scholars see it reflected in the records and writings of the pagan world. What has been called "the first certain reference to Christianity outside holy writ" Peake 's Commentary on the Bible (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1962), p. 703 . relates to A.D. 64. It had to do with Christians being implicated (wrongly) in the setting of the great fire in Rome.
