After a minister had preached his sermon, "Why I Believe in Jesus", a well-dressed young man paid him a visit in his study and remarked, "Your talk tonight was interesting, but everything you said about Jesus Christ came out of the Bible. If Jesus really lived, like you tell us he did, why don't other historical accounts mention him?" ".

             "That's a fair question, the minister answered as he turned and took down several books. "But as a matter of fact, history does tell about Jesus Christ." ".

             "That I'd like to see for myself", the young man responded.

             "Well here is Letter 97 of Book 10 of Letters of Pliny the Younger, Roman proconsul in Bithynia, a province of old Asia Minor. Pliny wrote to the Roman Emperor, Trajan, telling him about events in his province. See, here he is asking counsel on how he should handle a new sect, the Christians. He tells of their rapid growth and of how they sang hymns composed to their leader, Christ. Pliny sent his letter about A.D. 110. The letter by Pliny offers historical evidence of the man, Christ, and of the spread of His faith in the days of His apostles. ".

             Surprised, the young man said, "Tell me more! ".

             As the minister thumbed through another book, he added, "Another historian, contemporary with Pliny, was Tacitus. In his Annals (Book 15, chapter 44) he tells of Nero's hatred for, and persecution of, the Christians at the time of the burning of Rome. Tacitus explains that the term 'Christian' comes from the name 'Christ.' He mentions that Jesus Christ, the founder of the Christian religion, had been put to death by Pontius Pilate, Procurator of Judea, during the reign of Emperor Tiberius. All these details Tacitus gives us match exactly the events, names, and places given in the Bible. ".

             "Pastor, I never knew things like that were in secular history! " the visitor exclaimed.

             "And while we're talking, " the minister added, "I want you to notice that about A.