Oh Yeah, Prove It!

An Italian judge has ordered a priest, Father Enrico Righi, to prove in court that Jesus Christ actually lived. The case against Father Righi was brought by Luigi Cascioli, author of The Fable of Christ, a book arguing that Jesus did not exist. Cascioli, whom Father Righi had openly criticized in the past, accused the priest of "abusing popular credulity." According to the article:

Mr Cascioli's contention is that there is no reliable evidence that Jesus lived and died in first-century Palestine apart from the Gospel accounts, which Christians took on faith.

He argued that all claims for the existence of Jesus from sources other than the Bible stem from authors who lived "after the time of the hypothetical Jesus" and were therefore not reliable witnesses.

Cascioli has a point: Most, if not all, nonbiblical sources that mention Jesus appear to have some knowledge of the biblical Gospels or an organized Christian church. Still, while the historical accuracy of many ancient documents, including the Gospels, is questioned by scholars, few historians would argue that Jesus and the other key players in the Gospel narrative never existed.

In some ways, this trial is reminiscent of the Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee, eighty years ago. I can't imagine either party being severely punished or ordered to pay significant damages, but the courtroom drama and the debate about the subject matter might get exciting. Then again, these characters don't seem to match up to Clarence Darrow, Dudley Moore, and William Jennings Bryant.