A Surprisingly Unreligious Post

Eliza Colbert

There are not many things we can relate to when it comes to ancient history. The differences in culture and worldview create a gap that is difficult to cross. However, there was something from this week’s reading that I thought we could easily understand: bias. The reading that reminded me of bias was the section from Tacitus. In this section, Tacitus uses several negative terms when referring to the Christians.

He calls Christianity a “pernicious superstition” and refers to it as “mischief.” In describing the rise of Christianity, Tacitus says it spread “through the city of Rome also, whither all things horrible and disgraceful flow from all quarters.” As he talks about the dreadful punishments the Christians were subjected to, Tacitus remarks that some Romans pitied the Christians despite the fact that they were “guilty and deserving of exemplary capital punishment.” Even though Tacitus knows the Christians are innocent of the fire, he regards their cruel punishments as just because the Christians are guilty of “hating the human race.”

This kind of biased writing is something that we are all familiar with. Everybody is biased. Even those who attempt to be neutral cannot avoid passing judgments. I’m not criticizing bias; I think it’s a natural part of being a unique, thinking human. I just think we have to be aware of it. Whenever we read something, we should watch out for the type of influential descriptors Tacitus uses regarding the Christians. Tacitus records the facts, like a good historian, but his account is riddled with biased language that influences his readers’ opinions.

    This type of influence is unavoidable. However, it can be exaggerated and expanded to a point where it is borderline propaganda. I think Tacitus was intentionally exaggerating and using his bias to influence his readers to think like him. Of course, I’m doing the same thing right now. I’m painting Tacitus in a rather negative light, just as he did with the Christians. But that’s because this is my opinion. Opinions are a form of bias; it’s part and parcel of thinking for yourself. We just have to be aware that everyone is a little biased, including ourselves.

P.S. I commented on Sophia’s and Addison’s posts.