Claim 3 of 5 · Case 01 · Historical Jesus
Ancient writers attest to early Christians who already worshiped Christ.
One claim from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
Two Roman sources, writing within about eighty years of Jesus’s death, describe Christians as an established group and show that these Christians treated Christ as an object of worship. This shows how quickly devotion to Jesus spread and took hold. Note that Pliny, Tacitus, and Suetonius never use the name Jesus; they write of Christus or Chrestus, the title his followers used.
Backed by 2 pieces of evidence
Pliny the Younger, Letter 10.96
About 80 years after the crucifixion, a Roman official records ordinary Christians worshiping Christ as divine. This is a late data point, not an early one. It shows worship of Christ was already widespread and normal by the early second century, not that it appeared overnight.
Suetonius, Life of Claudius 25
Chrestus is widely read as a garbled reference to Christ, or to disputes about Christ among Jews in Rome, which fits the account in Acts 18:2 of Jews being expelled from Rome. The identification is debated, so take it as a caution. But if correct, it points to Christ-related activity in Rome within about two decades of the crucifixion.