If I didn't know who Lord Stanley was, I would assume you were talking about your penis.
I think at times there has been some ganging up, but alot of it comes in response to quite outlandish claims (at least in the eyes of atheists) with very little evidence or anything to back it all up. I also think that leaning on "religious" relics is a very weak defence, alot of these things just magically appeared in the middle ages to help Christians justify the crusades. I'm sure if I really wanted I could find a finger bone of Jesus or the tears of the Holy Mother, it doesn't mean that they're real.
Did you mention
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, otherwise known as Pliny the Younger? He was born in 61 AD and let's assume he didn't start writing fully until he was 18, a mere 45-46 years after Jesus died. That's a long time, especially as Pliny lived in Italy (a mere 1550 miles away), in that time I can imagine it's difficult to get all the facts right. He may have written truthfully what he had been told by others, but stories grow (like Chinese Whispers) with every telling.
- Rexy