> This was written 100 years after the events
>described, which leads me to believe that
>Phlegon didn't personally witness this. How,
>therefore, do we know that this happened? I
>certainly don't recall mention of an eclipse or
>an earthquake at the time of the Christ's death,
>and I'm sure that the authors of the Gospels, at
>the very least, would have considered such
>events comment-worthy.

They did, actually. Luke 23:44-45 says "It was now about the sixth hour, and the darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining." This was at the time of the Crucifixtion. Mark also mentions this. Matthew mentions the darkness, and also the earthquake (Matthew 27:51 "At that moment [Jesus' death] the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.")

John appears to be the only Gospel writer not to mention at least one of the two events.

-- Dave