Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Augustine remarks at how amazed he was that Ambrose didn't read texts aloud: Now, as {Ambrose] read, his eyes glanced over the pages and his heart searched out the sense, but his voice and tongue were silent. Often when we came to his room—for no one was forbidden to enter, nor was it his custom th...

In the 4th century, Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa invented their sister Macrina the Younger for very mundane reasons - it was for the good of their careers. What happened here? For a C4 parallel to her argument that 'Macrina' is entirely a fictional construct, Przyszychowska points to Paul o...

The way Origen writes about it, he is probably thinking of a written text expounding on the OT god's anger and wrath. The Antitheses is a plausible source, then, for these remarks on Psalm 77:31. Indeed very plausible, but it should be noted that the writer Origen actually names as deploying the ar...

Homily 1 on Ezekiel ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● C) That the heavens were closed before Christ's descent might be a theme appropriated from the 'Marcionite nexus'. Certainly it sits very awkwardly with the adjacent arguments that there was a stream of inspired utterances from the OT prophets : "'And the hea...

Homily 1 on Ezekiel •••••••••••••••••••••••••• A) God's goodness and lack of anger are stressed : "Therefore God, who is forbearing and generous and loving toward the human race, determined to temper with kind visitation the penalties whereby he punishes sinners...In fact, as you perceive, God ...

Prior to Galen, an insight into the physical state of books is provided by Strabo, in an explanation of the marginal status of Aristotelian philosophy (13.1.54). It cannot be the whole story, as it depends on there only being Aristotle's autographs available at his death. But it is interesting that ...

Valentinus the chief (ὁ κορυφαῖος Οὐαλεντῖνος) among those advocating for the community (τῶν τὴν κοινότητα πρεσβευόντων), writes verbatim in the discourse Περὶ φίλων It is possible that Valentinus writes as part of an ongoing commentary on Philo. It is quite possible. But this is not a clue. Περι i...

Don't get carried away by the pirates :D Philo, no lover of travel by sea, reserves most of his 'real life' ransom language in connection with prisoners-of-war. Also, he deplores 'substitution' ransoms which allow the release of a criminal. Also deplorable, tax-collectors whipping already-dead defau...

Once Jewish or Christian writers dabble with 'ransom' language, the question immediately arises, who is this ransom paid to ? In terms of the vivid social reality of the OP, Philo's God, who seemingly receives the ransom, resembles a Pirate King : "We have it indeed on the authority of Moses th...

So now I wonder what the church fathers say on this matter. Perhaps the best way to get a 'historical' view from them is to infer from what they say about Paul. Epiphanius is at the minimalist end : "And yet you see how the holy apostle explains of languages, 'Yet in church I had rather utter ...