Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

In some original language the idea was expressed: "We hold", they say, "to the kingdom" ... a single and sole empire, yet that kingdom because it belongs to one man does not for that reason make a standing rule that he whose it is may not have a son or must have made himself his ...

Is the Greek οἰκονόμος (i.e. "household management" = οἶκος "house;household;home" and νέμω "manage") related to מלכות?

So if you take the Patripassian concept seriously you can start to see that certain things about the tradition must have been true or likely to be true. 1. they couldn't have believed in the Virgin Birth: He is the champion of the one Lord, the Almighty, the creator of the world, so that he may make...

It is important to note that while Josephus seems to accept Daniel 9 as applying to the events in the second century BCE Daniel 2 is taken to apply to the Roman Empire as we saw in early Christianity: And there would arise from their number a certain king who would make war on the Jewish nation and ...

So let's suppose that the original "three and a half year" period was identified by early Christians as the Jewish War: For three and a half years Vespasian surrounded Jerusalem, having four generals with him: the general of Arabia, of Africa, of Alexandria, and of Palestine. (Gittin 55b) ...

Also consider Paul identifying himself as 'ignotus' to the Jerusalem Church

I was unknown (ἀγνοούμενος) by face to the church of Jerusalem

eram autem ignotus facie ecclesiis Iudaeae quae erant in Christo

The only other 'three and a half' year period that I can find that intersects with Christian history is the rebellion of the Bucoli (172 CE) culminating with the coronation of Avidius Cassius as Emperor (176 CE). Strange. There must have been a lot of Christians in Alexandria at the time.

Many people - including myself, Parvis, Detering - have sought to reconcile the Church Father Ignatius with the Christian teacher Peregrinus from Lucian of Samosata as well as Polycarp of Smyrna. There have been many ingenious theories. Polycarp went to burn himself alive, Peregrinus wanted to be bu...

In that sense then I would assume that Irenaeus's exegesis of Daniel 2:34 - 35 was actually taken over from the Marcionites. The clue here is the strange way that Anastasius of Sinai cites Adamantius's Dialogue as having the Marcionite do all or most of the citing of Daniel: MEG. The proof that Chri...

And here is a challenge even to my assumptions. If the Imperial authorities were actively reshaping Christianity away from forms of the religion which promoted 'two powers' or perhaps better - a succession of the 'young' Son God against the 'old' Father, if it was really all about the triumph of mon...