Search found 350 matches

by Roger Pearse
Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:59 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Does Scorpiace relate to Annals 15 & Nero 16?
Replies: 8
Views: 11561

Re: Does Scorpiace relate to Annals 15 & Nero 16?

Robin Birley has argued that Tertullian's Apologeticum refers to Annals 15. The Ad Nationes - sort of a first edition of the Apologeticum - explicitly calls the criminalisation of the Christians the "Institutum Neronianum".
by Roger Pearse
Wed Jan 11, 2017 3:42 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Might the Vatican have some secret 1st to 2nd c. works?
Replies: 4
Views: 8645

Re: Might the Vatican have some secret 1st to 2nd c. works?

The Vatican Library is not an ancient collection. It was basically assembled by Leo X in the renaissance. The idea of secrets in the Vatican library is a 19th century idea. It arose because of the extreme difficulty that scholars had in gaining access to the collections. These contained the manuscri...
by Roger Pearse
Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:16 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Is there a core text of the Testimonium Flavianum?
Replies: 43
Views: 41550

Re: Is there a core text of the Testimonium Flavianum?

The text in translation (Agapius Pseudo-Hegesippus) seems particularly uncontrolled. It might be better to limit the discussion to Greek sources only. In an exercise of this nature, where the object is to make an argument based on what is NOT mentioned, the use of Arabic versions may involve risks ...
by Roger Pearse
Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:27 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Is there a core text of the Testimonium Flavianum?
Replies: 43
Views: 41550

Re: Is there a core text of the Testimonium Flavianum?

Let's remember that "Agapius" is actually modern extracts from the inedited 13th c. Christian Arabic writer, al-Makin.
by Roger Pearse
Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:30 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: The Nag Hammadi Library Belonged to Monks
Replies: 19
Views: 26420

Re: The Nag Hammadi Library Belonged to Monks

Interesting, Andrew - thanks. Or possibly the text was reedited in that period. If we think of hagiography, nobody felt any reason to respect the text as such; and apocrypha in the 4th century might get treated as pious literature also.
by Roger Pearse
Wed Oct 05, 2016 11:58 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Eusebius and the Apology for Origen
Replies: 97
Views: 63077

Re: Eusebius and the Apology for Origen

I'll say again: Eusebius was the sole author of the Apology for Origen , and of all six books of it. But if Photius had the actual book in front of him, in the original Greek, and says otherwise, then it would be rather dangerous to contradict him, when we do *not* have access to it. Remember that ...
by Roger Pearse
Fri Aug 05, 2016 11:55 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Arius and two gods
Replies: 12
Views: 16247

Re: Arius and two gods

I think that the implications of Arius' position were not clear to anyone at the Council of Nicaea, not even to himself. For instance Arius wrote to Eusebius of Nicomedia in 321 that the Son was "fully God", for instance. But Arianism became trendy with church bureaucrats after Nicaea, ami...
by Roger Pearse
Thu Jul 14, 2016 12:42 pm
Forum: General Religious Discussion
Topic: The Urantia Book
Replies: 11
Views: 26892

Re: The Urantia Book

I've had occasional contact with the Urantia book. It belongs in a way to the genre of "modern apocrypha", I think; texts that profess to be ancient or of strange origins, and are in fact modern compositions. A fingerprint of these things is that the supposed original language text never a...
by Roger Pearse
Mon Mar 14, 2016 2:18 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Claim: Melito of Sardis' De Baptismo Discovered
Replies: 4
Views: 8262

Re: Claim: Melito of Sardis' De Baptismo Discovered

Deeply marvellous - a new 2nd century patristic text!!! Alin has been sifting through patristic Coptic papyri for a number of years now, and deserves every bit of reward for so doing. Let us hope that it holds up.
by Roger Pearse
Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:53 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Expansion & Embellishment of the Ignatius narrative
Replies: 1
Views: 4969

Re: Expansion & Embellishment of the Ignatius narrative

Do not rely on 19th century texts to discuss Ignatius. The subject was politicised at the time, because of Protestant vs Roman Catholic claims, all since thankfully now of no importance. The 7 letters of Ignatius were interpolated in the late 4th century by an Apollinarian heretic who also composed ...