Giuseppe wrote: ↑Fri Apr 27, 2018 6:24 am
Pliny the Younger could have persecuted the Christians (even if he didn't know that they were pacifists) because he had to persecute the followers of Chrestus.
Pliny the Younger, with Tacitus and Suetonius, provide the muscle and sinew for the Roman part of the NT. What would be a reasonable result for all of this work? They get rewritten as the Bad Guys. Makes sense. If the entirety of Judaism didn't recognize a here-to-fore unknown god in the thousands of years up the Destruction of the Temple by the Romans, it would be trivial for a Eusebius to strike "Jews" as a strange religion and replace it with "Christian". Pliny the Younger has a collection of letters and LOOK! - There's a letter complaining about the Christians. Amazing. Only...Not so.
While we're at it: Wouldn't "Aquila" and "Priscilla" be more likely to be the name for certain waterborne conveyances? Like, two boats which carry Titus and Agrippa? Titus is in one of these and turns around to go back to Vespasian to finish the job.
Yeah, I know, I know. Existence is a predicate when it comes to "Jesus". It's the Ontological Argument all over again. Even for Atheists.
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fwiw, Irenaeus refers to Aquila of Pontus as a Jewish proselyte in Against Heresies, Bk III, Chap 21
1. God, then, was made man, and the Lord did Himself save us, giving us the token of the Virgin. But not as some allege, among those now presuming to expound the Scripture, [thus:] "Behold, a young woman shall conceive, and bring forth a son", [Isaiah 7:14] as Theodotion the Ephesian has interpreted, and Aquila of Pontus, both Jewish proselytes. The Ebionites, following these, assert that He was begotten by Joseph; thus destroying, as far as in them lies, such a marvellous dispensation of God, and setting aside the testimony of the prophets which proceeded from God. For truly this prediction was uttered before the removal of the people to Babylon; that is, anterior to the supremacy acquired by the Medes and Persians. But it was interpreted into Greek by the Jews themselves, much before the period of our Lord's advent, that there might remain no suspicion that perchance the Jews, complying with our humour, did put this interpretation upon these words.
Thnx, MrMac. The meds kicked in and I feel better. SOMEWHAT.
"Aquila" is an unusual name for a daughter (given my knowledge of Roman and Middle Eastern Names from 2000 years ago).
"I name my daughter "Eagle"!" Yeah...OK...Sure thing.
Then there is The Pontus and any mention of that is interesting, given Mucianus, Marcion of Sinope, etc.
