Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Various posts here propose that Rome invented Christianity. I won't attempt a summary version of those various proposals because they do not, even remotely, agree with one another. Roman religion, early on, seems largely a warmed-over Greek religion, with new names. (Maybe with Etruscan and other in...

Last nail...Again? No more "last nails" to come?

The Smith-Scholem Correspondence book is interesting, concerning Mark, concerning Sabbatai Sevi,
and concerning paleography.
Smith p. 23 wrote to Scholem that he (Smith)
"shall have in any case to begin learning something about palaeography."
Letter date:
January, 6, 1950.

fwiw, Augustine, author of Confessions, is sometimes considered to be the first western psychologist.

We are pleased to invite you to the upcoming Orion Center Greenfield Scholars’ Seminar: “Being Fair to the Pharisees: Beyond Negative or Positive Stereotypes” Prof. Joseph Sievers Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Jerusalem Chair: Prof. Prof. Daniel R. Schwartz Depar...

John of Damascus, who was at Mar Saba from circa 715 to 750, wrote about heresies, many of those previously included in Epiphanius, Panarion, including Carpocratians, plus some newer ones. Carpocrates he called an Asiatic. No mention of Alexandria. No mention of "Secret Mark." For Smith's ...

Clarification and correction. Above in this thread, Sun Apr 21, 2024 2:17 pm, I wrote: ""MS got early liturgy wrong." Wrong for what fit Clement in Egypt. This, supported from, iirc, Robin Jenson (a Columbia grad, I think), and Peter Jeffrey, an early liturgy specialist, and a colleag...

LC previously wrote, Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:49 pm, in part: "...how are we supposed to start looking at the historical evidence? It looks like a mess. Unless you have some better ideas I'm just trying to tidy it up a little." I suggest the "implications" of "assumptions" ab...

Well, that's a "strong opinion."

There appears to be a general trend of dating some Qumran mss earlier than previous estimates and date ranges, as I wrote before. One recent example, in this subforum: Palaeo-Hebrew: a new advance by StephenGoranson » Tue Apr 23, 2024 9:03 am, and M. Langlois on paleo-Hebrew paleography of several m...