outhouse wrote:Using cultural anthropology and how violent these people were to threats, a hired hitman to take out a threat in this time period? Sure.
Paul himself eludes to his violence, and due to his rhetorical content and context, is not going to give out the gruesome details.
While there is no level of exact certainty, its more plausible then not.
Speculation.
"... almost every critical biblical position was earlier advanced by skeptics." - Raymond Brown
Lets cut to the chase and get to the meat of the bone here.
Who took over Johns movement and why?
That is the start of your origin with the martyrdom spreading mythology all over the Diaspora with people returning home every year from Passover with new mythology.
outhouse wrote:Using cultural anthropology and how violent these people were to threats, a hired hitman to take out a threat in this time period? Sure.
Paul himself eludes to his violence, and due to his rhetorical content and context, is not going to give out the gruesome details.
While there is no level of exact certainty, its more plausible then not.
Speculation.
Come on Peter.
Lets assume Paul existed as someone hired to hunt down these people.
If this is the case.
The natural order of business here was not a court hearing or the use of any law or justice.
His initial reaction to the newly formed Christian movement was to zealously persecute its early followers and to violently attempt to destroy the movement
These were brutal times, there is no speculation that some followers met a untimely demise at Pauls hands by his own words.
Violently then and now is 10 different things, these were very very brutal people.
Murder was probably to kind and im over extending my plausibility for you in this thread.
Peter Kirby wrote:
In any case, you were replying to a comment about pre-Christian Jewish Gnostics. If they existed, they are "early," even "earlier," just by definition.
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Agreed.
In context it was the popularity that bloomed later.
I see this is ALL as an event that took place, large enough to generate mythology in many different cultures and beliefs in its time.
And yes gnostic methodology was present from the start with a wide array of diversity.
outhouse wrote:someone hired to hunt down these people.
Speculation.
Sorry its that or he did it for free for how many years? One well educated person does not stop a business or work and just run off to violently deal with a cult deemed dangerous to the temple.
And there is no reason a Hellenistic Jew is going to hunt down other Hellenistic Jews for reasons of faith alone. You know more then me, spit it out and take a stand.
It is the most plausible explanation as to why Paul violently hunted the group down.
1 Corinthians 15:9
9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Philippians 3:5-6
5 I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee. 6 In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.
Galatians 1:13-14
13 For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my nation, and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.
Galatians 1:22-23
22 But I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith he once tried to destroy.”
