Did Bar Kochba torture and murder Christians?

[lsayre]

There is much information on the web regarding the Bar Kochba revolt of 132-135 CE which indicates that Judean Christians could not accept his having been declared the Messiah, so they refused to fight for his cause, and for this Bar Kochba routinely rounded them up, tortured, and murdered them. Is there any historical truth to this?

[Peter Kirby]

In a field rife with speculation, this is relatively well-sourced (at least, "terrible punishments" unless denying Christ).

https://www.academia.edu/2123957/Jewish ... an_Sources

In his First Apology, Justin Martyr asserts that Bar Kokhba commanded that only Christians should suffer persecution unless they would deny Jesus Christ and utter blasphemy (1 Apol. 31.6): “For in the Jewish war which now occurred, Bar Kokhba, the leader of the revolt of the Jews, ordered that Christians alone should be led to terrible punishments unless they would deny Jesus, the Christ, and blaspheme.”

Other good reads:

http://www.livius.org/articles/concept/ ... sh-wars-8/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Kokhba_revolt

[Stuart]

You are correct to doubt the reports, and the veracity of Justin.

Archeological evidence locates the Bar Kokhba revolt to the region of the Judean Hills south of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem). Work by Boaz Zissu and Amos Kloner in identifying all the actual tunnels, along with Numismatics of coins found show that most of the revolt centered around Betar, and never reached far. The account of Dio indicates that there were no offensive operations by the Jews revolting, but rather an intense guerilla campaign, forcing the Romans to break their legions down into smaller cohorts (a tactic that would be employed against the Germans during Marcus Aurelius's campaigns).

The evidence is extremely strong that religion was not the primary cause of the revolt, nor the driver, rather chaffing under Roman tax farming to pay for Aelia Capitolina's building, Hadrian's tour (his entourage, which provinces he visited had to pay for), as well as construction of roads, none of which were carried out in the Judea Hill country were the revolt occurred. There is no evidence of any Christians in the area which revolted (there is no evidence of Christians period in archeology prior to the later part of the 2nd century). There is only evidence that Jewish villages existed before the mid-2nd century, and that after that period gentile villages popped up. This does seem to confirm the accounts that the Romans deliberately depopulated of the region.

I would chalk the reports in our middle ages accounts, 4th century and onward, as Christian politicized history, based on theological/political need and not actual events. Historia Augusta, Justin, and Eusubius accounts simply do not match the archeology or the Roman legal code (recorded and preserved; the claim of banning circumcision rests on Christian interpretation of "castrare" in the Cornelian code, and confirmed by Tacitus, being taken to mean and include "circumcidere" which is ridiculous**). For a variety of reasons I am convinced the writings of Justin are actually pseudonymous 3rd century constructions, the accounts of Bar Kokhba being one of them.

Simon Bar Kochhba was built up as some kind of huge monster for Christians (arguably the model of the anti-Christ in Marcionite models, the warlike messiah of the Jewish God), and as a huge hero for Jews. The reality is both more honorable and less impressive. He led a localized revolt, had no mint (coins were restamped Roman and other coins), nor regular army, yet using hit and run tactics and knowledge of the land to hold off the Romans for three years, seizing imperial estates in the region and renting them out. The Romans found it hard to fight traditionally, as booby traps were laid, and small hit and run teams would attack foragers. So the Legions proved useless, forcing them to fight in smaller cohort units. The Romans eventually decided to depopulate the area to defeat the rebellion and then besieged Betar. The archeology all points to this being what actually happened.

Note:
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** a simpler explanation for Antoninus ruling that Jews had the right to circumcise their children, just as an earlier Roman ruling allowed the practice for Egyptians, is that the dissolution of the province of Judea (rolled in to the Hellenistic Syria-Palestine) was that Torah based law was no longer recognized as a legal code because Rome no longer recognized a Jewish province.In the empire one could appeal to a Law of your tribe/province or to the Roman code if you were a citizen, as Acts has Paul claim. Without a tribal/provincial law, Jews would have fallen under the generic, "law of the peoples (ethnos)."

[Peter Kirby]

Since the evidence for the persecution of Christians by Bar Kochba seems to rest solely upon the shoulders of Justin Martyr, should he be trusted to be telling the truth?

Are there Roman historians who corroborate any of Justin's claims? Did Christians get preferential treatment or recognition from the Romans afterward for not fighting against them?

In the end, I'm trying to determine if such a distinct and identifiable entity as a Christian even existed in the period of 132-135 CE within the general region of Judea.

I found you the source.

You can choose which speculation road to travel....

I'm trying to determine if such a distinct and identifiable entity as a Christian even existed in the period of 132-135 CE

Then you asked the wrong question! (Or you got a relatively narrow answer in reply to it, by someone else...)

This is a much broader question. Fortunately, it's been discussed at length here (and deserves more discussion). But it's kind of bait and switch. I do humbly suggest the search feature.

[Peter Kirby]

Since the evidence for the persecution of Christians by Bar Kochba seems to rest solely upon the shoulders of Justin Martyr, should he be trusted to be telling the truth?

Are there Roman historians who corroborate any of Justin's claims? Did Christians get preferential treatment or recognition from the Romans afterward for not fighting against them?

In the end, I'm trying to determine if such a distinct and identifiable entity as a Christian even existed in the period of 132-135 CE within the general region of Judea.

Since I don't want to squelch discussion (I just have my own reasons for not getting too involved - well, reason... time), I think it would be good if I split this question off into its own thread for further conversation on the topic. And so I will.

Post / topic split to: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3022