Charles Wilson wrote: ↑Sat Aug 17, 2019 8:24 amStephen Martyr "...went to sleep". Do you go to sleep when you are stoned?
Insofar as sleep is a metaphor for death, yes, one falls asleep when one is killed:
2 Maccabees 12.38-45: 38 Judas rallied his army and went to the city of Adullam. As the seventh day was approaching, they purified themselves according to custom and kept the sabbath there. 39 On the following day, since the task had now become urgent, Judas and his companions went to gather up the bodies of the fallen and bury them with their kindred in their ancestral tombs. 40 But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had fallen. 41 They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to light the things that are hidden. 42 Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. 43 He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind; 44 for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. 45 But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had fallen asleep [κοιμωμένοις] in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.
Yes, throwing stones is a common motif - in describing Judean sensibilities. How do we know which event is being described?
Alfred North Whitehead, "Nature Alive":
"The extension of observation waits upon some dim apprehension of reasonable connection. For example, the observation of insects on flowers dimly suggests some congruity between the natures of insects and of flowers, and thus leads to a wealth of observation from which whole branches of science have developed. But a consistent positivist should be content with the observed facts, namely insects visiting flowers. It is a fact of charming simplicity. There is nothing further to be said upon the matter, according to the doctrine of a positivist."
As we move to the Main Body of the Analysis, whether we come to ANY agreement will depend on how far you are willing to go in taking charming stories and seeing them as inverted stories, often involving Death.
Is the "Vinegar on a sponge on a hyssop stick" motif actually a (Coded!) vicious satire of the homosexual Vitellius? How about:
Matthew 25: 1, 10 - 11, 13 (RSV):
[1] "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
***
[10] And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut.
[11] Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, `Lord, lord, open to us.'
***
[13] Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Mark 13: 33 - 37 (RSV):
[33] Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come.
[34] It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.
[35] Watch therefore -- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning --
[36] lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
[37] And what I say to you I say to all: Watch."
Can you see these as parts of the same Story?
Apparently not, no.
If you cannot, if every instance offered is rejected, there is nothing more to say. Go your way and I'll go mine.
I think you are correct. I thank you for the polite exchange.
Thank you, Ben.
Likewise.