Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

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Aleph One
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Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

Post by Aleph One »

I was reading through Pliny the Younger’s letter to Emperor Trajan regarding Christians (Book 10, Letters 96-97) and it made me wonder if there might be underappreciated clues about early Christianity hidden in letters’ context. The letters themselves are amazing sources: they have a known author and date; they were written for a known purpose and serve as an undisputed independent witness; and they come to us in the context of Pliny’s other letters, which we can compare them to. How many other early sources have half that going for them?

As far as looking for clues in context, I read through most of Pliny’s other letters and didn't find too much, but I’ll list out a few points of interest that caught my eye:
  • Pliny never makes any mention of Judaism. This seems possibly surprising considering the letter was written (112 CE) between the Jewish-Roman wars of 66 CE and 136 CE. Of note though is Pliny was writing as the governor of Bithynia, a province which included Marcion’s home of Pontus, so perhaps the silence can be attributed to a gentile brand of Christianity.
  • Related to the previous point, Pliny never hints in the least that these Christians are worshiping (as a god) a would-be Jewish revolutionary or messiah that had been executed by the Roman state. As I said above, especially considering the context of Roman-Jewish political relations of the period, I’m surprised Pliny would fail to mention this detail.
  • Pliny talks about Christians like there’s so many of them in his province that it’s single-handedly tanking the revenue of the imperial temples. To me it sounds a lot like he’s using the Christians as a scapegoat for his empty coffers but even if he’s exaggerating, this implies that Christians were a large and far-flung sect by the time of the letter’s composition in 112 CE. He also seems to write under the assumption that other Roman provinces would have had their own run-ins with Christians, even if he wasn’t aware of the specifics.
  • This is a bit out of left field, but a few Wikipedia pages dealing with Pliny suggest that he invented the “Epistle” (or public letter, basically) which I find interesting considering the dates involved and Paul’s assumed use of the technique going back to the 50’s CE. I didn’t investigate this any further but it did catch my eye.
I went into Pliny’s letters hoping to find context for his descriptions of Christianity but I’m not sure I found anything I couldn’t already have pondered from the Letters 96 and 97 alone. I do think, though, that someone with a background in classical studies might have more fruitful endeavor. It just seems like too good a source to not be hiding a few secrets for someone with the proper expertise. :confusedsmiley:
Aleph One
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Re: Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

Post by Aleph One »

Here is the text of the letters mentioning Christians from the Early Christian Writings archive (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/pliny.html):
Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96-97

Pliny the Younger to the Emperor Trajan

It is my practice, my lord, to refer to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better give guidance to my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never participated in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know what offenses it is the practice to punish or investigate, and to what extent. And I have been not a little hesitant as to whether there should be any distinction on account of age or no difference between the very young and the more mature; whether pardon is to be granted for repentance, or, if a man has once been a Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name itself, even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name are to be punished.

Meanwhile, in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome.

Soon accusations spread, as usually happens, because of the proceedings going on, and several incidents occurred. An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ--none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do--these I thought should be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.

They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.

I therefore postponed the investigation and hastened to consult you. For the matter seemed to me to warrant consulting you, especially because of the number involved. For many persons of every age, every rank, and also of both sexes are and will be endangered. For the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to imagine what a multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity for repentance is afforded.

Trajan to Pliny the Younger

You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.
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GakuseiDon
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Re: Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

Post by GakuseiDon »

Aleph One wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 2:49 amRelated to the previous point, Pliny never hints in the least that these Christians are worshiping (as a god) a would-be Jewish revolutionary or messiah that had been executed by the Roman state. As I said above, especially considering the context of Roman-Jewish political relations of the period, I’m surprised Pliny would fail to mention this detail.
Was Jesus ever considered a would-be Jewish revolutionary, though? I don't know any early source that portrayed Jesus that way. Christians were regarded as belonging to a superstitious sect according to Tacitus and Suetonius, rather than to a revolutionary one.

I've always been interested in the parts highlighted below: (1) Christians were affected by an edict against political associations, (2) Christianity called "depraved, excessive superstition":
They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.
Last edited by GakuseiDon on Thu Mar 11, 2021 3:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Stuart
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Re: Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

Post by Stuart »

The section in question is almost certainly a Christian interpolation

https://vridar.org/2016/02/17/fresh-dou ... hristians/

It is not the standard size of his other chapters, being many times larger. The writing style is very different. Also the 10th letter was unknown until the middle ages, and the manuscripts with it late. Jerome for example knows only of 9 letters.

But in my view there are many other internal problems with the context of the legal letters to Trajan. It reads like a thinly disguised apology. The purpose would have been to support the notion of a Trajan era persecution, as church lore said there were many. Another problem is Christians supposedly being demanded to call Trajan Dominus et Deus (“Lord and God”). This is ridiculous. No Roman Emperor could expect to be anything more than Divus (Divine). After their deaths, the best that emperors could hope for was to be called Divus (Divine), not Deus (God). "Lord and Master" was how some sycophants addressed him, never God. In fact he rejected even Lord. The poet Statius states that Domitian rejected the title Dominus, much like his predecessor Augustus.

This is not a witness I would put any weight on. Interpolation is screamed at from a half dozen different directions.
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GakuseiDon
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Re: Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

Post by GakuseiDon »

Stuart wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 3:51 amThis is not a witness I would put any weight on. Interpolation is screamed at from a half dozen different directions.
If an interpolation, then I'd be interested in who would have done it. It would have to be someone later than Pliny the Younger, of course. If it is a Christian interpolator, then the intention is not to insert the Gospel Jesus into the letter. It's like nearly all the interpolations thought inserted into Paul's letters: very few of them point to a Gospel Jesus (from memory there is only a mention of Pilate). So whoever was doing it wasn't interested in pushing that side of things.
Charles Wilson
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Re: Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

Post by Charles Wilson »

"Paybacks are a bitch..."

I put this out there, not because it's a "Complete Thesis" but because it's not.

Pliny the Younger and Tacitus appear to have had a hand in the creation of the "Empty Tomb" See: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2207&hilit=grafted+empty+tomb .

The Empty Tomb is built around the death of Otho and Virginius Rufus leaving his home when soldiers appear and desire to proclaim him Emperor. All four gospels have a section of the story and they should be read as one story, not four versions of the same story. The rising sun provides the "Objective Marker" for stitching the four parts back together. Against this, of course, is the entire "Ending of Mark" controversy: http://www.michaelturton.com/Mark/GMark16.html . This might imply that the Empty Tomb was given before the composition of Mark. Mark was then written and it was still "not good enough". The last sentence - Turton offers "It was the last day of the feast of the unleavened bread and many people were going out, returning to their houses since the festival was over. (Gospel of Peter)" as a plausible ending - gets removed and it is left for others to reconstruct the ending.

That leaves Pliny the Younger and Tacitus to have material interpolated into their texts and letters to show that they were not so cynical as to have the nerve to create the Empty Tomb out of whole cloth. They are then shown as providing an early part of the Christian History when they had no idea as to what was to happen.

Mebbe. Mebbe not.

CW
rgprice
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Re: Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

Post by rgprice »

Yeah, this letter calls a lot of Christian lore into question. Pliny was highly educated in Rome and had many years of administrative experience by the time he wrote this letter. He, and apparently Trajan, had never heard of Christians before. The idea, then, that Nero had executed Paul and blamed a bunch of stuff on Christians, is reveled as total nonsense. Clearly, Christians weren't on the radar of major Roman administrators as of the beginning of the second century.
Bernard Muller
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Re: Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

Post by Bernard Muller »

to rgprice,
He, and apparently Trajan, had never heard of Christians before.
And how did you figure that out?

Cordially, Bernard
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GakuseiDon
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Re: Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

Post by GakuseiDon »

Charles Wilson wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 6:49 amThat leaves Pliny the Younger and Tacitus to have material interpolated into their texts and letters to show that they were not so cynical as to have the nerve to create the Empty Tomb out of whole cloth. They are then shown as providing an early part of the Christian History when they had no idea as to what was to happen.
Shown to whom, though? Were the interpolations there to impress pagans? To impress other Christians? 'Interpolation' isn't an answer to a question, because it raises its own question. For example, whether Pliny the Younger wrote 'it' (whatever 'it' may be) or it was written by an interpolator: why was it written, what does it mean, etc? Similarly for interpolations into Paul and other writers.
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MrMacSon
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Re: Buried clues about early Christianity from the context of Pliny’s letters?

Post by MrMacSon »

I saw this take yesterday on reddit's r/AcademicBiblical (but can't now find it) -
They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god .... When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--ordinary and innocent food ... I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.
- the question being, I think, is/was it reference to a sun-worshipping cult? [with Christ or perhaps Chrestus as the Sun; or vice versa]
the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to imagine what a multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity for repentance is afforded.
Last edited by MrMacSon on Thu Dec 02, 2021 8:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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