Indisputable Historical Facts About Early Christianity

[davidmartin]

Agreed, great summary

Why are there such divergent views on how to interpret the gospels? Where did each interpretation come from? And does this imply anything for the origin of the gospel story?

Divergent views are also found liberally in the NT itself and go back as far as the eye can see (implication - it obscures the origins)
The proto-orthodoxy can be seen as a summing together of various divergent views into something new rather than a direct continuation of some original tradition - because its own texts contain divergent views and differences, not least 4 gospels instead of one!

[MrMacSon]

The proto-orthodoxy can be seen as a summing together of various divergent views into something new rather than a direct continuation of some original tradition - because its own texts contain divergent views and differences, not least 4 gospels instead of one!

• Yep, good points. Winner, winner, chicken dinner ...

[Secret Alias]

1. The letters of Paul are relatively early. They may be heavily interpolated. They might be post-gospel forgeries. They may or may not be actual letters. But, in their original form, even on a hypothesis that puts them post-gospel, they're still relatively early in the history of Christian texts, given that so many other texts show a dependence of some kind on them.

Agreed.

2. The original language of the [extant] early Christian texts is koine Greek. Greek-speaking areas of the Roman empire such as "Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece, and Italy" figure prominently as locations where writers speak of contemporary believers.

Agreed.

3. Early Christian texts generally make use of the Nomina Sacra, although that isn't necessarily true of Christian inscriptions and non-Christian texts about the Christians, which sometimes have the words written out. I'm unsure of where the patristics fall on this: anyone know? It's not really clear to me whether the use of nomina sacra is original to the texts (in the autographs) or a secondary phenomenon.

Come to be known as nomina sacra. But agreed.

4. Several of the characters have potentially meaningful names. For example, "Jesus" means "God saves," and "Peter" (meaning Rock) has no pre-Christian attestation as a name. Some are obviously fictional like "Ebion" (poor).

Justin says 'Jesus' and 'Man.' But in theory agreement on my part.

Puppy is demanding I stop writing.

[Ben C. Smith]

I'm unsure of where the patristics fall on this: anyone know?

I know I have come across references to nomina sacra in manuscripts of the church fathers. Recently, for example, I became aware that Latin manuscripts of Cyprian bear nomina sacra. What I do not know is whether the practice was as universal for manuscripts of the fathers as it was for earlier Christian literary texts (including the NT, the Apostolic Fathers, and some Christian letters, for example). I would be interested in knowing.

[Ben C. Smith]

I'm unsure of where the patristics fall on this: anyone know?

I know I have come across references to nomina sacra in manuscripts of the church fathers. Recently, for example, I became aware that Latin manuscripts of Cyprian bear nomina sacra. What I do not know is whether the practice was as universal for manuscripts of the fathers as it was for earlier Christian literary texts (including the NT, the Apostolic Fathers, and some Christian letters, for example). I would be interested in knowing.

Robert A. Kraft, in a review in Gnomon, mentions "variations of nomina sacra in Justin's quotation contexts" (page 574), and I am pretty sure Justin Martyr is one of the fathers whose manuscripts I had heard contained nomina sacra before.

[Jax]

2. The original language of the [extant] early Christian texts is koine Greek. Greek-speaking areas of the Roman empire such as "Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece, and Italy" figure prominently solely as locations where writers speak of contemporary believers.

This correction is important in my oppinion as it highlights the fact that writers speak of contemporary believers only in the Greek speaking areas of the Aegean Sea and Italy. Conspicuously missing is any mention of or letters to or from, Asia, the Levant, North Africa, and Spain even though Paul could have also established assemblies in Spain, the Levant, and Asia. This is strange for the simple reason that Asia, the Levant, and North Africa all have weather conditions better suited for document perseveration.

4. Several of the characters have potentially meaningful names. For example, "Jesus" means "God saves," and "Peter" (meaning Rock) has no pre-Christian attestation as a name. Some are obviously fictional like "Ebion" (poor).

Hate to nitpick but "Jesus" actually means YVHV saves. I consider this an important distinction. Also "Petros" means "small rocks" not "rock" which I believe is Petra.
There! Now I feel better.
What would be really cool is to list all of the names being used in early Christianity with their meaning like Barabbas = son of father etc.

[Jax]

I'm unsure of where the patristics fall on this: anyone know?

I know I have come across references to nomina sacra in manuscripts of the church fathers. Recently, for example, I became aware that Latin manuscripts of Cyprian bear nomina sacra. What I do not know is whether the practice was as universal for manuscripts of the fathers as it was for earlier Christian literary texts (including the NT, the Apostolic Fathers, and some Christian letters, for example). I would be interested in knowing.

Yeah, me too!

[Peter Kirby]

Also "Petros" means "small rocks" not "rock" which I believe is Petra.

The masculine word appears in Homer (the Iliad) of rocks thrown by warriors. It appears in the same sense in 2 Maccabees. It is otherwise not found anywhere in the Septuagint or the New Testament (except as the name).

I suspect that the masculine form of the word maybe wasn't really used in koine Greek, apart from archaic allusions, and that the word was otherwise known to be feminine. There is plenty of use of that word (petra) in koine Greek.

Unfortunately, many resources about this appear to be thoroughly imbued with Protestant and Catholic concerns over Matthew 16:18. Protestants are especially keen to find two distinct senses of the word, different between the masculine and the feminine, to argue that they have different references in that verse.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/mor ... ek#lexicon

[Secret Alias]

I think Jax is referring to the Aramaic כיפא and the old understanding that it meant stone not rock. But there are a few examples of it meaning large rock - Com. TgO Num20:8 : מַיָא מִן כֵיפָא‏ water from the rock. P Gn29:3 : ܘܡܥܓܠܝܢ ܟܐܦܐ ܡܢ ܦܘܡܗܿ ܕܒܪܐ‏ they were rolling the rock off the mouth of the well.

[Jax]

Also "Petros" means "small rocks" not "rock" which I believe is Petra.

The masculine word appears in Homer (the Iliad) of rocks thrown by warriors. It appears in the same sense in 2 Maccabees. It is otherwise not found anywhere in the Septuagint or the New Testament (except as the name).

I suspect that the masculine form of the word maybe wasn't really used in koine Greek, apart from archaic allusions, and that the word was otherwise known to be feminine. There is plenty of use of that word (petra) in koine Greek.

Unfortunately, many resources about this appear to be thoroughly imbued with Protestant and Catholic concerns over Matthew 16:18. Protestants are especially keen to find two distinct senses of the word, different between the masculine and the feminine, to argue that they have different references in that verse.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/mor ... ek#lexicon

Sounds like a nickname one would give to a slinger doesn't it?

Kind of like calling someone who is short "Paulos".