Question:
: : Pliny the Younger was a Roman citizen born in 62 AD. In 100 AD he was : made a Roman consul or one of two chief magistrates, and in 111 AD or so : he was appointed governor of Bythnia and Ponitca, two provinces on the : southern coast of the Black Sea now apart of modern day Turkey. What’s your point? What is your hidden agenda? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -<…St. Ron! The Eternally Saved Non-Roman Catholic!
Response:
JESUS: DIVINITY – PAGAN WITNESS Pliny the Younger was a Roman citizen born in 62 AD. In 100 AD he was made a Roman consul or one of two chief magistrates, and in 111 AD or so he was appointed governor of Bythnia and Ponitca, two provinces on the southern coast of the Black Sea now apart of modern day Turkey. While governor, he wrote emperor Trajan asking for advice on how to treat Christians. Pliny describes Christian behavior as follows, note he does not use monotheistic language due to his pagan background: written .ca 111 A.D. "…they (Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god…" Richard Rust — - p. 403, "Pliny: Letters" William Melmoth (tr.), Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, (1963). - p. 904, "The New Century Classical handbook," Catherine B. Avery (ed.), Appleton-Centuty-Crofts, New York (1962).
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -JESUS: DIVINITY – PAGAN WITNESS Some people contend that there is no evidence to support the claim that early Christians believed that Jesus Christ was God. Some claim that this was a misunderstanding that was injected into Christianity at a later date. The following quote is taken from letters written by Pliny the Younger. Pliny the Younger was a Roman citizen born in 62 AD. In 100 AD he was made a Roman consul (one of two chief magistrates) and in 111 AD or so he was appointed governor of Bythnia and Ponitca, two provinces on the southern coast of the Black Sea, now a part of modern day Turkey. While governor, he wrote to emperor Trajan asking for advice on how to deal with the Christians under his jurisdiction. Pliny describes Christian behavior as follows, note he does not use monotheistic language due to his pagan background: written .ca 111 A.D. "…they (Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god…" Richard Rust —
While I won’t debate the god issue here, your argument is does not support your claim of evidence of early Christian teachings. It quotes a pagan’s view of the practice. That view may be in itself a distorted reflection of early Christian practices. Since he was not a believer, he cannot attest to the actions and belief’s of the believer. He may very well misinterpret the teaching based on his believe in god and religious practices. Dan
Response:
<<Some people contend that there is no evidence to support the claim that early Christians believed that Jesus Christ was God. Some claim that this was a misunderstanding that was injected into Christianity at a later date.
Depends on how early is early. It is obvious that Paul considered Jesus Lord. Check the hymn in Philippians 2:6ff. Notice the parallels to Isaiah 45, where the subject is God. We’re talking about roughly 20 – 30 years after Jesus died. And he didn’t get excommunicated by the other apostles, as far as we know. Since Paul’s writings were the earliest we read in the NT, that’s about as early as we can get from documentation. Is that airtight? Perhaps not. It does indicate the power and preexistence of Jesus ("took the form of a slave"), but also his separateness from "God" ("God greatly exalted him"). We’re still a ways from the conciliar definition of the Trinity: one in being, three in persons; and of Jesus, true God and true man. But the basics are there.
Response:
Readers of alt.religion.christian.roman-catholic, hearken unto the words of peter terry: Edward, is this the limit of your vocabulary? GoAT.
No more than "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" is the limit of yours. But you used that in reply to several posts, I was just following your form. —
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