Early Christians in Roman Eyes
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
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Christianity started out as a tiny sect of Jewish followers of Jesus, but within 400 years it was the dominant religion of the Roman world and a major political force. It had a rough start, however; Romans did not accept this new movement with open arms. But was Christianity actually an illegal religion? Did the followers of Jesus have to hide in the catacombs? Did the emperors consider it a threat to the social order? In this episode we talk about the early reception of Christianity, in particular the persecutions, in order to explode many of the myths one hears about the new faith in its early days.
In this episode, Bart and Megan discuss:
+the place Christianity occupied in the Roman Empire when it was first formed. A lot of historical movies show early Christians as a persecuted group, meeting in secret for fear of imprisonment or violence by the empire. Is this at all rooted in historical fact?
+recorded accounts or persecutions of Christians
+persecution of other religions
+the “Edict of Toleration” issued by the Emperor Galerias in 311 CE
+the conversion of Emperor Constantine to Christianity in 312, and then the Edict of Milan in 313, which essentially granted freedom of religion to all Roman citizens - including Christians.
+was Christianity actually made into an official state religion, or did it simply continue to gain popularity?
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I'm so sorry about the keyboard sounds, everyone, I know it's incredibly distracting when you're trying to listen to Bart. I very carefully mute my mic when Bart is talking and I'm taking notes...unfortunately, for this episode and the following episode, our recording software was recording the wrong mic. So muting did absolutely nothing.
Should have looked a bit further down...I just asked about the typing noise...4give me.
+qqwa++++++++++ææ+a
You bring this knowledge free , I can manage keyboard sound. Thank you
Thanks for the show! I appreciate the apology. I love what you guys do never stop!
I really enjoyed this series please keep up the great work brother
I like to think that their glasses are the same size, but Megan is small and Bart is huge
Thank you for this image hahaha 🤣
Please don't be typing in future broadcasts! Or get a less mechanical keyboard.
Agree, I had to stop watching because the typing was too annoying.
I support this. My wife and I found the typing distracting
I made the same comment. Especially when you're wearing head phones it's very distracting.
Oh, c'mon guys. She made a mistake. Leave the poor woman alone.
Typing was coming over the microphone, drowning Bart out a bit.
Great content. However, the background typing is annoying.
Sorry, but the typing is very distracting
Lol - I was thinking the same thing. I was thinking there was a discussion; "I just assembled my keyboard from the rusty parts of an old Ford truck. Will that be OK for the podcast?"
All kidding aside, I really liked the podcast content. I am glad these are coming out regularly. Good stuff!
I was about to make the same comment😂
Just super rude.
You're the typing.
very interesting stuff...... i dont know who is doing the typing whilst Bart is talking but it's really annoying
and the loud sniffing
And talking over him with quips
And talking over him with quips
Megan's typing is really frustrating
Yes, horrible
Yes, very distracting. She should be muting her mic. Otherwise, a great webcast.
What are all the distracting crackling sounds going on while Bart's speaking? Very annoying.
I think Megan was looking something up. Wanna send her a quiet keyboard?
Sounds like a keyboard to me
@@stevespindler2088 So I have gleaned from the many comments that were made subsequent to my own. If I had realized it was the sound of Megan's keyboard I wouldn't have said anything. Obviously, she was unaware that the mic was picking it up, and I don't think she would have been typing unless it was important. I hope everything's okay with her and her family. I think she does a terrific job.
To the many (male) commenters who seem to think it's always acceptable for a man to make personal observations - insulting or complimentary, it doesn't matter - about a woman's appearance, know this: you are mistaken. You are arrogant. You are rude.
@@dorothysatterfield3699
You seem to be sensitive about alot of stuff. Maybe some yoga would be good for you.
@@Darisiabgal7573 Thank you for proving my point.
Great installment, but the typing on a mechanical keyboard was really distraction. Maybe use a different keyboard for the next one?
Please do not keyboard during zoom.
A Bluetooth keypad would be better.
That was terribly distracting.
I love the clickity clack, whatever bro
I saw this when I started the video and didn't think much about it but then about half way through this vid I started to get really bugged by it. She's typing as he's saying things that are really important and it's hard to stay with his enthusiasm when she's not even interested :p
Yes, it's like scratching a chalkboard. A Lil cringe 😬
Oh my goodness! Please stop typing while he's speaking. It's so annoying!
There was an empire wide Roman edict against loud keyboards.
Great discussion. As usual, Bart is very informative. Megan’s typing is rather distracting. Perhaps she could turn off her mic while Bart is answering.
Perhaps she could just listen. There’s no excuse for this.
I mean why would she choose a mechanical keyboard??
28:07
Y'all it'll be okay. Human error. It's a great episode and Megan is an incredible host.
This was another fascinating and informative video in this series. Megan you are a great interviewer but your keyboard is very loud and is a distraction when Bart is answering your questions.
Great episode, but the keyboard was too loud. Can it be muted when typing going forward?
Megan, if you are going to host these sessions, please do not type while Bart is talking!
She’s well aware. Recording software discrepancy.
Gah! Megan, the typing!
😵💫🤪😵💫
Megan: either get a quieter key board or stop typing during the video(PLEASE)
Great topic and I always love these two together! The typing was very distracting though.
Mute button Megan.. the typing is very loud
It is funny that even though Bart became an atheist and is now loved by the anti-Christianity crowd, he is still fair and mostly faithful to the historical record. You can see he tries to moderate or even sometimes prevent the anti-Christianity spin.
@jetc4332
Why do you find it "funny" that Dr. Ehrman is fair and balanced in his remarks about Christian history even though he is an agnostic? Çould it be because theists generally make no attempt to be evenhanded? By the way, atheists and agnostics are NOT "anti-Chŕistian." What we are is anti-theocratic.
I, for one am not Anti-Christianity, in fact, I try to follow the precepts outlined by Jesus of Nazareth, be he a real person or a myth. I am, however, an anti BS person, and even a cursory bit of research will tell you that the Noah flood story is a carbon copy of the story in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The deeper you dig, the more you uncover BS. Take the so called exodus. It never happened. The Cannanites became the Israeli. They had to make up the Abraham/Issac story as an excuse to stop sacrificing their first born sons to a pagan god. Think about it. How are we going to tell the guy next door that he killed his son for nothing? It's kind of like trying to stop a war once you start one. What about the parents of the kids that already died? I am a Vietnam Vet. I was there in 66-67. We knew the war was a total crock of shit in 66. It went on until 73.
Absolutely. Honest scholarship requires no less. His lack of faith doesn’t preclude him from attempting to judge as fairly as the evidence allows.
He’s the senior scholar and popularizer of the Data over Dogma movement.
As an agnostic who is interested in Christianity, Judaism, and other ME religions, Bart and other notables from the academic side (the usual suspects*) provide me with valuable information and insights that I could never get from apologetic evangelism or the trite formulations of aggressive atheism.
I don’t think Bart is beloved by certain factions of atheism. His audience is generally thoughtful people who are both believers and non-believers and who are interested in the most important book(s) of Western Civilization.
* My usual suspects: scholars Dan, Kip, Megan, Josh, plus non-scholars Derek and Paul. They aren’t the only ones out there, but I’m watching their material on the daily.
@@spaceman081447I think the majority of atheists don’t even think about religious questions at all until those questions are shoved in their face. And until that moment (when they are confronted with questions about the beginnings of human life, for example) they prefer to just live their lives.
The majority of atheists don’t care about anti-theism and anti-Christianity.
If you live in a society that is a part of “Western Civilization” or has its roots in the Western Traditions, your active atheism is going to take the form of anti-Christianity 99% of the time. So I don’t think your distinction between anti-Christianity and anti-theism is meaningful in any practical sense.
Honestly, do you spend time on Buddhist channels, debunking their beliefs? (and there are theistic Buddhist denominations.) Do you regularly debunk Hindu scripture? I bet you don’t. When was the last time you entered a chat about Navajo cosmology to explain why Navajo beliefs are based on the impossible?
I’m not telling you what to do (but now I’m going to tell you what to do). Just call yourself an atheist or nonbeliever.
Thank you for sharing, something positive about this generation of students. Doesn't seem like older generations have too many positive things to say about younger ones.
I'm glad you believe that haha😄
Its a tale as old as time. The older generation thinks the younger generation is going to hell in a handbasket, but your younger generation seems to have trouble understanding thins. lol🤣
I'm 62 and I'd say the bell curve has flattened...both more outstanding and really clueless youth than my generation in the 70's
@@BandiGetOffTheRoof it sure does. seem" that way. The average IQ over time tells a different story tho. It's also known as the flynn effect. IQ is adjusted about 3 points every decade because we continue to learn off the shoulders of the past.
A fun test would be to give a 65 year old a smart phone and give a 6.5 year old a smartphone and ask them to change the setting of .... fill in blank 😂 Ive watch my son show my mom how to use a cell phone from the age of 3 and now he shows my wife of 41 how to change advance settings, he's ten.
Every time,I am so impressed with Bart’s knowledge. Can you imagine how much richer our culture would be if we had people like him studying the things that interested themselves?
very annoying the typing :(. btw excellent post as ever. kudos dr. Ehrman for an informative video. love it.
That typing in the background is crazy loud 😬
It’s extremely rude to be noisily typing while you’re ostensibly conducting an interview. Understand me: It would be rude to type even if it were silent; the noise just makes it especially rude. A few points of grammar: “Like” is an adjective, not an adverb. It’s “different from”, not “different to”.
Don’t be typing while Bart is talking please.
Stop typing during the interview. Please.
Yes there was a more powerful institution then Christianity: the rich big land owning class! Please note yeshua condemned the Rich ( easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle then a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven) . The first church ( ebionites) required all members to give up ALL THEIR POSSESSIONS to be held in COMMON . You can serve MOMMON or The LORD , not both. The rich man turn away as he was told to go sell his possessions and give all to the poor. So, as a hard historical fact, the Communist commandments by the were junk piled with in 40 years by the GENTILE PAULINE ‘’CHRISTIANITY “. So , the rich big land owners still are allowed by these hypocrites.
Megan usually an A+ ... the sniffing and typing, though, seem like total amateur mistakes. Should be a mute button ninja by now.
Love the video, buuut can you mute yourself when you're typing please? I listen to this on headphones and it's super distracting XD
This keyboard is really terrible. I can't focus when Megan is typing. Perhaps different keyboard or more directional mic is something to consider.
The idea that the loss of income starved out the pagan temples and priests is something I've never heard brought up before. That's a very powerful thought. It suggests that pagan worship could collapse very quickly as more and more people convert in a kind of self-reinforcing process.
For the pagans, it was worse than that. Beginning with Constantine, emperors began taking away money and treasures from those temples to fund their Christian projects, and in some places took their buildings for Christian use. So they were robbed (essentially) and then starved of income. Combine that with everyone trying to advance their careers by joining up with the emperor's favorite religion, and the rest is "history."
NO MORE TYPING
NT Wright and John Dominic Crossan both point out the competing titles of Caesar and Christ. Maybe others too
LOVE ALL THESE SHOWS BART.
The WOW part for me was your "revelation" near the end at 44:59 regarding the emperors sometimes being called "Lord and Savior" or "Son of God".
That single sentence makes everything so clear (to me) now regarding Jesus as a mere mortal man/preacher. It's perspective.
So glad I stuck around to the end of this.
CONSTANTLY TAKING NOTES on your vids :-)
As was Megan, apparently.
That was absolutely mind blowing!
Flavians created/co-opted Jesus movement or the Nerva dynasty did. Roman creation either way
May explain why the Roman authorities saw Jesus and his cult as a threat.
I learned it for the first time about 12 years ago in Episode 1 of the CATHOLICISM series (I'll post link below. skip to 17:55 - 22:00)
Great episode, but please mute yourself when typing.
Could someone please get Megan a quieter keyboard and a box of tissues?
If it's possible, could you reduce the volume of the keyboard typing next time? Great video otherwise
I want to learn how Bart performs a kind of warm-up routine to smoothly ramp onto any topic. A very personal intro that doesn't waste time.
"I don't watch tv."
Also: "I watch lots of sports."
Where, then, does Ehrman watch these sports if not on tv? Does he see them in a personal vision, like St Paul?
Anyway, good discussion. Thanks.
I would argue that the most important events that happened to the west were first, the arrival of the Ancient Hunter Gatherers into Europe, second the arrival of Anatolian Farmers into Europe, and third the arrival of the Indo-Europeans into Europe. These three events created the Western Man. The arrival of Christianity could be said to have gradually transformed the Western Man, beginning with Rome and proceeding to the Germans and Slavs, into spiritual Jews. Essentially it transformed Western Civilization into Hebrew Civilization. The Renaissance could be seen as the revival of Western Civilization, but the Renaissance never managed to replace Christian Morality, and WW2 determined that the Bible and the Jews would remain dominant in the West. The defeat of Fascism can be seen as the end of the Renaissance of Indo-European, or “Aryan”/Western civilization and the reestablishment of Zionist Civilization, or Judeo-Christian Civilization. Or you could say that the defeat of Berlin by Washington was the final defeat of Rome by Jerusalem.
Bart's comment about the connection between religion and government is interesting, particularly in the midst of our current argument about that. The Christianity I grew up with insisted religion had nothing to do with politics. Interesting.
So if Nero blamed the Christians for setting the fire don't the prove the point that Christians were facing massive persecution? Hard to argue they weren't.
Bart, i have a lot of respect for some of the things you bring up, but some of what you are saying just comes from a point of ignorance.
Statements like islam would not have existed if Christianty had not happened are a total miscomprehention.
Terms like Islam, which comes from the root work salam, or to be at peace, or to submit to the belief that a higher authority is above us,
Which is also actually being described by the word to under-stand.
It is regarded by those who believe and follow its ideology, that do not accept islam started after the advent of christi-anity.
It began at the origin of free choice, to accept or reject to bow to a hugher power above us.
this ideology that every person has the free right to submit or reject A Creator's moral standing above our actions.
You maybe be referring to those man made organisations that sprouted and then claim themselves to be the authorities over those who believe. But that doesn't make them the real authorities, just by claiming themselves as the dictators over peoples beliefs.
Also when an ideology is heard then accepted by a person or a people, it only happens because it beats or overpowers the thoughts and ideals previously thought by those who adopt this new ideology. The older concept can no longer hold water or falls behind, much like in a race where the person at the front wins and the others lose! The principles The man christians call Jesus had higher values and explained higher principles in a clearer better way that destroyed those lesser values, people held, thats why Rome had no choice, but to adopt them. But it did so as dictators, forcing this onto people as it had forced it previous laws. Sadly this action of forcing, creates a contradiction, which is why the modern ideology of christi-anity is also a dictatorship, forcing those following to accept the diction that a man can be a god.
Why christi-anity is actually anti-christ in its nature, it contradicts the very meanings of the words it uses to describe itself.
Just going to echo the last. comment. I really like this series with Bart, but Megan, this is the first time I noticed your very. loud typing on the keyboard during Bart’s responses, and yes, this is very distracting. I’m wondering if you or your editor can edit out the loud keyboarding sounds?
Something is wrong here. He glosses over Jews, but Jews were forbidden from worshipping other gods long before Christianity and technically Christians were Jews still. Why is he saying Jews were fine and Christians were not?
Love this show, but please stop typing while Bart is talking without muting your mike. Very annoying and makes it difficult to take the show seriously.
Please stop all the typing and mouse clicking during the video. It is distracting and unprofessional.
Megan, it appears you are not paying attention to Bart when you are also typing. And the clicking was distracting while he was talking. I thought you would want to know.
Recommendation for the editor: when one person is speaking, mute the audio from the other person's mic, if you have separate audio channels. It'll cut the typing and sniffling sounds
Read the pinned comment.
They know that. They just goofed this time.
The peak of spiritual maturity is to stop relying on all earthly sources of joy and happiness and keep God alone as the only one and great source of your joy and excitement!
Very interesting, thank you, but I wish Megan wasn't typing.
I hope we do not normalize banging away on a keyboard during these type of interviews that are recorded for everyone to see.
That typing is multi tasking gone wild. Focus on one thing for 30 minutes.
Amazed that Christianity dominated Rome and western civilization quickly and still going strong today, but never really picked up in Beijing and eastern civilization and is still struggling to make inroads today. Would like to know why is that, what so different between Rome and Beijing over the 2000 years of Christian existence in a future episode.
What made Christianity dominant in the Roman world was that it got government sponsorship - from the time of Constantine until Theodosius becoming a Christian became a path to social and political advancement. After Theodosius (the emperor who made Christianity the official religion in 380 CE) it became a necessary component of having any career at all. In China, Christianity was a minority religious sect that had a sketchy relationship to the official world, which followed Confucian teachings and a polytheistic official religion that included ancestor worship. So Christianity made little headway. It only really took off in China during the time of the European empires, when missionaries had more clout - but even then it remained a minority faith.
This in fact is the pattern more generally for Christianity - in Europe, in places where it became the official religion, it became the majority religion. In places where it didn't, it had little influence. The great spread of Christianity as an influential force outside Europe follows the path of European colonization.
@@njhoepner thanks for pointing out that the difference between the west and east is the western powers adopted Christianity while the eastern powers found little use for it. I still find it puzzling seeing that Christianity was successful in one place but not another. I'm reading something about it was might makes right. Christianity used force to convert the pagan natives in the west and all the places it colonized around the world, and that why it was successful. Since the east was never colonized by the west, they could not convert them like they did the rest of the world.
@@njhoepner you forgot the other two main religions of China: Buddhism and Taoism.
@@silvershadchan4085 True enough, although I wasn't trying to be exhaustive. In any case, while both were larger influences in China than forms of Christianity or Islam, they remained minority religions so long as the various Confucianism and its associated imperial cult remained the official religion. With the Communist revolution all religions find themselves disfavored, and all are minority faiths, some (like Buddhism, Daoism, and Falun Gong) larger than others. I think the overall pattern remains the same.
Christianity and Islam spread at the tip of a sword. From emperors and kings throughout their conquests and colonies.
Islam did make inroads in south and southeast Asia from Pakistan through Malaysia. Christianity took over a lot of Korea after persecution, then gaining royal favor.
Christianity also took hold of a lot of persecuted minorities in Asia, the indigenous peoples. It's good at converting people away from peganism (as those gods failed protecting them from oppression), but not good at converting people away from entrenched official religions with codified beliefs.
Christianity & Islam, without the tip of a sword, brings solace to persecuted minorities without strong *written* powerful, well financed, historical religious traditions. But it can't make much inroads when a religion has these things.
Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Hinduism also don't necessarily require fantastical stories from very far away. One can believe in polytheism with them, or one can have a very human, logical, agnostic belief system in them. They all have very academic, intellectual sects leading them.
Great insight. Especially the statement on "the son of God". A term used by the Romans that the early Christians picked up on. Typing was very annoying.
I learned it first from this episode of CATHOLICISM series (skip to 17:55 - 22:00) ua-cam.com/video/l_oZeebATfg/v-deo.html
Enjoyed the content but the typing was not appreciated.
What I don't understand is how Dr. Ehrman could concentrate on what he was saying with that noisy typing going on. I certainly couldn't.
The typing is highly annoying you need to mute your microphone if you're going to type
Megan, where you typing? Maybe Bart, but probably not. :)
Would've liked more explanation of why the monotheistic Jews were not persecuted for their exclusive devotion to God.
Probably because they weren't trying to convert everyone
@@Hallahanifyexactly. And they didn’t threaten anyone with eternal damnation for not converting, either.
I told a friend you two keep throwing historical candy at me. I can't quit! hehe I take it from the comments we have a typing problem?
Coincident typing is distracting Yes, but I also find it a bit rude to be honest. We are watching what looks to be a discussion between Megan & Bart (she comments, prompts, asks questions & responds) & so, at times, she is not giving him her attention. I feel awkward watching it.
Stop typing!
I was listening to the podcast in my car on my way back from work, so my initial thought about the keyboard sound was that Dr Ehrman was swirling some ice on a glass as he talked before he took a sip 😂😂😂😂
New drinking game: every time Bart says “ah um” you have to take a shot of liquor. You’ll meet the resurrected Jesus in 10 minutes
I'm already a few shots in, so this is going to be dangerous.
Lol
Great. You want people to die from alcohol poisoning 🤣👍
I take bong hits instead of liquor shots and it's quite enjoyable.
Oooo. I'm in. Cracking open a new bottle of bourbon.
Type your shopping list not while interviewing.
so the Romans allowed the Jews a religion that only recognized a Jewish god, but for Christians, they didn't allow them that? Must be that they were alarmed at seeing non-Jewish peoples of the Roman empire doing the same as potentially subversive of the empire
Maybe the difference was that Christians evangelized and Jews did not?
Bart has previously said that part of Roman ideology was to respect things they considered "old". Judaism qualified under their definition but Christianity would not.
Comparative religion courses should be offered in high school.
To give students a wider perspective of what other cultures believe, as well as some of the history of non belief.
To help cut down on prejudice & intolerance.
I think that's a fantastic idea. I teach high school (in Europe, not the US, which is notable for this, I think), and the first challenge I see for your very good idea is that there are far, far fewer specialised secondary school teachers than there are university teachers. At the secondary level, a teacher will probably teach many subjects while having an undergraduate (and occasionally a master's) relating to the general field to which those classes belong. Someone with a degree in chemistry might teach Earth & Space Science one year, for example, while the next year someone with a degree in geology might.
Something so specific as comparative religion requires not just considerable content knowledge, which doesn't really gibe with that generalist approach, but also capability in presenting many viewpoints without personal bias. So it's a bit of an ask for high school, but I agree with you that it's well worth doing, and it is certainly not impossible.
Personally, my biggest worry would be someone wanting to teach that class (either because it's a fascinating subject, because it's so important for the students, or because they want their own team to come out on top) while not having the requisite knowledge to do so and do it well. I myself teach classical literature and mythology, and some of the things I have seen high school educators say and do (and teach) in those fields is appalling -- and far less impactful politically and socially than comparative religion! The hero's journey comes to mind... But that's a whole other story!
@@joshuapray Thanks for your kind words.
To me the biggest problem is agreeing on the curriculum.
The classes should be taught from an objective historical context.
Things like the culture that arose from those beliefs, and of course what they believed & why.
Do all believers of same religion, agree and come to the same conclusion ?
But never to be taught as _"this is most likely true",_ *no assertions about any religions potential, to be true of not.*
_Just The Facts & Nothing But The Facts._
The teachers just have to stay within certain guidelines, which they already have to do anyway.
I think that being 100% pragmatic & practical about the motives and benefits should make it an easy sell.
But people do push back against _critical race theory",_ as they fear that to closely examine all of the bad things that white colonial empires did will somehow cause more hatred.
We learned about the horrors Japan & Germany perpetrated in WW 2 and still treat them with respect.
I'm Canadian, and I was not taught about our gov't's program of abduction and indoctrination into western culture & Christianity that was perpetrated upon the children of natives, however today it's taught in the history classes of every province.
But I've babbled enough for now.
_Keep On Truckin'_ Joshua
Megan's idea of the Superb Owl (in lieu of the Super Bowl) is total genius. Interesting video as always.
If Jesus had thousands of followers, where were they during his trial, when Pilate asked the crowd what to do with Jesus? Were they just not interested enough to attend the trial? Were they among those (apparently the whole crowd) who wanted Jesus crucified?
Conversely, how did they draw out a big crowd of random heckling jews during passover, when ur supposed to be inside? Lol
Wow, that was awkwardly timely! I have been studying the criticism against Christianity by Celsus and Prophyry recently.
Divine intervention!
Megan needs to mute when typing
So much typing...Hulk hate typing!!!!
😂😂😂
Great show , BUT the keyboard typing needs to not be a thing. Like - we can hear you typing. O_o;
From what I could gather the Diocletian persecution is somewhat overblown. It seems to have been more economically motivated, what they were after was the precious metals and gems that Christians had donated to the church that had been used to decorate scriptures, icons, and relics. Many of the martyrdoms occurred when the keepers of these valuable objects refused to hand them over.
Fascinating as usual. I do think we can split hairs a bit over early persecution. We know from all sorts of discriminated groups that the stated target and real target are different. ie. in later centuries Jews were often persecuted because of something they were alleged to have done (like steal the eucharist and blood was seen coming from the door of their house etc...) or Communists because they they set fire to the Reichstag or transphobia because of alleged bathroom safety. Point being people often use smoke and mirrors to try and hide their discrimination and to them they can even be convinced they're being reasonable about it. I don't think we need to take their words at face value though.
I can say firsthand as a 20-year-old that recent world events and people’s reactions to said events-especially responses from the religious-are EXACTLY why I’m personally invested in religious studies, as well as science and communication. From my perspective, you both hit it on the nose.
Megan needs to get a more silent keyboard 😅
Early Christians (Jewish group) before Paul were probably associated with Zealots and Sicarii, hence the crucifixion.
How come some kingdoms became Christian before Constantine? Among them are the states that still exist today, which claim that they accepted Christianity before Constantine the Great himself accepted it! Is this possible?
How do you get from 20 Aramaic speaking people to the Roman Empire?
That would -- in part -- be due to Paul, and his outreach to Greek and Latin speaking readers and listeners.
"I never watch tv....
Well, I watch some sports on tv....
Actually I watch a lot of sports on tv."
This is like one of those New Testament contradictions Bart writes about.
I have read that almost all the bishops and Christian representatives at the Council of Nicea bore scars from persecution. Is that wrong?
they were not persecuted because of Jesus. they were persecuted because they were pests, and would not support the civic religion, by offering public sacrifice.
Exactly. The Flavians father and son were God and son of God. Paul was a Roman citizen, he would have understood the concept.
The thing with Nero might not have been explicitly based on faith but it's still anti-christian persecutions. To use a comparison from modern history, the fabrication of the doctors plot in the 1950s wasn't explicitly based on faith or ethnicity either, but most historians recognise it as antisemitic.
Pliny the Elder gave an account of the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii in 79 CE
@35 minutes, Bart says the Romans left paganiam and "just went where everyone else was going ". Why was everyone converting? Why turn away from polytheism to the more narrow and rigid monotheism, from the tradional beliefs to an, as yet, partially organized religion?
What doesn’t make sense is how at the 170:05 mark Bart states that Jews had an exemption to having to worship the Roman Gods. But that flat out contradicts what he had just stated that Romans believed if you didn’t worship their Gods the Gods would become angry. I feel like there is a key factor either being omitted or not taken into account. For one, Christians were initially Jews themselves. So why was one openly persecuted while the other left to practice their faith without worshipping the Roman Gods themselves???
He’s so mf smart. A literal human computer
Brilliant folks...iam thankful..That monotheism certainly killed the flavour of the old world....our way or the highway eh.
Bart’s Weekly Update: Watching football. Lol. Good for you, Bart! Man of the ppl.
Do you think Christianity converted the Roman to worship the one God that all prophets worshiped? All prophets as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, John, Jesus?
Or
Did Christianity get infected by Roman pagan empire and ended worshiped 3 Gods?
The age of the fish, Pices, is talked about in Luke as an astrology symbol along with Aquarius.
Erhman is very distracting...his laughs, mostly untimely. And his answers are dis organized. I know he knows a lot. But i think deeo in him, he is a show off...very disappointing.
The pagans' lack of exclusivity prevented them from practicing the social insurance component of religious communities. Christians, because they were exclusively Christian, could rely upon one another to help in times of emergency -- food insecurity, supportive medical care, etc. Just the simple act of sharing fresh food (meat, fish, etc.) before it became poisonous could have made all the difference. And the simple act of supplying drinking water to someone battling food poisoning was likewise a service that required more than just association through the Baccus wine god. This is especially true when it's sometimes tough to tell the difference between food poisoning and a contagious disease. Ancient peoples prayed before each meal for a reason.
It’s pretty ridiculous that Dr. Ehrman would be so mistaken on fundamental things about xianity.
For one, there weren’t just 20 Xians in the first century to begin with. Acts 2 records the disciples speaking all languages on earth cuz there were ppl from all the earth at Pentecost. There were about 120 disciples, Acts 1:15.
Second, look at what Paul did, persecute the church. Well, the sect he was part of remained in the first century and targeted Paul.
There are too many "NEW RELIGIONS". The Bible never told humans to constantly keep starting new religions or new denominations. It's all about the money.