tanya

1. Bardaisan
(and, n.b. according to this Wikipedia article, Bardaisan's writings influenced another Osrhoener: Mani.

2. But, since all of Bardaisan's writings have disappeared, today, we are obliged to rely upon the critical commentary of Ephrem the Syrian, writing a century later.

3. If you believe the findings excavated at Dura Europos, then, there is further evidence of Christian belief and practice in 3rd century Mesopotamia. I deny the authenticity of the papyrus P24, "discovered" among the buckets of dirt, supposed to represent Tatian's Diatessaron. In my opinion this fragment was left there by Julian's troops in the 4th Century, thirty five years after Nicea, else forged by Pope Pius XI, and then deposited into the bucket of earth, sticking out, in plain view, to be discovered by Hopkins.

Duvduv

I don't think it's possible to make the argument for Christianity in Mesopotamia before the 4th century dependent on that single excavation area which is not even in Mesopotamia, and is far from Ctesiphon and other centers.
The argument for Christianity before the 4th or 5th century in Mesopotamia is rather weak.

wordy

I know nothing but this text says he is Thomas the Twin the Doubter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_...mption_of_Mary
i get the impression these writers had something very particular
they wanted to accomplish. Some power struggle or some niche
to carve out for them to work from or within.

Mary being resurrected in same way as Jesus into Heaven.

Edit. My wild guess this is their version of what
Rebecca Watson and the Atheism Plus people do now.
they come from outside and then do a reinterpretation.

Old White Privileged Men like Dawkins are on their way out
and the Mary Magdalen is on the way in and will be the new
way to relate to what counts as progressive.

Way back there and then they still was into Assumption into heaven
while we are into whom to see as progressive and whom to be bigot
and misogynist.

Sheshbazzar

Not strange if the Acts of Judas were composed before other gospel writers had invented and inserted the Judas evil the betrayer tale.

sotto voce

How terrifying.

mountainman

According to Eusebius this new emerging class of people were very powerful and wise and had the power to disrupt and shut down the communications link between the priests of Apollo and Apollo himself. Diocletian was terrified of this power because he often sought advice from the priests of Apollo, and he therefore persecuted the Christian hackers.

sotto voce

Good heavens, cobber. It's amazing that the Aussie government hasn't done likewise.

Duvduv

Here is a sample of history of Christians in Mesopotamia even prior to and at the dawn of the 4th century with no data to corroborate the existence of these Christians who were massacred:

http://www.kaldaya.net/Symposium/_Sy...html#_ftnref16

The churches in Mesopotamia were simply a loose collection of independent congregations and preaching outposts, related by fellowship with one another and by the spirit of loyalty and martyrdom XE "Martyrs" to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ XE "Christ"

The subsequent history of Persian Christianity in the fourth century was marked by growing hostility on the part of the government, increasing isolation from the churches in the West, and outright persecution against the faithful by the Persian state. Beginning in 339, tens of thousands of believers were slaughtered, church buildings and shrines were destroyed, and no effort was spared by those in power who were seeking the utter destruction of the Church of the East. The number of those who are known by name amount to 16,000, but there were countless numbers of others whose names are not recorded. Beginning with the catholicos, Mar Shimun bar Sabbai, who had been commanded to worship the sun but refused to do so, the carnage spread until it became one of the worst periods of persecution in the history of the Christian Church, whether East or West. There was, of course, nothing in the way of synodal gatherings during this dark period, which continued until AD 383, when the death of the emperor, Ardashir II, brought a period of peace.

Roger Pearse

There is the Book of the Laws of the Countries, although some scholars assign it to a disciple.

Eusebius also discusses Bardaisan. And, indeed, lists bishops from Mesopotamia. He had good connections with the Syriac speaking world, as is shown by the fact that one of his works is extant in Syriac translation in a copy written in 411 AD (!) and his Church History in Armenian is based on a Syriac version written even earlier.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

mountainman

How does an English translation of this compare to the English translation in the public domain? (Or was it used in reconstruction?)

Do you happen to know whether there many differences?



So how much before 411 CE would this be?

And do you have any idea why Eusebius Greek Church history appears on the list of prohibited books in the Decretum Gelasianum?