Sauron

Not buying this. The fact that Rome quashed a rebellion or two there doesn't prove the province was important. It proved that Rome understood that a successful revolt could spread like a cancer through the empire.

Rome also had several levels of administrative importance:
* Italy - the land of citizens
* major provinces - governed by senators
* other provinces, with legions - administered by imperial legates
* other provinces, without armies - supervised by senatorial proconsuls, appointed by the Senate;
* client kingdoms, not directly ruled by Rome - Judaea fits this model, at the bottom of the ladder

The major trading route you're talking about was from the spice and incense in Arabia. But that trade route was managed by the Nabateans, and ran through Petra, in Jordan. After which, they moved the trade center to Leuke Kome, on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea.

Clivedurdle

http://www.bartleby.com/people/Frazer-S.html

Just looking at online - it is wonderful! it's easy to forget what we humans get up to! The story in chapter three about a woman giving birth being attended by two witch doctors, one doing something reasonably practical by massaging, the other outside with a stone tied to his stomach moving as instructed by the first witch doctor, is a classic of us trying to understand from wrong principles.

I'm not sure it is out of date, there are some now probably not pc comments, but I'm not sure they matter! It is superb observation and description.

Mageth

His "observation and description" are not necessarily out-of-date. I was referring to at least some of the conclusions he reached from his observations.

I've made references to Ch. 3 on this board several times; IMO, it's an excellent overview and definition of magic, the roots of magic, and magic as the root of religion (his conjectures on magic as the root of religion make a lot of sense to me).

Asha'man

Soap, Magus, where exactly is the reference to soap?

Or is this another apologetic technique where words that aren't there are inserted in order to provide a theologically pleasing meaning? Since you can freely substitue names (Mary for Joseph) and add missing words (soap), what other rules are there that I should know about?

Tell me, do words usually mean the opposite of what they appear to mean too? When I'm told to hate my family, does that really mean love?

Hmm, isn't there something about false prophets, adding to and subtracting from scripture? Somehow, I think the punishment for that was pretty severe...

doubtingthomas

Judge,

To the best of your knowledge, what is the preterist position on Matthew 10:23? Is it referring to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD, or is it referring to perphaps another coming of Jesus?

Amaleq13

It is a very "fundamental" control mechanism but I think you are underestimating the power of a belief in an imminent return. Hell is something off in the distance (hopefully) while a belief in the imminent return of Christ is, by definition, far more immediate. It lends a sense of urgency that the threat of hell simply cannot provide. Consider Paul's mad rush around a considerable geographic area as evidence of the power of such a belief. Also, it wasn't a fear of hell that motivated him to completely change his worldview. It was a resurrection experience he was convinced represented the "first fruits" of The End.

Amaleq13

I'm not too familiar with the scholarly consensus (assuming one exists) for the dating of Paul's individual letters. What kind of time delay between the two are we talking about?

doubtingthomas

At the very most a decade, since most people agree that they were written sometime in the 50's.

diana

An aside...

I recently wrote a research paper on the state of medicine during the American Revolution. Even as "recent" as that, the most educated physicians based their theories on the assumption (among others) that "miasmas" (bad vapors) from stagnant water contained diseases (called "swamp fever," among other afflictions), and stagnant sweat on one's body gave one fever. They often recommended camping by, and refreshing oneself with, running water.

They didn't know about germs, either. But observation helped them make a connection between the proximity of stagnant water and disease.

Even when you were a kid, Magus, would you have chosen to drink out of a puddle, or a creek? Why?

Some things are just common sense, my friend. No need to read "divine knowledge" into it.

d

Sauron

Prediction: Magus55 vanishes for a few days to lick his wounds, and then re-surfaces with another claim.

He'll never return to defend his position on this claim, assuming that the game clock as just magically "re-set".

Some cue the sound of crickets.........no wait, arent they *also* on the dietary restriction list?