Solitary Man

But isn't that merely favoritism based on emic rather than etic categorization?

spamandham

Well, if followers of Simon Magus were known as Christians, does it not follow that he was known as Christ to them? :huh:

Fair enough. But does this not still demonstrate that other groups beyond merely followers of Jesus, were known as Christians in Justin's day?

FathomFFI

No, not at all.

Fair enough. But does this not still demonstrate that other groups beyond merely followers of Jesus, were known as Christians in Justin's day?[/QUOTE]

No, not at all. You have to invent that interpretation with no evidence.

jules?

On this basis; Tacitus was a Pagan so therefore he could have called any sect christian and therefore a follower of another christ

Toto

'"You say we worship the sun; so do you" is cited in NewAdvent and sounds like a paraphrase of the Tertullian quote. I'm not sure what patcleaver meant to prove by it? If you believe in astrotheology, you see it as a hidden clue to the True Origins of Christianity, but that's reading stuff into the quote.

Solitary Man

What other Christ? It's the question that has got spamalot and you stumped.

FathomFFI

There is no other Christ aside from Jesus as one who had followers called Christians. There is simply not a shred of evidence to support such an assertion.

Toto

2 Corinthians 11:4 "For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached. . . "

Who is that "other Jesus?"

Matt 24:4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,[Messiah]' and will deceive many.

If you think that this was written in regard to a current event, who were those other Christs? Bar Kochba or someone like him?

Are these verses related?

I have no good answer. Paul's "other Jesus" has always been a puzzle.

FathomFFI

I think all of this can be attributed to the various Christian sects existing at that time. However, in this instance, it should be noted that Paul is not saying that there were people preaching a different Jesus, but only stating the possibility that "if" they came along preaching a different Jesus, which was used to demonstrate the strength of their faith when he finished with "you might well endure these."

Here it is; read the bold text as a sentence:

2Co 11:4 -6 For if, indeed, the one coming proclaims another Jesus, whom we have not proclaimed, or if you receive another spirit, which you did not receive, or another gospel, which you never accepted, you might well endure these. For I judge myself to have come behind the highest apostles in nothing, but even if I am unskilled in speech, yet not in knowledge; but in every way I have been clearly revealed to you in all things.

Paul is making a case above as to the excellence of his teaching, and saying that if his students were to have someone come along preaching a different variation of Jesus, the gospel, or whatever, that Paul's teachings was strong enough that his students would endure those "false" doctrines.



On a side note, it should also be noted that just two verses before we have Paul stating clearly that Jesus was a man:

2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. For I have espoused you to one man, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

In the verse above, Paul described Christ as the man whom the followers are espoused to. This confutes any assertion by Earl and others that Paul did not regard Jesus to be human, and this letter is one which Earl himself believes to be authentic.

Ben C Smith

This is why I asked you about Marcion and the Marcionites. If followers of Marcion were known as Christians, does it follow that Marcion was known as Christ to them?

Ben.