mountainman

Codex Theodosius 16.2.1-6

"Christian prayers, said Constantine,
were intimately connected with
the safety of the state." [FN:45]

[FN:45] Codex Theodosius 16.2.1-6 and 14;
Eus HE 10.7.1-2; T.G. Elliott (1978), 326


Codex Theodosius 16.2.3

"This enormous favor was an open invitation to false pretence:
by 320 Constantine already had to legislate against rich pagans
who were showing a fascinating ingenuity
and were claiming exemptions as alleged
Christian priests." [FN:47]
[FN:47] Codex Theodosius 16.2.3 and 6



Codex Theodosius 16.2.4

"Constantine enacted a law
that stressed the validity
of a man's death bed legacies
to a church fund,
a topic which was particularly sensitive
because of the clergy's special presence
at the moment of death." [FN:48]
[FN:48] C.Theod 16.2.4



Codex Theodosius 16.2.18

the word "pagani: in everyday use meant "civilian" and/or "rustic".
"pagani: first appears in christian inscriptions from early 4th century.
"pagani: earliest use in the Law Codes in Codex Theodosius 16.2.18 (c.370)
"pagani: is a word coined by christians -- of the towns and cities.

youngalexander

Pete, another really contra tome for your case is From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries by Peter Lampe.

On the other hand, if you took this stuff seriously, instead of trying to deny it, you might find that there is a much more interesting case to argue!

Just a thort.

mountainman

Hi Young Alexander,

Have you have read my recent research which is
contained in the thesis available at my website?

I do take this stuff seriously.

Here is a summary review of a large number of citations
to both the papyri and the epigraphy in contemporary
Christian Publications and/or websites in support of
various academic and scholarly discussions of Pre-Nicene
christianity.

I reject all of these as unambiguously christian.
Am I being overly skeptical or inconsistent?
How am I wrong in dismissing this as anything
other than general ambiguity?

Pick your citation and let's take the time to argue
about the citation, or alternatively, as I have been
asking in this forum and others for a long time,
produce your own citation to be added to this
list for discussion .....


THE PAPYRI

We will now review this evidence [1] in a critical manner. With respect to the papyri one commentator [2] writes: "It is hard to be sure what phrases establish a Christian author or Christian presence in the papyri, but on a tight definition there is next to nothing before 300 which is not related to the problem of persecution."

P.Oxy. 43 is a list authored by Oxyrhynchite watchmen on the verso of an account dated 295 C.E., recording streets and public buildings, including a north church (col. 1, line 10) and a south church (col. 3, line 19), with streets named after each. We may have had two churches 295 CE: but were they Christian?

Another, an amulet (P.Oxy. 407, 3rd/4th c.), quotes a phrase from LXX Ps 145:6, followed by a prayer for mercy and salvation “through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Fourth century Christian amulets were often written text, folded and carried about for protection. On the use of the Lord’s Prayer in magic, with additional examples, see Leiv Amundsen, “Christian Papyri from the Oslo Collection.
Similar, more popular use of Ps 91 (90 LXX), have thirty papyri examples.

P.Oxy. 1786 - A hymn to the Trinity with musical notation was found on the verso of a corn account dated in the first half of the third century, placing the hymn later in that century. Portions of the last five lines survive, written on a narrow strip of papyrus about two by twelve inches, with corresponding vocal notes above each line. What remains of the text calls upon “the light-giving stars to be silent and the rushing rivers to sing praises with all power to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen, Amen, and for dominion and praise to the giver of all good things, Amen, Amen”. However, reference to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not unambiguously Christian, for example, in the works of Philo.

P.Oxy 2070 from the late third century shows frequent alterations which have been made in the text, apparently by the original hand. That it is a Christian document is presumed from the name “Jesus” (line 10), written in the usual abbreviated fashion (I—h—). Portions of eighty-eight lines survive of this seriously deteriorated papyrus roll, though only some fifty lines contain one or more complete words, permitting almost nothing beyond its general character to be discerned. Even that is possible only because citations from two Psalms and Isaiah can be restored. However the presence of a reference to the abbreviated form of the name Jesus does not necessarily make the author of the papyri "Christian".

P.Oxy. 2276 dated from the end of the 3rd century is presumed Christian because it contains the phrase “in the lord god”, at lines 29–30. However the phrase “in the lord god” is not unambiguously Christian.

P.Oxy. 3035 is an order from February 256 to arrest a certain “Petosorapis, son of Horus, Chresian”. The citation “chrestian” (meaning ‘good’) is not the same as "Christian". The original Greek of the former uses an "eta" after the rho, whereas the latter uses an "iota" after the rho. P.Oxy. 3035 also looks to have omitted the 'tau' in “Christian” and as such this citation does not pertain to anything "Christian”. This confusion also extends into the Latin as “chrestos” and “christos”.

PSI XIV.1412 - An athlete, presumably a professional, sent money to his mother “via Sotas the Christian” (PSI XIV.1412, line 10, 2nd/3rd c.) See above.

P.Oxy 4365 is described as an early fourth century private letter at Oxyrynchus and was written in twenty-one words, in six lines, on the back of a piece of papyrus cut from a roll that contained a petition written in the late-third century. It reads simply as follows: "To my dearest lady sister, greetings in the Lord. Lend the Ezra, since I lent you the little Genisis. Farewell in God from us." For some commentators, P.Oxy 4365 must be taken as Christian because the expression "in the Lord" and "in God" exhibit nomina sacra thus conforming to a pattern established elsewhere. The phrases: "in the Lord" and "in God" clearly, need not have been articulated by a Christian mind.

P.Oxy 1493 dated from the 3rd or 4th century is also considered (by some) to be Christian based on the nomina sacra formula. But nomina sacra need not have been articulated by a Christian mind.


The negative point emergent in the papyri for is supported by Bagnall, B.A.S.P (1985), 105 who writes there are “very few examples before c.300 of the personal names which Christians in Egypt later preferred to adopt. From c.340 onwards, references to Christians, churches and Christian authorities multiply as do the numbers of favoured Christian names”


THE EPIGRAPHIC HABIT

Giovanni Battista de Rossi (1822-1894) was considered the greatest of the 19th century Roman archaeologists. As a loyal member of the Catholic Church, he was asked by Pope Pius IX to publish his works under the Vatican imprint. In 1857 the Vatican press printed his Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae. The work contained 1126 inscriptions dating from the year AD 71 to 589. His most famous discovery was made in 1849. In a shed belonging to a vineyard, he found a stone with the partial inscription “~~~NELIUS MARTYR”. This was conjectured to belong to one purported Martyr Pope Cornelius (251-253) who supposedly died in exile. A later edition of de Rossi’s Inscriptiones contained a total of 1374 inscriptions. The first four were scrapped as forgeries. At that time, the oldest known Christian inscription in Rome was cited a memorial to Emperor Caracalla's chamberlain Prosenes, who died in 217.

The grave of Marcus Aurelius Prosenes was established by several of his own freed persons (liberti) and reveals an imperial service including several influential positions under Commodus. Nothing in the original Prosenes inscription suggests Christian identity. However, one freedman named Ampelius later inscribed on the stone the fact that Prosenes was "welcomed before God" (receptus ad deum) on March 3, 217. The phrase: "welcomed before God", and clearly the mind attached to that later hand, need not have been Christian.

An inscription from about 240-50 CE presumed to provide information about two Christians as members of the imperial household (CIL VI 8987 ' ICUR X 27126 ' Clarke 1971), has been interpreted as Christian because of the phrase "I beg of you, kind brothers, by the one God". (fratres boni, per unum deum). See Clarke (1971: 121-22) and other experts in Christian epigraphy (cf. Mazzoleni 1999:153-54). However, the phrase: "I beg of you, kind brothers, by the one God", clearly, need not have been articulated by a Christian mind.

An inscription from Ostia often described as "probably Christian” is the grave of Basilides, who was an imperial slave serving as assistant to Sabinus, the imperial paymaster for the port, probably around 250 CE. (CIL XIV 1876) The inscription is categorised as Christian based on the phrase "he sleeps". The phrase: "he sleeps" clearly, need not have been articulated by a Christian mind.

A third century grave-inscription to an Aurelius Aristeas at Akmoneia is often cited. The inscription is categorized as Christian based on the warning against violation
which says that if anyone violates the grave, "they will have to reckon with the righteousness of God." This is a variation on the so-called "Eumeneian formula". The phrase: "they will have to reckon with the righteousness of God." clearly, need not have been articulated by a Christian mind, and neither is there anything unambiguously Christian in the Eumeneian formula.

Sometimes, the Erastus Inscription, from the mid first century is cited (Clarke 1993: 46-57). The inscription actually says something like "...Erastus in return for his aedileship laid (the pavement) at his own expense". The basis by which it is cited as Christian is because Paul mentions that an Erastus is a civic functionary of some type, an "oikonomos of the city" (Rom 16.23). This argument is a subterfuge for wishful thinking.

The Marcus Demetrianos inscription is often cited from Claudiopolis in Bithynia and the late 2nd-mid 3rd century. Marcus was an important civic magistrate and benefactor of the city and is presented as certainly Christian based on the phrase
"To the most holy ones who also had faith in God”. However, quite clearly the phrase: "To the most holy ones who also had faith in God" need not have been articulated by a Christian mind.

The queen of “Christian epigraphy”, the inscription of Abercius dated 216 CE is not unambiguously Christian. The allegorical text of the inscription speaks of "The Shepherd" and not "The Christian". In 1894 G. Ficker, supported by O. Hirschfeld, strove to prove that Abercius was a priest of Cybele. In 1895 A. Harnack offered an explanation based upon religious syncretism. In 1896, Dieterich made Abercius a priest of Attis. It is considered moreover that "The Shepherd" associates with the "The Shepherd" and the "Teacher" referred to in the Nag Hammadi manuscripts. The figure of Thrice-great Hermes mentioned on a number of Nag Hammadi texts has often been associated with Apollonius of Tyana. For example “Hermes Trismegistus & Apollonius of Tyana in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh” by Keven Brown (1997). Additionally, the abbreviated form of Apollonius is Pol and the Greek name Apollonius is written in the Codex Bezae.

Similarly the inscription of Pectorius cannot be considered as evidence of Pre-Nicene Christianity. The date of the Inscription of Pectorius is less certain than that of Abercius. Cardinal Pitra and De Rossi date it to the beginning of the second century; others, not later than the fourth. The text of the inscription mentions the importance of eating fish (perhaps as distinct from meat), but not the importance of Christianity.

Many commentators defer to Elsa Gibson’s "The Christians for Christians Epitaphs of Phrygia". The author presents and discusses a list of 45 inscriptions. The first fifteen reveal common workmanship and the author admitted "more than half of the
‘Christians for Christians’ inscriptions look like they came from the same workshop". Many of these first 15 are described by the author as having the inscription “Christians for Christians”, but none of them are dated. They all refer to the sixteenth inscription for their dating. The sixteenth inscription, at the Kutahya museum, is presented with the dating given as 304, but nothing about the inscription is Christian. Of the remaining 29 inscriptions, a further 17 are not dated, while a group of 8 inscriptions are dated by the author to the fourth century. This leaves four stones (22, 32, 36, 42) standing.

Stone 22 did not have a photograph, but is described as an altar fragment located in Altintas Town, in a mosque. It is described as the sole dated “Christians for Christians” inscription. The date is described as very faint and fragmentary. In fact, the date was so faint and fragmentary; it was not even noticed by its first cataloguer, Perrot. This leaves a trinity of Phrygian headstones to contend with as follows.

Stone 32 is described as a white marble funerary altar with projecting moulding. All visible parts complete; the bottom is set in cement. Dated to 296/7, it is located at Kizilcasogut; in a courtyard, supporting a wooden column. A poor quality photo was provided.

Stone 36 is described as a white marble door stone; bottom third broken away; large crack through center of stone from top of hole to top of stone. First seen at Usak, now in Izmir archaeological museum, it is dated to 278/9. Another poor quality photo was provided.

The stone 42 is described as "nine fragments of a white marble grave altar; some of these fragments join, so that five pieces can be said to be extant”. Its location is described by the author as follows: “At Uckuyu, "Three Wells", in a place called Bahceler Mevkii, "Region of Gardens", about 500 meters south of the village, on the road to Bekilli; in a wall of a garden belonging to Hasan Gurden, opposite the well called Galaklar Kuyusu”. Said to have been found at this spot before the second World War and to have been broken into pieces by the owner of the garden. It is dated to 242/3. There are eight plates of photographs of the fragments of this altar.

In addition to this information the author informs us of the following. Firstly, the "Christians for Christians" formula is subject to change throughout the distribution of citations presented. There are two main variants, of the original Greek, identified in the spelling of the word "christian" (XPIC- and XPHC-). The variant may to be related to “the good” (“chrestus” in the Latin). Thus there is no single and unambiguous Greek wording, but multiple. It is also admitted that in some of the inscriptions (#2), the "Christians for Christians" is identified as ungrammatical.

Secondly, in the sample collection there are inscriptions which even superficially cannot be associated with “Christians”, and do not have the “Christians for Christians formula” (#15,16,25,26,31,39), and yet there is an appearance of one workshop. The author described as non-christian (#25). One (#27) mentions “the lover of the good”.

Thirdly, a far more serious issue is emergent from a number of these inscriptions, many possibly from the same workshop, because it is freely admitted that certain (#2 and #30) of the "Christians for Christians" phrases look to be ungrammatical, but that they have been added by a later hand. Is the case of Oded Golan relevant? For many centuries, especially since the Crusades, there have been Christian pilgrimages back to "The Holy Lands" in search of archaeological relics. Historically the first Christian pilgrim was Constantine's mother-in-law Eutropia, and the second was Helena, his mother, who found the one true cross, and the nails of the purported crucifixion event.

To conclude this review of Phrygian inscriptions it is worthwhile to recall that Eusebius reported that "In 324/5 the Phrygian settlement of Orcistus petitioned Constantine, referring to its totally christian population.” Gregory of Nazianzus reported how his father, a great landowner, was converted to Christianity by an opportune dream in the year 325: he had a christian wife already and ended his days
as the powerful bishop of the family's home town.

That a rich landholder was prompted in a dream to become Christian c.325 indicates that Constantine was making an impact on the publicity stakes. His military supremacy was well regarded. Town councils and rich "pagans" were trying to get in on the ground floor. There were stampeding supporters in that year, especially in Phrygia.


REVISION and ASSESSMENT

At this stage in the review of evidence we need to step back from everything that we are accustomed to. The evidence seems to be saying that Christianity did not unambiguously exist before the fourth century, and that the ambiguous puzzles and conundrums faced by scholars, academics and lay-people in search of the historical records of Pre-Nicene Christianity, are in fact the ambiguous puzzles and conundrums of a Constantinian inspired ecclesiastical pseudo-history.

To articulate the argument in another manner: we have two options. The first is that Constantine was converted to an extremely small and insignificant but extant religious cult, and sponsored existent members of that cult, to write a history of its beginnings during the period 312 to 324. This first option appears to be supported by palaeographic, or handwriting analyses, but by no other forms of evidence independent of its own literary tradition.

The second option is that Constantine invented his own religious cult, and patronised it heavily. Perhaps he thought the ancient religions were too soft and tolerant. He knew that the Persian army had marched to one monotheistic song for the last century since Ardashir created Zoroastrianism out of a few old hymns, and burnt the rest of the ancient Parthian writings. The implication to this option is that we are not likely to find any evidence at all whatsoever for the existence of Pre-Nicene Christianity for the simple reason that it did not exist before Nicaea.

The thesis explores this option.




Pete Brown

NOTE: Some sources include:
[*] The Journal of Biblical Literature 123/1 (2004), p.5-55, The Oxyrhynchus New Testament Papyri “Not without honour except in their Hometown?” E.J. Epp; also Philip A. Harland’s “Connections with Elites in the World of the Early Christians,” York University, Toronto.
[*] Robin Lane Fox: Pagans and Christians, in the Mediterranean World from the second century AD to the conversion of Constantine", 1998