DCHindley

Heck Clive,

It's right in the bible ... John 1:14, 16-18. Jesus is God!

14 KAI O LOGOS SARX EGENETO KAI ESKHNWSEN EN HMIN KAI EQEASAMEQA THN DOXAN AUTOU DOXAN WS MONOGENOUS PARA PATROS PLHRHS CARITOS KAI ALHQEIAS

and the word flesh became and tented in us, and we-viewed the glory of-him, glory as of-only-begotten-(one) beside of-father, full of-undeserved-kindness and truth

16 OTI EK TOU PLHRWMATOS AUTOU HMEIS PANTES ELABOMEN KAI CARIN ANTI CARITOS

because out-of the fullness of-him [Jesus] we all received, and undeserved-kindness instead-of underserved-kindness

17 OTI O NOMOS DIA MWUSEWS EDOQH H CARIS KAI H ALHQEIA DIA IHSOU CRISTOU EGENETO

because the law through Moses was-given, the underserved-kindness and the truth through Jesus Christ came-to-be

18 QEON OUDEIS EWRAKEN PWPOTE MONOGENHS QEOS O WN EIS TON KOLPON TOU PATROS EKEINOS EXHGHSATO

God no-one has-seen at-any-time, [yet an] only-begotten god, the one in the bosom of-the father, that-one he-explained (God).

Vs 18 is usually translated "only begotten son," even though this reading has weaker support (ca 200/4th century vs 5th century), but "only begotten God" is found in p46 (ca 200), א (ca. 4th cent, as written by original hand), B (4th cent.), C (5th cent, original hand), L (8th cent)), and with a definite article before "God" also p75 (early 3rd cent.) & א (as corrected by the scribe).

The reading most all translations use (only begotten son) is found in A (5th cent), C (5th cent, hand of corrector #3), K (9th cent), W (4th or 5th cent., written into a lacunae by another hand), Χ (10th cent), Δ (9th cent), Θ (9th cent), Π (9th cent) and Ψ (8th or 9th century).

Who knew?

DCH

mountainman

The Megiddo find has also been conjecturally dated to the 4th century.
The jury is still out the last I heard.

DCHindley

The problem with inscriptions that are meant to honor patron/donors to a private association is that the patron/donor does not necessarily have to be a member of the association to which he made the donation. As a result, the memorial tends to reflect the beliefs of the donor and not that of the association.

For example, inscriptions that once adorned the remnants of ancient Jewish synagogues, dated to 3rd or 4th century FWIW, often dedicate the gift to the "God most-high" (QEOS HUYISTOS, theos hypsistos). This is contested, but the associations that the dedications were made to often shared technical terms with those used by Jewish synagogues and meeting places.

A great place to find Jewish inscriptions is the revised English translation of the 3rd revised German edition of Emil Schürer's Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (vol I (or via: amazon.co.uk) 1973, vol II (or via: amazon.co.uk) 1979, vol III.1 (or via: amazon.co.uk) 1986, and vol III.2 (or via: amazon.co.uk) 1987). Unfortunately, these volumes are not currently in print, and copies are hard to find and fairly expensive, even used. Still, there is one bookstore in Utah with all four volumes available in one set for $280, which is not too bad especially considering vol III.1 is not available used at all. Do not confuse this with the first English translation of the 2nd German edition, A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ (5 volumes 1885-90, 3 volumes 1891), which won't be nearly as up-to-date with inscriptions, but is available in a 5 volume reprint set (or via: amazon.co.uk) from Hendrickson Publishers for around $135.

Another excellent source of inscriptional detail about who was dedicating buildings or ornamentation for Jewish synagogues and how the dedicatory inscriptions were worded is found in John Kloppenborg's Voluntary Associations in the Graeco-Roman World (or via: amazon.co.uk) (1996)

Basically, non-Jews often equated the God of the Jews with Greek or Roman Gods (usually Zeus or Jupiter), which was reflected in the wording of inscriptions. The Jews of the synagogue made no attempt to "correct" their misconceptions. If so with Jewish synagogues, why not also Christian places of assembly?

DCH

mountainman

Correction may have been out of thr question because they were aware that they were part of the Greek and then the Graeco-Roman empire.

Many people tell the story that "Early Christianity" thought of itself as a state within a state. We still need some archaeology. What you say may be true but I dont think it is falsifiable. You could claim any one of thousands of Graeco-Roman temple and shrine sites as a "Christian Church" based on the inscriptions incorrecly attributed to non christian divinities.

Clivedurdle

Who says it was perceived as a problem? Isn't that our prejudices? We are so used to measuring everything precisely we assume everyone has always done that. Cookbooks for example never had measurements, only "some".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...t-life-of-home

Clivedurdle

http://www.squidoo.com/local-time-and-railway-time

I wonder if fundamentalism is a reaction to the huge shock these types of changes cause - the imposition of structure, rules, hierarchy on lives.

Religious beliefs reflect our personal reactions to formalisations like this.

DCHindley

Ever read Alvin Toffler's Future Shock (or via: amazon.co.uk)? It is precisely about how people react to "information overload."

Considering this was 1st published in 1970, imagine how much more information people have to deal with now than they did then! No cable, no internet, no cell phones or PDAs. Come to think of it, no PCs either. When change and information comes at us too fast to absorbe, some folks just retreat into a defensive position. Fundamentalism and extreme conservatism, whether Christian, Islamic or secular, are examples.

DCH