mountainman

Dear Clivedurdle and others,

The NHC 6.1 tractate entitled "The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles" boldy implies we have thirteen apostles. The text of that tractate explicitly then states "eleven apostles prostrated themselves before Lithargoel". So we have a clever author who appears to be disputing the commonly held assertion that there were twelve apostles in early christianity. The auhor appears to be stating that there were actually not twelve apostles. Was this a gnostic joke? Could the apostles count to 12?

Best wishes,


Pete

Clivedurdle

But that makes xianity pagan!

David Henson

[raises hand violently] Oh! Oh! I got one! Me! Me!

A dozen eggs, a bakers dozen ... oh, that is 13 ... Ooooo, Friday 13th etc. etc.

Nero's Boot

You are aware that civilizations and cultures are dynamic institutions, right? That ideas can spread from one culture to other societies very different from the first?

....never mind the fact that 13 is the number of Jesus and his twelve apostles. Ooops! There went another 12! 13 is seen by many civilizations as being an unlucky number.

--thank you, Judas Iscariot, for asinine elevator numbering schemes NB

David Henson

Wow! Someone woke up on the wrong side of the Petri dish, this morning.

That ideas can spread from one culture to other societies very different from the first would never have occurred to me. Wait. I take that back, there is the flood legend.

Nero's Boot

I don't sleep in a pietri dish. Nor do I dwell in a land of demon-kings, angry tribal gods, conspiracies to crush anyone, and lots of evil, evil magic.

OK, good. You've applied it in a linear fashion out from Israel. (We'll ignore the fact that the story of Noah was blatantly stolen from the Enuma Elish.) Now apply that same amazing logic to Israel.

--but I don't think you believe that Israel was heavily influenced by other kingdoms NB

lycanthrope

is the number 12 symbolic of something?

Toto

It would be more accurate to say that Christianity is Hellenistic.

But, @ arnoldo, this passage and the rest of that link do nothing to answer the question "why does everyone assume Jewish links when the New Testament is written in Greek?"

In fact it appears to be written by a Greek nationalist to explain why is it actually much better that the New Testament was written in Greek.

Toto

I pick the Zodiac, which is probably also the basis for the (probably also mythical) 12 tribes of Israel.

The number 12 is so highly symbolic that it is hard to believe that there were actually 12 apostles, especially since the gospels do not agree on their names.

Steven Carr

Where does the New Testament say that, or even imply it?

Revelation says the 12 will judge the 12 tribes of Israel, but a judge does not have to mirror what he judges.