From a chapter on “Gnosticism” by Henry Chadwick. Chadwick was an eminent historian of the early church. The pagan world was quite accustomed to myths of great heroes, such as Heracles and Asclepius, who were elevated to divine rank as a reward for their merits. The Christians amazed the world …| Asterisk
Here are some parts of a charming letter (X:96) by Pliny the Younger. At the time of writing, around 112 CE, Pliny was the governor of a Roman province in a region of modern-day Turkey. He is asking for advice from the Roman Emperor Trajan about how strict he …| Asterisk
I came across this passage in Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews from a reference in Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 BCE-66 CE by E. P. Sanders. https://archive.org has the full text of the Antiquities. Sanders cites the passage below as Antiquities 20:199-203;1 it is chapter 9 …| Asterisk