For questions related to history generally. Use the [church-history] tag for the history of the post-NT church.
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1answer
73 views
Credibility problems with the Bible
I believe there is an answer to a similar question out there, but I couldn't find a good one so hopefully, someone here will be able to help me.
I wanted to know what is the rational basis of ...
-2
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0answers
43 views
How are there two Enochs and Lamechs in Genesis?
Who is the Enoch of chapter 4 as this one came from Cain?
Gen 4:17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of ...
2
votes
1answer
120 views
What's the first ancient document composed by a non-Christian denying the resurrection?
What is the first ancient document composed by a non-Christian denying the resurrection of Jesus that we have access to?
I am specifically looking for a document actually penned by a non-Christian, ...
1
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0answers
58 views
Ties between the Jesuits and the Byzantine?
I am reading into Society of Jesus, seeking to uncover its parallels and differences with Orthodox Christianity. It is attested the Jesuit order was formed in France on August 15th 1534, by Ignatius ...
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1answer
232 views
Why is Christianity fixated on ancient Israeli culture? Is such a 'spacetime-lock' evidence of falsehood?
When I studied Mohammed's religion, I thought the insistence and enforcement of 7th century Arabian culture (e.g. diet, clothing, marriage, law) on the entire planet unreasonable, and evidence it was ...
3
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0answers
46 views
Which prophecies does Justin Martyr claim predict Jesus' Advent? Please identify them
In his First Apology Justin Martyr writes:
We find it also predicted that certain persons should be sent by Him into every nation to publish these things, and that rather among the Gentiles [than ...
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2answers
158 views
Does the Minimal Facts Argument have the potential to the biggest Christian revelation over the last thousand years? [closed]
I recently came across the "Minimal Facts Argument" by Dr Gary Habermas. In short, the argument is that there are a half dozen reliable historical facts (even for those who'd judge the NT as ...
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0answers
100 views
What were the results of the 1981 exhumation of St. Anthony of Padua?
The Wikipedia article for Saint Anthony of Padua says the following:
On 1 January 1981, Pope Saint John Paul II authorized a scientific team to study the saint's remains and the tomb was opened on ...
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2answers
252 views
2
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2answers
404 views
How did Pope Urban II justify the first Crusade?
According to the ten commandments, you shall not kill anyone. How did Pope Urban II justify from a theological standpoint the First Crusade? Since it was successful, Pope Urban II must have had to ...
-3
votes
1answer
115 views
Was Judas based on the story of Buddha and Devadatta? [closed]
To oversimplify greatly, Devadatta was a cousin of the Buddha when he was teaching his core disciples. Devadatta and the Buddha had many disagreements on things such as Asceticism. This cause and ...
8
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2answers
192 views
When did the term “New Testament” first come into usage?
While reading William Bridge's, "The Wounded Conscience Cured," (1642) I came across Bridge's usage of the term "New Testament" :
"And in the New Testament, Romans 13.1..."
-William Bridge, "...
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2answers
157 views
How were missionaries able to convert native populations? [closed]
What made it possible for Christian missionnaires to convert natives of America, Africa and Asia to another religion despite the fact that they already had beliefs and gods ?
8
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2answers
392 views
Origin of the (mis)translation “Ten Commandments”
The Old Testament speaks of the עשרת הדברים in Deuteronomy 4:13, a phrase which is translated almost without exception to be the "Ten Commandments" (see here). However, the word הדברים is never else ...
8
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1answer
77 views
Why were Catholic fasting obligations steadily relaxed?
It seems that since the Middle Ages, the fasts prescribed by the Catholic Church were gradually but steadily reduced. Much can be read about the history of these relaxations, but little is said about ...
4
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0answers
83 views
How many people were killed by Protestant Inquisition style tribunals? Asking for references
It's relatively easy to find estimates for the number of people killed during the Catholic Inquisition; one just needs to check the Wikipedia page, to see several estimates of the number of people ...
2
votes
1answer
95 views
What was the literal meaning of the term 'stone rejected by builders'? [closed]
Matthew 21:42 (NASB) says:
Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone
which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This
came about from the Lord, ...
4
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0answers
39 views
What was the socioeconomic makeup of early Christian Gnostic sects?
There is ample evidence that early Christianity was socioeconomically very inclusive, being made up of the poor, the wealthy, men, women, the educated, uneducated, etc.
For example, Pliny the ...
3
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0answers
52 views
What's the Greek manuscripts of John with the oldest discovery date?
I'm trying to figure out what are the oldest complete manuscripts of the Gospel of John in Greek.
New Testament (Wikipedia)
For example, papyrus 66
They say 66 is the oldest and nearly complete; ...
7
votes
3answers
451 views
Why did early Christians believe in the Real Presence?
I'd imagine that if Christ directly taught the doctrine of the Real Presence, then one of the Gospels would have recorded it. So given that fact that it isn't directly taught, let us assume for the ...
3
votes
2answers
273 views
Why did Paul VI strip József Mindszenty of his archbishopric?
József Mindszenty was appointed Primate of Hungary and Archbishop of Esztergom in 1945. There existed a mutual animosity between him and the Hungarian government, which culminated in his imprisonment ...
3
votes
3answers
2k views
Why is the word “dragon” in the Bible?
I'm not asking about what is the dragon, it's the devil okay, but my question is why is it called "dragon", why dragons exists in the Bible, when they are nothing more than mythical creatures.
...
13
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3answers
439 views
How did Christians cultivate their knowledge of the Bible before mass-printing of the Bible?
The Bible is by far the most sold book ever. As this site says:
Bible Society’s attempt to calculate the number printed between 1816 and 1975 produced the figure of 2,458,000,000 – almost 2 and a ...
4
votes
1answer
164 views
Is Any New Testament Book Undisputed In Its Authorship?
It seems as though every time I turn around, I find that "the majority of scholars" doubt this person wrote this gospel or letter. It seems as though no book of the NT is immune to this doubting and ...
0
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1answer
164 views
How did attitues to the deutero-canonical books in the Western Churches change during the second millenium? [closed]
What was the pre-Reformation understanding and how did that change during and after the Reformation Era for Protestants and for Catholics? What is the current position?
2
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0answers
37 views
Annals of John Hyrcanus
1 Maccabees 16:23-24
The rest of John's acts, the battles he fought and the exploits he
performed, the city walls he built, and all his other achievements,
from the day he succeeded his father ...
2
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0answers
40 views
Tombs of Mattathias and Sons
From 1 Maccabees 13:25–30:
Simon sent and recovered the bones of his brother Jonathan, and
buried him in Modein, the town of his ancestors.
All Israel kept solemn mourning for him and long ...
6
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0answers
144 views
The right to read a Catholic church's sacramental register
In the era of handwritten parish registers, when a diocesan or missionary priest performed a sacramental rite, he wrote it up in a semi-structured form in a record book. Sometimes that priest was the ...
4
votes
2answers
262 views
Why did Nehemiah need to tell us that the Queen was sitting beside the King?
What is the significance of knowing that the queen was sitting next to the king during this conversation in Nehemiah? Was there some historical or cultural significance to the queen being present that ...
4
votes
0answers
129 views
How has Roman Catholic Confession changed throughout the centuries?
Currently, the common practice of confession in the U.S. is...
A person completes an examination of conscious, tells the priest how long it has been since their last confession, then they make their ...
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0answers
46 views
The Resurrection: early Jewish writings on it? [duplicate]
I'm currently studying the Resurrection, which I believe 100%. What ancient Jewish texts close to the first century speak about the Resurrection, or about the empty tomb that Christians claimed Christ ...
5
votes
1answer
802 views
What was the name of the Pharaoh during the time of Moses?
In the Bible it never mentions Pharaoh's name but every other king/queen is mentioned by name. Did I miss it? What's his name?
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2answers
229 views
Was Paul's Relationship with Jewish Leadership Close Enough to Act as Their Agent?
After reading this question on judaism.SE I wanted to pose a version of it here. (You know, it's facinating to see how Judaism views us....)
Paul's letter to the Hebrews could be described (and ...
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1answer
83 views
Are there documented reports about Jews around the time of Jesus? And what did they say about the first christians?
Are there any reliable documented reports of Jewish individuals, leaders or groups, around the time of Jesus?
Who were they?
And what did they say about Jesus and/or the first Christians?
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votes
2answers
317 views
What prompted the change in Christian attitude towards usury?
Lending with interest between Jews is a sin in the Old Testament, which should have gone away for non-Jewish Christians
According to Wikipedia, it was only proscribed by Christianity later; at ...
3
votes
2answers
414 views
Why is St Martin “in-the-Fields”?
I was reading about the Anglican church St Martin-in-the-Fields and was curious about the in-the-Fields part of the name. It is named after Martin of Tours who was a saint in France during the 4th ...
4
votes
1answer
265 views
What are the duties of a Pope? Can a pope be “good” or “bad” in this perspective?
Is there something like "bad" or "good" popes"?
What is the meaning when a pope is qualified "good" or "bad", with the historical perspective. For instance, some popes have bad reputation in the ...
2
votes
1answer
171 views
Is every single minute of the year a mass being celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church? If so, since when?
Update: as correctly stated by the answer below, the Good Friday mass is not celebrated in the Roman Catholic world. Naturally, this makes the answer to my question trivial. To move further, take out ...
0
votes
1answer
74 views
Biblical era gesture signifying peace between two parties? [closed]
I am working on a painting set in the Biblical era which shows a military group confronting another group.
I am trying to find a gesture which the leader of one army would make to indicate that they ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Acts 11:26 regarding the word Christian?
Referring to Acts 11:26: Did the people (unbelievers) of Antioch call the "Believers" Christian, or did the Believers start calling themselves Christian first in Antioch?
Here is what I mean: Acts 11:...
3
votes
1answer
91 views
What oil was used at the time of James?
James 5:14-17 discusses healing through the anointing of oil. Surely these days we have plenty of different types of oils but what oil was used at the time of this scripture being written?
1
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2answers
461 views
When will be the end of the Catholic Church on earth by definition?
Matthew 16:18
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my
church,* and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against
it.
Is there any teaching of the ...
7
votes
1answer
124 views
What liturgical languages were used in the worldwide church/broad christiandom around 500AD?
I understand that the western church used Latin, the eastern church used Greek, and the far eastern church was using Syriac.
Was it only those three languages? Or were other languages in use as well ...
4
votes
1answer
189 views
Does the Russian Orthodox Church venerate the saints of the Orthodox Church in America?
After the Russian Revolution, the Orthodox Church in America became nominally independent of the mother church. The OCA has since canonized saints who lived in Russian America such as German and Petr (...
5
votes
1answer
80 views
Was any of Flavius Josephus' work relevant to the Council of Nicea?
I noticed that Eusebius transcribes the entirety of Josephus' Testimonium Flavianum in 324 AD, and that the First Council of Nicea occurs in 325 AD. Does any of Josephus' work feature throughout the ...
6
votes
1answer
82 views
Did St. Thomas Aquinas write anything about historiography?
I was curious as to whether or not St. Thomas Aquinas every formally laid out any principles to be adhered to when writing/studying/interpreting history or ever elucidated a theory of the "nature" of ...
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0answers
167 views
Where was Joseph when Mary visited Jesus on the cross? [duplicate]
Not much was mentioned about Jesus's foster-father. Mary visited Jesus, but where was Joseph at when Jesus was being crucified?
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3answers
515 views
What was the amount of bread and wine used when Jesus did communion?
I could imagine that times then were hard and food somewhat scarce. A whole loaf of bread divided equally would be a small meal and a bottle of wine could serve well to wash down the bread. I could ...
6
votes
1answer
8k views
Authenticity of the Pontius Pilate's letter to Tiberius Caesar?
Just looking to find out if this alleged Letter of Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Caesar is authentic or a later forgery? I don't care how it physically describes Jesus, just want to know how it was found ...
7
votes
3answers
474 views
Did some Christian sects ever hold the opinion that ritual slaughter was obligatory, before the 10th century?
Like this question, I am curious about whether Christian doctrines used to hold the opinion that a ritual slaughter (with it rules and conditions) had to be done when slaughtering animals, ...
