Posted on 09/02/2014 10:11:49 AM PDT by CorporateStepsister
It has laid largely unstudied in a university library for more than 100 years.
But now a 1,500-year-old papyrus has been identified as one of the world’s earliest surviving Christian charms.
The ‘remarkable’ document contains some of the earliest documented references to The Last Supper and sheds new light on early Christian practices, experts say.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
A magic charm reveals ancient Christian practices? Either the description, “magic charm” is shockingly inaccurate, or the practices ain’t Christian. Idiots.
Magic has not always been regarded as it is today.
Just because the originals burned up doesn’t mean what was written in 400 AD was made up or embellished. If nothing was written down for 400 years, and then someone attempted to write the history of what happened, that would be different. But that is not what occurred. There were written records out the wazoo. Paper tends to burn, but luckily, copies exist elsewhere.
” ..... written on a recycled piece of papyrus ... “
At least they recycled.
Both idiocies: The “Christian” charm was found way up the Nile in Egypt, home of Gnosticism. And yet the author also writes, “Dr Mazza said that some Christians still use passages from the Bible as protective charms, so the amulet marks the beginning of a trend in Christianity.”
What they actually found was not a charm at all, but a bible passage that the author asserts would have been folded up and placed inside a locket. Sounds like this “charm” was closer to a Christian “phylactery,” similar to the Hebrew “Tephillim.”
The idea of a Christian phylactery was to keep the Word of God close to one’s mind, heart and hand at all times, to protect oneself from sin. The protection isn’t magical, but mental and spiritual: it’s a reminder of the presence of God as one faces temptation.
The actual significance is that it demonstrates the very literal interpretation of the “body of Christ” in an area very remote from Roman influence.
‘Fear you all who rule over the earth.
‘Know you nations and peoples that Christ is our God.
‘For he spoke and they came to being, he commanded and they were created; he put everything under our feet and delivered us from the wish of our enemies.
‘Our God prepared a sacred table in the desert for the people and gave manna of the new covenant to eat, the Lord’s immortal body and the blood of Christ poured for us in remission of sins.’
Does anything in that even remotely suggest “magic?”
Here is an excellent article that discusses your questions:
http://www.str.org/articles/is-the-new-testament-text-reliable#.VAX-VvldV7s
People didn’t wait 500 to 600 years to start writing - the originals were lost along the way and what remains are copies or texts that reference original sources.
Well, instead of prayer the disciples cast lots to decide who was next in line after Judas biffed it, so there’s that.
“And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Acts 1:26.
“Cleromancy is a form of divination using sortition, casting of lots, or casting bones or stones, in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice, but are sometimes believed to reveal the will of God, or other supernatural entities.”
Early Christians had no bibles. But they had prayer, and a personal relationwhip with their Creator. The bible helps, but it is not a requirement.
I can think of four additional references that are even older.
And interesting article.
And I will comment that the “Charm’s” use could possibly be an ancient version of what is now done with wearing a St. Christopher’s medal.
Or similar to the Jewish practice of wearing a piece of scripture as part of one’s clothing; unfortunately I do not know the proper name for this item/practice.
Of course it does. As any renowned scholar can tell you, Christianity is just a continuation of previous mythologies. The fact that magic is forbidden in Christian doctrine is just an inconvenient truth.
There is no difference in wearing a portion of Scripture and sacrificing to Baal.
The oldest manuscripts of the New Testament are from the fourth and fifth century, older than this “discovery.” For the accounts of the Last Supper in Matthew and Luke, apparently at least parts are preserved on papyri that date to the third century.
Don’t worry, Rebel Ace.
There’s no lack of ancient texts.
Given his background, we would expect St. John to be the literary expert of the disciples. And sure enough, he writes the most poetic, most literary of the gospels.
As a tax collector, St. Matthew would also have to be literate. And sure enough, we have the Gospel of Matthew.
As a fisherman, St. Peter would be less literate. But as first among the disciples (which refers to priority, not timeline), he authorized his secretary, St. Mark, to put to paper his gospel. And he also wrote a couple of letters himself.
St. James was the third of the trio of innermost disciples. We have his letter, too.
St. Paul was chosen to be representative among the Greeks. From him, we have twelve or perhaps 13 letters. Some set aside the tradition that Hebrews was written by Paul because its language was so different, but this would make sense, since he was writing in his native tongue to his native countrymen.
And then there’s St. Luke, whose education as a doctor made him as close to a scientist as could be found in Ancient Palestine. He wrote with the expressed purpose of a factual documentary, adding to his own witness that of St. Matthew and the Blessed Virgin Mary
But that’s not all we have.
St. James was the leader of the Christians in Jerusalem. While he only wrote one brief letter which survives, he was the original author of the Liturgy of Saint James, which survives to this day. Although skeptics insist certain portions are later additions, there’s little doubt that much remains of his Liturgy.
St. Mark also wrote a Liturgy. Again, it’s debated how much of the modern Liturgy of St. Mark was written by the disciple, himself, but the use of the Liturgy of St. Cyril by the Copts who lie outside of “Constantinian Christianity,” and which is a verbtum translation of the Liturgy of St. Mark into Coptic, must be read in the light that the Copts were militant against liturgical innovation — some even celebrate the Eucharist on Saturday! — and held the Liturgy of St. Mark to be authentic at least in the fifth century.
St. Ignatius of Antioch was the first chosen successor of the disciples after they began to die, and the remaining apostles left the first center of early Christianity after Jerusalem. Even while John was still alive within his see, Ignatius wrote commentaries on John’s work.
St. Clement of Rome was the first chosen successor of Peter to be able to speak openly in Rome. And we have his letters, a few of which are likely to be fakes (Google Pseudo-Clementine Literature), but many of which are well established to be authentic; the distinction is as sharp as that between the authentic letters of St. Peter and the apocryphal gospel of St. Peter.
The Didache (The Teaching of the Twelve) is a “liturgical guidebook” even more primitive than the Liturgy of St. James. The title may not mean to assert it was hand-written by any one of the Twelve, but it is likely to have been written during the first century and to have been regarded in that time as being “orthodox” to the first followers of the apostles.
Other writers who knew the apostles personally include Papias, Polycarp, St. Barnabas, Hermas, and the author of the Epistle to Diognetus.
We have hundreds of other antenicene works. The special status given to these few demonstrates that they were rare in their orthodoxy, and that the orthodox were very hesitant to usurp their forefathers in authority.
The absence of a written version of these liturgies stems from the admonition against revealing the faith to the uninitiated.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, etc etc
Do you think they called each other “Saint” all the time?
idolatry?
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