I’m getting that sand-through-the-fingers feeling again. Just when I thought I had pegged the origins of “Christianity” via Constantine, I got all caught up on the question of pre-existing material. How can we know what it was he actually defined himself, and what was pre-existing? Of the pre-existing materials, why were some things chosen and [...]
Interlude
August 22nd, 2008 · No Comments · christianity, history
Tags: bible·constantine·early church·eusebius·roman empire
The Eusebian Connection
August 9th, 2008 · No Comments · christianity, history
I haven’t seen very much, if any, information regarding the relationship between Constantine and either Eusebius (of Caesarea or of Nicomedia). The most detailed information found so far was within one of the Constantine biographies I read last Winter. Intimations there was that the Eusebians were the Katzajammer Kids with Constantine when they were all [...]
Tags: constantine·eusebius
Mile Marker
August 3rd, 2008 · No Comments · christianity, history
I’m starting to become overwhelmed (again) with revising my understanding of 1st-4th Centuries CE. On one hand, I can still clearly point to the council of Nicea in 325AD and say that this was the place at which Constantine (re-)created Christianity. On the other, I’m completely befuddled regarding which characters were real and which were [...]
Tags: constantine·early church·eusebius·persecution·roman empire·theology
Second and Third Derivations
July 31st, 2008 · 1 Comment · christianity, history
Since discovery of PRF Brown’s site[1], I have burned a good many hours both reading and thinking. It’s clear that the “Eusebian Fiction Postulate”[2] has forced me to re-examine what I thought I understood about early church history. I have been relatively pleased, so far, to find that it seems to make more sense, given [...]
Tags: bible·constantine·early church·eusebius·faith·greeks·judaism·paideia·paul·persecution·politics·roman empire
Interesting research site
July 29th, 2008 · No Comments · christianity, history, media
I just got pointed to P.R.F. Brown’s amazing site. He has posted quite a bit of research to his site — including a few projects I had started myself and am right glad I don’t have to finish them, now, like the list of all known writers in the ancient Western world, categorized and dated. [...]