Scholars disagree significantly over the fate of Peter. Arguably the most influential work defending the traditional view of Peter’s martyrdom during the reign of Nero is Oscar Cullman’s Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr. Cullman concludes that the martyrdom of Peter in Rome “is relatively though not absolutely assured” (ibid 144). In contrast, F. Lapham believes the…

The traditional history of Christian martyrdom is mistaken. Christians were not constantly persecuted, hounded, or targeted by the Romans. Very few Christians died, and when they did, they were often executed for what we in the modern world would call political reasons. There is a difference between persecution and prosecution. A persecutor targets representatives of…

Homer: Martyrdom found in Second Temple: Daniel: And Maccabees: And so therefore, Christian martyrdom is not unique, it is based off of Jewish/Pagan traditions:

Inconsistencies in the Passion Narrative gLuke seems to make Jesus’ martyrdom like Socrates: Luke’s Jesus appears resolutely selfcontrolled. While his followers mourn, he is calm. He continues to instruct them just as he did throughout his ministry. We can see how Luke dodges some uncomfortable questions about Jesus’s behavior, but we still have to ask…

Luther criticized the Catholic Church, but one of the reasons was the amount of forged relics and saints. Take Marina, a pious woman who abandons her family, dresses like a boy, and secludes herself in a monastery, only to be accused of misconduct and outed as a woman after her death. It’s a great story,…

The authorship of this document is largely debated: There is a legal problem. Perpetua leaves her small child in the care of her family. Roman child custody laws favored the father, though, and if she was really respectably married, then her child would automatically have been turned over to her husband’s family. There are two…

A use of literary device for inventing propagandistic Christian literature was used. Furthermore, the martyrdom seems to copy off of Socrates’ martyrdom.

When Bisbee compared the Acts of Justin and Companions with this formula, he noticed that the Acts of Justin does not follow this pattern precisely. It preserves the most important structural elements of a trial, for instance, the verdict and sentence, but it meanders from the expected legal script. There are specific elements missing. This…