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Recently Discovered: 1700-Year-Old Letter Unveiling How Christians Lived Centuries Ago
GODTV ^ | 07/22/2019 | Rhoda Gayle

Posted on 07/23/2019 9:37:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

A 1700-year-old letter that was recently discovered is said to reveal the way Christians actually lived centuries ago.

230 AD

The Papyrus P.Bas. 2.43 was written by a man named Arrianus to his brother Paulus, who was believed to be named after the apostle Paul. The letter has been dated to 230s AD and is thus older than all previously known Christian documentary evidence from Roman Egypt.

It describes day-to-day family matters and provides insight into the world of the first Christians in the Roman Empire.

“The earliest Christians in the Roman Empire are usually portrayed as eccentrics who withdrew from the world and were threatened by persecution. This is countered by the contents of the Basel papyrus letter,” said Sabine Huebner, professor of ancient history at the University of Basel in Switzerland.

The letter was concluded by the phrase: “I pray that you farewell ‘in the Lord.” This statement is their proof that the writer was actually a Christian.

“The use of this abbreviation – known as a nomen sacrum in this context – leaves no doubt about the Christian beliefs of the letter writer,” Sabine added. “It is an exclusively Christian formula that we are familiar with from New Testament manuscripts.”

The 1700-Year-Old Letter

The University of Basel has been holding onto the 1700-year-old letter for the past 100 years. It originated in the village of Theadelphia in central Egypt and belongs to the Heronius archive. The Heronius archive is the largest papyrus archive from the Roman Times.

Arrianus and Paulus were the sons of the local elite, landowners and public official. The letter discusses politics, food, and faith during those times.

The transcript of the letter:

“Greetings, my lord, my incomparable brother Paulus. I, Arrianus, salute you, praying that all is as well as possible in your life.

“[Since] Menibios was going to you, I thought it necessary to salute you as well as our lord father. Now, I remind you about the gymnasiarch, so that we are not troubled here. Heracleides would be unable to take care of it: he has been named to the city council. Find thus an opportunity that you buy the two [–] arouras.

“But send me the fish liver sauce too, whichever you think is good. Our lady mother is well and salutes you as well as your wives and sweetest children and our brothers and all our people. Salute our brothers [-]genes and Xydes. All our people salute you.

“I pray that you fare well in the Lord.”

What a miracle that we are still digging up more and more artifacts dating back to the time of Christ!

 


TOPICS: History; Religion & Culture; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: ancientletter; christians; earlychristianity; earlychristians; egypt; epigraphyandlanguage; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; heroniusarchive; history; oxyrhynchus; oxyrhynchuspapyri; paul; pleaseclosethistopic; roman; romanempire; sectarianturmoil; theadelphia
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To: treetopsandroofs

https://www.samuelsseafood.com/blog/the-art-of-preparing-monkfish-liver/


21 posted on 07/23/2019 9:57:36 AM PDT by Red Badger (Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain......................)
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To: ConservativeMind

Neither is it written in the official King James vernacular.


22 posted on 07/23/2019 9:58:02 AM PDT by Kommodor (Terrorist, Journalist or Democrat? I can't tell the difference.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Bkmrk.


23 posted on 07/23/2019 9:58:24 AM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear
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To: SeekAndFind

Bookmark


24 posted on 07/23/2019 10:01:44 AM PDT by Southside_Chicago_Republican (The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.)
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To: Red Badger

Much more info than I expected, thanks.


25 posted on 07/23/2019 10:06:51 AM PDT by treetopsandroofs
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To: SeekAndFind
The Papyrus P.Bas. 2.43 was written by a man named Arrianus to his brother Paulus, who was believed to be named after the apostle Paul. The letter has been dated to 230s AD and is thus older than all previously known Christian documentary evidence from Roman Egypt.

The math doesn't work.

Jesus was born about 1 AD and died about 33 AD. The church started pretty soon after that and it wasn't very long before Saul began persecuting it. So by the 30's AD, Saul was already an adult.

I seriously doubt he lived another 200 years.

26 posted on 07/23/2019 10:09:30 AM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith..)
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To: SeekAndFind

I wonder how Twitter will be viewed 1700 years from now.


27 posted on 07/23/2019 10:09:54 AM PDT by miliantnutcase
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To: Mrs. Don-o
Neither is Sola Scriptura.

Wrong again.

2 Timothy 3:14-17 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

28 posted on 07/23/2019 10:10:56 AM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith..)
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To: SeekAndFind
The letter has been dated to 230s AD and is thus older than all previously known Christian documentary evidence from Roman Egypt.

One piece of clarification/correction needed. The treasure trove of documents from the city dump at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt includes Christian documents, including portions of the New Testament, from the early to mid second century.
29 posted on 07/23/2019 10:13:27 AM PDT by Engraved-on-His-hands
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To: SeekAndFind

All: Before responding to posts with a serious rebuttal, make sure the post isn’t making a wisecrack.


30 posted on 07/23/2019 10:17:31 AM PDT by mbarker12474
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To: SeekAndFind

The letter is addressed to his brother Paulus and at one point it says: “Our lady mother is well and salutes you as well as your wives and sweetest children”

Wives??? Is he speaking of Paulus as having more than one wife???


31 posted on 07/23/2019 10:18:14 AM PDT by Wuli
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To: SeekAndFind

“It describes day-to-day family matters...”


“My lord wife still constantly nags me about leaving the seat on the commode down, taking out the garbage just after I sit down with a beer upon coming home from a hard day’s work, and constantly asks me about me feelings. If there is such a thing as Hell, surely this is a preview.”


32 posted on 07/23/2019 10:28:37 AM PDT by Ancesthntr ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free." A. E. van Vogt, The Weapons Shops of Isher)
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To: vladimir998

I do believe that the comment was meant are sarcasm.


33 posted on 07/23/2019 10:29:33 AM PDT by Ancesthntr ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free." A. E. van Vogt, The Weapons Shops of Isher)
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To: Wuli

divorced? Was that possible among Christians of that time?


34 posted on 07/23/2019 10:37:45 AM PDT by Forward the Light Brigade (Into the Jaws of H*ll Onward! Ride to the sound ovil.f the guns!)
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To: ConservativeMind

You make odd statements.


35 posted on 07/23/2019 10:39:53 AM PDT by exnavy (american by birth and choice, I love this country!)
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To: Mrs. Don-o

“Neither is Sola Scriptura.”

It would be odd if it did, since that was the common and unquestioned understanding of scriptures in the first few centuries. Why state the obvious? Conversely, if there had been a pope between the writer and the Lord, you’d think he would pay homage. But you probably know the history of that human invention.


36 posted on 07/23/2019 10:44:14 AM PDT by mikeus_maximus (The Truth does not require our agreement.)
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To: SeekAndFind

What a miracle that we are still digging up more and more artifacts dating back to the time of Christ!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

better get um before the caliphate destroys um


37 posted on 07/23/2019 10:48:02 AM PDT by thinden
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To: SeekAndFind

I’m having headline problems and I feel misplaced in time somewhere.


38 posted on 07/23/2019 10:54:25 AM PDT by Fhios
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To: SeekAndFind

“your wives”?


39 posted on 07/23/2019 11:02:20 AM PDT by Hoosier-Daddy ("Washington, DC. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious")
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To: Hoosier-Daddy

“your wives”?

Joseph Smith?


40 posted on 07/23/2019 11:11:58 AM PDT by TiGuy22
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