Have we found artifacts from the early church?

[fm93]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theloo...pphu-container

Does anyone know any additional information about this discovery, such as if anything else about what the texts say has been released? Or can anyone comment on Davies' or Hurtado's remarks?

Also, what are your own thoughts on this find? Could these really have been used by people in the apostolic era (or even by the apostles themselves)?

[Manwë Súlimo]

Oooooo, that is sexy. Even if they are frauds, it would still be valuable as a window in the mind of some people that lived in that time.

[seanD]

Read a similar article about a week ago, but didn't find anything else about it since.

[showmeproof]

This is indeed interesting. One thing I notice right off the bat is the picture on the top of the article that shows the menorah on the left page of the codex.



Look at the lower right of the menorah and the lower left of the menorah. To me there appears to be a clear animal on the right and on the left I pick out a head but not much else. Does anyone else see this or am I just seeing things.

Now look at the Lachish Ewer



And look at the Tanaach Cult Stand


and the reverse side of Pithos A from Kuntilet Arjud



All of these are in reference to Asherah. I am not saying anything for sure on the codex but the image is very reminiscent particularly to the Lachish Ewer. If the codex dates to the 1rst century C.E. that is nearly 1,300 years removed from the Lachish Ewer, 1000 years removed from the Tanaach Cult Stand, and ~800 years removed from Pithos A. This symbol on the codex may have a completely different context, but the image itself appears to go way back.

[Hamster]

So far all we know for sure is that books were a lot heavier in the first century

[Manwë Súlimo]

So far all we know for sure is that books were a lot heavier in the first century

[bitterness]Yea, but I bet they had no pages missing...[/bitterness]

[shunyadragon]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theloo...pphu-container

Does anyone know any additional information about this discovery, such as if anything else about what the texts say has been released? Or can anyone comment on Davies' or Hurtado's remarks?

Also, what are your own thoughts on this find? Could these really have been used by people in the apostolic era (or even by the apostles themselves)?

Based on the initial reading of the articles, yes the works may be from early Christians, but unfortunately nothing that resembles the churches today, nor the 6th century.

[Sparko]

Well unless they are golden plates, written in Reformed Egyptian and every line starts with "and it came to pass..." then they can't be real. Ask any mormon.

[Hamster]

I didn't even think about the golden plates. If it turns out this has information about Moroni and marriage sealed in heaven - boy is my face going to be red!

[rogue06]

This is indeed interesting. One thing I notice right off the bat is the picture on the top of the article that shows the menorah on the left page of the codex.



Look at the lower right of the menorah and the lower left of the menorah. To me there appears to be a clear animal on the right and on the left I pick out a head but not much else. Does anyone else see this or am I just seeing things.

Now look at the Lachish Ewer



And look at the Tanaach Cult Stand


and the reverse side of Pithos A from Kuntilet Arjud



All of these are in reference to Asherah. I am not saying anything for sure on the codex but the image is very reminiscent particularly to the Lachish Ewer. If the codex dates to the 1rst century C.E. that is nearly 1,300 years removed from the Lachish Ewer, 1000 years removed from the Tanaach Cult Stand, and ~800 years removed from Pithos A. This symbol on the codex may have a completely different context, but the image itself appears to go way back.

The image on the right side of the thumbnail image (closest to the inside) looks like it could be a human with arms outstretched with something in the hand held highest

And here is another link to the story: Could this be the biggest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls? Seventy metal books found in cave in Jordan could change our view of Biblical history

[Hamster]

I really, really hope this is real. But I'm wary because of all the recent frauds

[Sparko]

seer has a thread on the topic too. OBP says it looks like a fraud.

[seanD]

Other than the Shroud of Turin (which, IMO, is a stalemate and still up for debate), what other Christian frauds have there been? From my understanding, most of the frauds have been perpetrated from the anti-Christian front.

[Rational Gaze]

They classified the bones of Jesus as a fraud... yeah.

[Hamster]

the frauds aren't necessarily anti-Christian but someone looking to make money off a phony discovery