I was watching a cable show last week, about the seven wonders of the ancient world. One of them was the temple of diana at Ephesus. This was a huge greek temple, and it attaracted visitors from all over the ancient world. St. Paul visited Ephesus on sevral occasions, indeed the NT records that he got into quite a bit of trouble in Ephesus (his preaching annoyed the artisana that sold statues of the goddess Diana). Since Paul was notorious, is there any mention of this in the annals of the ancient historians? There have been many threads about the alleged paucity of information about Christ (outside of the Bible). What about St. Paul-was he well known enough to show up in other contemporary writings?
I’ve never seen Paul mentioned outside Christian literature.
On the other hand, we really don’t have the police blotter from 1st century Ephesus (or Rome) or even the Police Gazette. There are a lot of records that simply do not exist from that period. Paul would have needed to have been a big enough disturbance to have been recorded in a history of the place and period. How many people on this MB know who Aimee Semple McPherson(sp?) was?
I do, but I am hardly typical.
I wonder how many thud and blunder preachers from the boondocks made a scene at the Temple of Diana. As a major tourist and pilgrimage center it must have attracted them like flies to honey. One gimpy guy with a stutter would hardly have caused any notice at all.
I know who Sister Aimee was, but I didn’t know about St. Paul being a gimpy guy with a stutter.
There is so much from the ancient world that is lost. This is due to two things:
- After a couple of thousand of years, things tend to get thrown away or misplaced.
- In a pre-printing pre-xerox, pre-computer society, fewer records got made in the first place.
From
http://www.infidels.org/library/magazines/tsr/1997/4/4front97.html
“In the matter of martyrdom suffered by the apostles, there is a larger question that needs to be resolved. Were the apostles even real historical persons? There are reasons to suspect that at least some of them were merely legendary figures. Here presumably were men who took the gospel into various countries and provinces, but the only records of their activities are to be found in the traditions and writings of early church leaders, who had a special interest in the growth of Christianity. According to the book of Acts, for example, the apostle Paul stirred up public controversy almost everywhere he went on his missionary tours. In Philippi, Paul and Silas were allegedly beaten and thrown into prison for having cast a “spirit of divination” out of a young lady who had brought considerable gain to her masters through fortune-telling (Acts 16:16-24). While they were in prison, a great earthquake struck (as earthquakes did so often in those days when Christian activities were going on), opened the doors, and shook off the bonds of Paul and Silas (v:26). In Lystra, Paul and Barnabas were mobbed by a crowd and worshiped as the gods Jupiter and Mercury (Acts 14:11-13). Later Paul was stoned in the city, dragged outside, and left for dead (v:19). While preaching in the province of Asia, a pagan mob rioted in protest of Paul’s preaching and would have lynched him and his companions except for the intervention of a town clerk (Acts 19:23-41). Everywhere Paul went controversy like this allegedly followed him, yet there are no records outside of the New Testament of any of his activities.”
i know who sister aimee was, and i knew a man who was a co minister with her at some time…Roy M. Gray…taught at her LIFE school, then at my school.
Wow. Sounds like a Road movie.
So maralinn, are you saying that Paul may have, um, exaggerated some of the circumstances of his travels?
I am shocked, shocked!