It is no secret to regular readers of these fora, that I have been in lots of debates about the "Historical Jesus". I don't want to get into that here, we've got enough of those threads already.
What I wanted to talk about was something I saw during one of my little research jaunts for the HJ stuff. Here is Josephus describing the Zealots fighting amongst themselves after they had taken control of Jerusalem, but before the Romans came to take it back. One group of Zealots had set themselves up on the Mount of Olives and were lobbing darts into the Temple that was controlled by the other group of Zealots:
http://www.biblestudytools.com/histo...chapter-1.html
The man could write!
Not only that, but the bit at the end about trying to "Stick to the facts, Ma'am", says to me that he was at least trying to look objective.
How rare was this approach to History in the Ancient world?
What I wanted to talk about was something I saw during one of my little research jaunts for the HJ stuff. Here is Josephus describing the Zealots fighting amongst themselves after they had taken control of Jerusalem, but before the Romans came to take it back. One group of Zealots had set themselves up on the Mount of Olives and were lobbing darts into the Temple that was controlled by the other group of Zealots:
http://www.biblestudytools.com/histo...chapter-1.html
Quote:
...although they took care to search the people of their own country beforehand, and both suspected and watched them; while they were not so much afraid of strangers, who, although they had gotten leave of them, how cruel soever they were, to come into that court, were yet often destroyed by this sedition; for those darts that were thrown by the engines came with that force, that they went over all the buildings,and reached as far as the altar, and the temple itself, and fell upon the priests, and those that were about the sacred offices; insomuch that many persons who came thither with great zeal from the ends of the earth, to offer sacrifices at this celebrated place, which was esteemed holy by all mankind, fell down before their own sacrifices themselves, and sprinkled that altar which was venerable among all men, both Greeks and Barbarians, with their own blood; till the dead bodies of strangers were mingled together with those of their own country, and those of profane persons with those of the priests, and the blood of all sorts of dead carcasses stood in lakes in the holy courts themselves. And now, "O must wretched city, what misery so great as this didst thou suffer from the Romans, when they came to purify thee from thy intestine hatred! 'For thou couldst be no longer a place fit for God, nor couldst thou long continue in being, after thou hadst been a sepulcher for the bodies of thy own people, and hadst made the holy house itself a burying-place in this civil war of thine. Yet mayst thou again grow better, if perchance thou wilt hereafter appease the anger of that God who is the author of thy destruction." But I must restrain myself from these passions by the rules of history, since this is not a proper time for domestical lamentations, but for historical narrations; I therefore return to the operations that follow in this sedition... |
The man could write!
Not only that, but the bit at the end about trying to "Stick to the facts, Ma'am", says to me that he was at least trying to look objective.
How rare was this approach to History in the Ancient world?
via JREF Forum http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=269848&goto=newpost
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