Born in the Second Century
For nearly two thousand years, we've been told that Christianity began around 30 AD - when the disciples of the backwoods preacher "Jesus of Nazareth" came to believe he had risen from the dead. But now, BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY exposes this tale as a myth. Host Chris Palmero - an adherent of the Catholic Church - proves that Christianity began almost one hundred years after the imagined death of Jesus, through a close reading of the New Testament and books left out of the Bible.
Born in the Second Century
11. Pliny's Letter Part 2. Nero's Persecution a Myth.
The sinister voice of host Chris Palmero heralds the second part of the renowned effort to make the case that Pliny's letter about the Christians is a forgery. Both Pliny and Trajan seem to accept that Christianity is illegal even before they put pen to paper. For this to make sense, there would have to have been some precedent for the persecution of Christians, such as from the reign of Nero or Domitian.
Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about a major argument against the authenticity of Pliny's letter: it lacks any basis in contemporary Roman law and custom. BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY also explores the embellished legend of the early persecution of Christians, and shows that the supposed persecution of Christians by the emperor Nero is nothing more than an airy fiction.
Opening reading: A satire of Pliny's letter to Trajan shows us how complicated it actually is to detect the forgery of an ancient writing.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: secondcenturypodcast@gmail.com
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud