Monday, August 31, 2015

The Martyrdom of Polycarp

"The Martyrdom of Polycarp" (translated by Roberts and Donaldson).  Available online.

Some oddities:
  • "were no longer men, but had already become angels" - I guess it does go back further than "It's a Wonderful Life" :)
  • There's a fair amount of anti-semitism (especially in chapter 13).  Hard to tell how much of that is post-70, and how much was added by later authors.
  • No explicit definition of the Gospel
And the good points:
  • "we do not commend those who give themselves up [to suffering], seeing the gospel does not teach so to do"
  • "the churches throughout the world" (churches - plural)
  • "the blameless one for sinners"
End on a good note :)