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Loading...I have received a number of questions from readers about the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library, arising out of my earlier discussion of it and the beginning of the back and forth I’m having with Mark Goodacre (as we await his reply to my initial response; he is overseas attending an academic conference and has his hands tied up just now). Here I will deal with two questions, one that’s a zinger and the other that has been asked by several readers.
First the zinger. The reader noted that I indicated that the books of the library were manufactured in the fourth century; we know this because the leather bindings on the books had their spines strengthened with scrap papyrus (and is therefore called the cartonnage) and some of these papyri were dated receipts. And so the reader’s question:
QUESTION:
Just out of curiosity – what form of dating did the compilers of the books use, that would correspond to our “341 CE” and so on? I’m assuming they weren’t using Roman dates. But were the Romans themselves, in that era, still using dates “ab urbe condita”?
RESPONSE:
This is a great question, and I have to admit,
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A little off topic and not sure if you have covered this before. What evidence is there that non-orthodox writings such as those found at Nag Hammadi were commonly destroyed by Proto-orthodoxs or possibly others?
Before the fourth century, I’m not sure of any evidence. Disapproved writings did not need to be destroyed; they simply needed not to be copied.
Two interesting questions and answers demonstrating how little I, and many others, don’t know about stuff.
Obviously my error: “don’t know” should be “know”
The discovery story does matter. This reminds me of the story of the astronaut and the diapers. Some years ago there was a story in the news of an astronaut that drove though 5 states to attempt murder or kidnapping and used adult diapers so that she could drive all night without a pit stop. When a legal hearing occurred some years later the judge asked, after all the witnesses has testified, “what about the diapers?” The lawyers explained to him that there were no diapers, that was just speculation by a detective that got into the press. The astronaut had made a pit stop.
Without the diapers the story is rather lame – people behaving badly. With the diapers it a whole new thing! A lady astronaut who uses her special skills of however-they-get-by-up-in-space to help her alibi for… REVENGE! I don’t even remember what the details were -was it a lover she was after? or an ex-wife? or a mistress? I just remember the astronaut and the diapers, and so do you all I’m guessing.
The NHDN (love it) is much better with the bloody feud and all. Students will forget all about christian origins but recount to their children the story of cannibalistic vendetta and how interesting biblical archaeology is. Keep telling it!