In a message dated 99-08-20 07:49:04 EDT, you write:
<< Martyrs are always given the instrument of their
execution as an attribute and the story has always been that Paul was
beheaded. >>
Just to throw a spanner into the works: what is the initial reference to Paul
getting his block chopped off? It does not appear in the NT, nor in the
earliest (as far as I know or can tell) non-scriptural christian work (Letter
of Clement to the Corinthians). Clement does allude to (but does not openly
state) Paul dying as a witness to the faith but the method is not specified.
mark
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