177. Thomas R. Young on The Alexamenos Graffito

In this episode, we welcome Judge Thomas R. Young to discuss his book The Alexamenos Graffito: An Early Roman Commentary on Christians and Christianity. What is the Alexamenos Graffito, and why does it matter? What insight does this single artifact give us into the Roman context, and the cultural distinctive of an emerging Christianity? What can we learn about the predominant Roman view of the Christian emphasis on the Lord Jesus being crucified? Why would a Roman student depict the Christian God as a human with a donkey head? What might the mocking of Alexamenos help us understand about a real fear of social instability and transformation in the cultural war of that time? From a tour of the Roman cult(s) system, both public and private, to aiding our understanding of what inspired Roman intolerance – to aiding our understanding Christian distinctiveness in the Mediterranean world, listen in as Rob takes us through this and more as he explains how a detailed analysis of a single graffito can, in fact, give us a tour of the world of antiquity in an unparalleled manner. Indeed, this graffito-based tour of antiquity can likewise shed light on our own world, today.

Book: The Alexamenos Graffito: An Early Roman Commentary on Christians and Christianity

Other resources:

"Alexamenos Graffito"

Confessions; The City of God by Saint Augustine

The Christians as the Romans Saw Them by Robert Louis Wilken

Pagan Rome and the Early Christians by Stephen Benko

Destroyer of the Gods by Larry Hurtado (also here)

The Cross Before Constantine by Bruce Longenecker

Christianity at the Crossroads by Michael Kruger