3 ms·
It's a shame that there don't seem to be any primary sources from Christians of that time explaining that practice. I would imagine that the Desert Fathers woul
by sudosteph 6y ago
It's a shame that there don't seem to be any primary sources from Christians of that time explaining that practice. I would imagine that the Desert Fathers would have mentioned it at some point (if it happened in their time), but perhaps they weren't aware.
Since this practice doesn't seem to be a part of Christianity elsewhere, it seems like it could something unique to a coptic interpretation of scripture. I'm not qualified to interpret this - but it does appear that a coptic translation of leviticus 21:18 uses a word which is translated to "cut off nose" ( https://coptic-dictionary.org/entry.cgi?tla=C5694 https://coptic-dictionary.org/entry.cgi?tla=C5694 ) in for a word that is usually interpreted as "flat nose" or "deformed nose" elsewhere.
Whether there's some other connection between that word and idol worship, who knows.
- iguy 6y agoTFA quotes Augustine on this, but no idea how much he said.
- ColanR 6y agoIt doesn't quote enough context to even clarify if he recommended damage, or whether he was mocking the people doing the damage. EDIT: found a larger quotation. From the context, the use of the quote in TFA looks like a misrepresentation of what Augustine said, since it doesn't sound like he was offering an opinion on whether or not it should be done. https://books.google.com/books?id=z5ufDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT91&lpg=PT91&dq=augustine+sermon+Brethren,+I+deem+it+more+shameful+for+Hercules+to+have+his+beard+shaved+than+to+have+his+head+taken+off&source=bl&ots=KvMF_j6j8N&sig=ACfU3U3bAKrI3r55EnlCAdB2qVqldnCqqg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjKlO7-rbfsAhVBmHIEHVRmBHkQ6AEwAHoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=augustine%20sermon%20Brethren%2C%20I%20deem%20it%20more%20shameful%20for%20Hercules%20to%20have%20his%20beard%20shaved%20than%20to%20have%20his%20head%20taken%20off&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=z5ufDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT91&lpg=P...
- sudosteph 6y agoHe chimes in on the break vs disfigure argument, but doesn't get into the why the nose would have special meaning. That's the part which is so fascinating tbh.
- microtherion 6y agoIt seems from the article that the noses were broken more than a thousand years before Christ, so I'm not sure a Christian perspective could offer much.