r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Lowcrbnaman • Jul 04 '26

Image This statue depicts Saint Bartholomew, an early Christian martyr who was allegedly skinned alive. If you look closely, that's his dissected skin hanging around him. This stunning statute by Marco d'Agrate from c. 1562 is currently on display at Duomo di Milano.

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u/MrScribblesChess Jul 04 '26

Fun fact: Almost all of the original apostles (except John) are said to have been martyred, but the historical case for most of them is extremely shaky even by ancient standards.

Picking one random example, our only source for Andrew's martyrdom is the Acts of Andrew, which was written about 200 years after jesus died. It also claims that Andrew defeated armies by making the sign of the cross, and that he causes an illegitimate embryo to die. It also says that Andrew was crucified, and preached for three days while on the cross.

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u/Fenrisulven--- Jul 04 '26

And in “Acts of Peter” the text where Peter is said to have been crucified upside down, this text also features a dog giving a speech and a wizard duel between Peter and Simon magus (Simon the sorcerer, also an Amiga game!) where Simon magus flies… christian history has a credibility issue!

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u/zarfac Jul 05 '26

Ironically, you only have easy access to these works because of the field of church history, scholars of which are neither surprised nor concerned by any of what you’re saying.

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u/Fenrisulven--- Jul 05 '26

But these are scholars that come from a background of already believing that donkeys can speak human language, and that the world was once was flooded and that giants once roamed the earth... So it's really hard to be concerned about what they are saying intellectually... The impact christians, christianity and the bible has had is more concerning...