Ben Witherington is continuing to share photos from his visits to places mentioned in the Bible. His most recent post in this series is on a visit to the cave church of Paul and Thecla. He shared a photo which I show to my “Heresy” class when we get to the Acts of Paul and Thecla. Bart Ehrman (if I remember correctly) shares a photo of the same fresco in one of his books, and points out that Thecla’s “teaching hand” has been deliberately defaced (as have her eyes), by someone who found this depiction of her authority threatening. Crossan and Reed also make this point.
The Acts of Paul and Thecla are fascinating reading, and my guess would be that the author was a woman. Paul comes across very badly (although it may be that an ancient reader would not have shared this impression). The outlook is encratite, and Paul’s proclamation by which Thecla is converted is a series of beatitudes pronounced on those who forego sexual relations altogether, even if they are married. The Pastoral Epistles in the New Testament seem to be directly opposing a form of Christianity that bears a striking resemblance to what we find in the Acts of Paul and Thecla.
Thecla was once the most popular saint. Today, few Christians are aware of her. And so she also provides a useful reminder that what Christianity is today is not what it has been at any time in the past.
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