Talk:Saint Stephen

Caution

The last sentence needs more caution. Two things:

• To say that Hebrews was written "years, perhaps months, after the Resurrection" would seem to militate against the interpretation that Jesus himself wrote Hebrews before his Ascension—although forty days is admittedly a relatively short period of more than one month, it is certainly less than a period of "years, perhaps months".
• While the teaching of Hebrews is edifying to the whole Church, it is not addressed to the whole Church. Hebrews was written (apparently) to a particular group of suffering and persecuted Hebrew Christians, not to Gentile, Greek, Roman, Christians who were not familiar with the Torah and were not descendants of "our fathers" Hebrews 1:1 (RSV), just as the first letter of Peter is addressed to the diaspora, 1 Peter 1:1 (though some believe it is addressed to Christians scattered by the persecution begun under Saul of Tarsus). The word "you" in Hebrews is plural, not individual. St. Stephen was the first martyr, and a deacon, but the Hebrew Christians as a whole had not yet seen their own members martyred for their witness. Of this particular group of Hebrew disciples none had yet "resisted sin to the point of shedding your blood". They had regarded others being savagely persecuted as one with themselves, Hebrews 10:32-39. It is not entirely impossible that others not members of this discouraged Hebrew congregation had already shed their blood for Christ.
  --Dataclarifier (talk) 00:36, 20 August 2018 (EDT)

You make excellent points. The "years, perhaps months" wording is awkward. I'll improve it. Your last sentence is also a superb insight that I'll think about further. Thank you.--Andy Schlafly (talk) 01:03, 20 August 2018 (EDT)