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vii | |
| Preface |
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ix | |
| Resource Abbreviations |
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xiii | |
| Introduction: A Season for Reason |
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1 | (10) |
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Why a Book on Early Christianity, the Calendar, and the Life of Jesus? |
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1 | (2) |
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3 | (8) |
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1 When Was Jesus Really Born? |
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11 | (26) |
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Jesus' Birth Date: A Review of Biblical, Historical, and Astronomical Debates |
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13 | (6) |
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Jesus' Birth Date: Early Christian Calculations |
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19 | (12) |
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31 | (1) |
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The 6,000 Year History of Planet Earth |
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32 | (5) |
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2 Down to Egypt, on to Rome |
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37 | (20) |
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Timekeeping in the Ancient World |
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37 | (2) |
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Agriculture and Timekeeping |
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39 | (9) |
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Calendars in Ancient Babylon, Egypt, and Greece |
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48 | (3) |
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51 | (2) |
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53 | (4) |
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57 | (12) |
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Astronomy and Time Measurement |
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57 | (2) |
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59 | (2) |
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61 | (3) |
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64 | (5) |
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69 | (30) |
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Jesus' Resurrection, Early Christianity, and the Easter Cycle |
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69 | (1) |
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When Exactly Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? |
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70 | (15) |
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85 | (6) |
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When Should Easter Be Celebrated? |
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91 | (8) |
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5 Dionysius Exiguus, the Paschal Cycle, and the Advent of the Christian Era |
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99 | (26) |
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"Little Dennis" knew exactly what he was doing (I think) |
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104 | (11) |
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Interpretive Thoughts on Dionysius |
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115 | (2) |
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So When Did the New Millennium Begin, Anyway? |
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117 | (2) |
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The Post-Dionysian Life of the Dionysian Paschal Cycle |
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119 | (6) |
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6 Urban's Big Mistake, Gregory's Big Fix, and a Simple Line |
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125 | (20) |
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The Church and Time Measurement during the Scientific Revolution |
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125 | (2) |
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First, Urban's Big Mistake |
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127 | (3) |
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130 | (4) |
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134 | (11) |
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Epilogue: Poisson d'Avril |
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145 | (14) |
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Jesus' Birth Date and Calendrical Considerations in the Twenty-First Century |
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147 | (7) |
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154 | (5) |
| Appendix A Roman Calendar Converter for Dates of (Western) Easter |
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159 | (2) |
| Appendix B The Easter Cycle of Saint Cyril |
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161 | (2) |
| Appendix C The Easter Cycle of Dionysius Exiguus |
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163 | (4) |
| Appendix D Victorius of Aquitaine vs. Dionysius Exiguus on the Calculation of Easter |
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167 | (6) |
| Appendix E The Calendars of Dionysius Exiguus |
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173 | (62) |
| Appendix F Timeline |
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235 | (8) |
| Appendix G Easter Dates 1956-2200 |
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243 | (6) |
| Glossary of Terms |
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249 | (8) |
| Bibliography |
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257 | (16) |
| Index of Scripture and Early Christian Authors |
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273 | (2) |
| Index of Dates |
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275 | (4) |
| Subject Index |
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279 | |
