Nero Became Demon Possessed After Paul's Testimony?

[Sparko]

Weren't most of the Caesars insane?

[Raphael]

I've read somewhere that he seemed to go off the rails around the time of the death of Seneca, who was one of his chief advisors.

IF his unhinging lines up roughly with the death of Seneca, and with a clash with Paul, it could be that Seneca was a moderating influence and Nero blamed Paul, and therefore Christians in some way for his death (we're not dealing with the most stable of people in Nero)

[rogue06]

I dunno - when 'kill Mommy' is on your To Do list, you are probably already pretty far gone.

Killing off relatives, even close ones, was not exactly something new or unique with Nero. IIRC, it was something his mother did fairly regularly.

[Cow Poke]

The fact he had her killed kinda indicates there was a problem before her death. Doesn't eliminate the hypothesis, however. Some people will descend quickly - others slowly. He could have been on slow descent - killing Mommy might well have sped it up.

Yeah, nobody ever said he was a good boy.

[Teallaura]

OK, maybe I got that wrong - he killed mommy in 59, so....

The fact he had her killed kinda indicates there was a problem before her death. Doesn't eliminate the hypothesis, however. Some people will descend quickly - others slowly. He could have been on slow descent - killing Mommy might well have sped it up.

[Cow Poke]

But that was about 62 AD - about the same time Paul was in prison in Rome.

OK, maybe I got that wrong - he killed mommy in 59, so....

[Cow Poke]

I dunno - when 'kill Mommy' is on your To Do list, you are probably already pretty far gone.

But that was about 62 AD - about the same time Paul was in prison in Rome.

[Teallaura]

I dunno - when 'kill Mommy' is on your To Do list, you are probably already pretty far gone.

[rogue06]

By the way, thanks for the serious responses -- let's PLEASE not let this go to spam or goofy nonsense, OK?

What?!? And defy the Tweb tradition?

Well... I guess we can wait a little while before spamming smiley mad.gif

Seriously though, the early part of his reign was pretty stable, whether that was due to the influence of his mother and advisors is unknown but he did start deteriorating rapidly after their deaths.

[Cow Poke]

I think it's unlikely you will be meeting him in the New Jerusalem.

Amen and Amen!

[Cow Poke]

The second one being when 2 Timothy was probably written? (Since it appears a lot more pessimistic about his situation on earth).

I think that's the conventional wisdom.... though I realize I got most of my training from conservative biblical sources.

[KingsGambit]

He's right up there with some other extremist nutjobs I never want to meet.

I think it's unlikely you will be meeting him in the New Jerusalem.

[Cow Poke]

Whether he was demon possessed or not Nero had a particular skill in killing people in cruel and unusual ways. His name can also be 666. Honestly, this guy is one of the scariest historical figures that I know. I still think Czar ivan might be a little more terrifying.

He's right up there with some other extremist nutjobs I never want to meet.

[KingsGambit]

It triggered a memory from Seminary WAY back in the day.... one of the points being that Paul's imprisonment in Rome was 'house arrest' where he was allowed to rent his own quarters, but the second imprisonment was not so cushy.

The second one being when 2 Timothy was probably written? (Since it appears a lot more pessimistic about his situation on earth).

[TheWall]

Whether he was demon possessed or not Nero had a particular skill in killing people in cruel and unusual ways. His name can also be 666. Honestly, this guy is one of the scariest historical figures that I know. I still think Czar ivan might be a little more terrifying.