Like a laser shining in the Darkness
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua
Posted on 05/03/2008 4:43:49 AM PDT by DouglasKC
What Did the Early Church Believe and Preach After Jesus' Death?
Suppose you could invite one of the original twelve apostles to your church this weekend. Can you imagine what it would be like to entertain Peter in your worship services? How do you think he would react to what he saw?
Would this apostle approve of your denomination's practices?
Or is it just possible that he would tell you that some of your most cherished beliefs were in error? How would you feel if he stood up and loudly proclaimed that your church was a promoter of heresy? What if he said that your religious practices were totally contrary to those of the primitive church formed immediately after the death of Jesus Christ?
Is this a startling thought? Of course it is. Yet if any of the very men who served Jesus during His earthly ministry could witness the teachings of Christianity today, they would express almost total disagreement with its doctrines and beliefs!
How has this all come about? Unfortunately, for centuries the world had little access to historical information on the early church. Most Christian churches had to rely on the teachings of men who lived at least a century after Christ's death. These men became known as the "church fathers," whose writings wielded an enormous influence on Christian belief. They undermined the influence and authority of the true founders of Christianity such as James, Peter, and John. The character of the church from the second century down to modern times was set by Justin Martyr, Origen, Tertullian, and many other uninspired men.
Fortunately, the past four decades have seen a plethora of new information on what the primitive church was really like. It is amazing what scholars and historians have found!
This new information coupled with what is in the pages of your Bible clearly shows that there is a great difference between the church led by the original apostles and the modern "Christian" world. Read for yourself how a great apostasy took place and how it affects your life, your beliefs, and even your salvation!
In the first part of this two-part series, we will trace the development of early Christianity as recorded by history. Prepare for some shocks along the way. You are about to discover that the Christian legacy left by Jesus the Messiah is definitely not the Christianity of today!
The Apostolic Church
We should begin our search by noting that historians and theologians alike agree that primitive Christianity began as a sect within Judaism. At the time, however, Judaism itself did not consist of a uniform set of beliefs. Rather, there were several major religious parties such as the Sadduccees and the Pharisees, both mentioned in the New Testament, and the Essenes, whose teachings were later unearthed by the Qumran discoveries. These three groups existed simultaneously in Palestine. Although the Sadduccees were the descendants of the priests and controlled the Temple, the Pharisees had the greatest influence among the Jewish people.
Josephus describes how the Pharisees and the Sadduccees debated the concepts of fate, free will, and other issues over which they were at odds. Doctrinal differences were the order of the day in ancient Palestine.
In addition, the Jews living in other parts of the Roman Empire were influenced by Gnostic philosophies. Gnostic ideas were introduced in the Mediterranean lands in the first century B.C. Because of the Gnostic appeal to reason and secret knowledge, Hellenistic Jews felt they could accept these new ideas without being disloyal to the law of Moses. Thus, a variety of religious ideas and doctrines was freely circulating within Judaism.
When Christ began His ministry, He had to combat many of these false teachings. As pointed out by Charles Guignebert, a well-known Roman Catholic scholar, Jesus emphasized loyalty to God and His law and clarified how that loyalty was to be expressed. But He did not overthrow the law given at Mount Sinai.
In Guignebert's words,
"He did not come bearing a new religion, nor even a new rite ...Nor did he aim at changing either its creed or its Law or its worship. The central point of His teaching was the Messianic idea, which was common property to nearly all his compatriots as much as to him, and only his conception of it was his own" (Ancient Medieval and Modern Christianity, p. 44).
Jesus taught the Samaritan woman that "salvation is of the Jews." He dispatched His disciples to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He boldly proclaimed that He came to magnify the Law. Since the religious parties could not accuse Him of breaking the higher laws of God, they focused on his rejection of the traditions of the elders and his claims of being the Son of God. They had to manufacture evidence before they could condemn Him to death.
After Christ's resurrection, His disciples continued to remain within the fold of Judaism. The small community of believers was later called a sect by the Jews (Acts 24:5, 28:22), but it was still purely Jewish. Although their teachings were highly unpopular, day after day Christians went to the Temple to worship and to preach the Gospel (Acts 2:46-47, 3:1, 5:20).
The Jews in power seem to have tolerated their teachings until Christians began to attract large numbers of converts, including priests. The Temple officers, who were Sadduccees, wanted to kill the apostles not for their abrogation of Judaism but because they were stirring people up over the death of Christ.
According to Hans Conzelmann,
"The first Christians are Jews without exception. For them this is not simply a fact, but a part of their conscious conviction. For them their faith is not a new religion which leads them away from the Jewish religion" (History of Primitive Christianity, p. 37).
Rather, the Christians are both ethnic and spiritual Jews. Jesus is the Messiah, and the church is the true Israel.
"Since the Christians still know themselves to be Jews, they appear to have continued to participate in the Jewish worship in the temple and the synagogue. But this participation now has acquired a new sense. It documents the fact that the Christians hold to their membership in the chosen people and confess the God of Israel" (Conzelmann, p. 49).
The early Christians did not reject Judaism. They continued as its faithful supporters despite persecution from other Jews.
Some of the early followers of Jesus also lived outside of Palestine. The first conversions after the resurrection included Jews who were from far-flung areas of the Roman Empire (Acts 2). Christian communities of Greek-speaking Jews were soon established.
What did these Jewish Christians believe? Did they immediately begin to worship on Sunday, the supposed day of Jesus' resurrection, in place of the seventh day Sabbath?
Our only contemporaneous account is the book of Acts, which presents church history in barest outline form. M. Max B. Turner discusses several relevant points on this question in his essay in From Sabbath to Lord's Day: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Investigation.
According to Turner, eight accounts of events that happened on the Sabbath can be found in Acts, but there is only one mention of an event that happened on Sunday. Acts describes Christian teachings, fellowship, temple worship, and growth of the Church, but nowhere is there evidence that the apostles instituted Sunday as the Christian day of worship. This is a rather startling admission from a scholar who supports Sunday as the Christian day of rest!
Christ's message was soon taken outside the realm of Jewish believers. After it was revealed to Peter that the Gentiles were to receive the Gospel, Peter, Paul, and other apostles began to preach the message to people who were not of Israelite descent. Note, however, that Paul and Barnabas typically gained Gentile converts who were already observing the Sabbath (Acts 14:1, 17:1-4).
A new controversy then arose. Were the Gentiles to enter, the new community of Israel through the ancient rite of circumcision? Were they to practice ritual observances?
A council in Jerusalem decided the matter. The Gentiles were to abstain from meats sacrificed to idols, from fornication, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. These were the four proscriptions found in Leviticus 17-18 which had applied to non-Jews living in Israel. Physical circumcision was not a requirement for those who wished to enter spiritual Israel, the Church.
The judgment of the apostles is stated in Acts 15:21, then repeated in verse 29 and Acts 21:25. These decrees were intended to smooth relations between Christian Jews and Gentiles--to make it possible for a mixed community of believers to remain in harmony.
The account in Acts shows that Paul and the Jerusalem apostles were in agreement over the Gentile mission. Later, James and the elders in Jerusalem asked Paul to take charge of four men who were going through purification rites to complete vows. Their purpose in doing so was to stop rumors that Paul disbelieved the law (Acts 21:21-26). James and the elders are presented in Acts as a mediating group between Jews who were zealous of the law and Gentile believers.
With respect to Paul's doctrines, an important point needs to be mentioned. As a result of ecumenism and efforts to free the New Testament of a perceived anti--Semitic bias, scholars have modified their view of Paul's teachings on the law over the past 30 years.
Now they speculate that Paul objected to Gentiles having to obey the law but not to Christian Jews subjecting themselves to rituals. The Paul of Acts
"never polemicizes against the law and often observes the requirements of Jewish ritual, including circumcision" (Shave J.D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah, p. 167).
The End of the Apostolic Age
By this time, the apostolic age was rapidly drawing to a close. Historical events would shatter the mother church at Jerusalem, and Christianity would begin to take on a new character. By 70 A.D., James (the brother of Jesus), Peter, and Paul would all be dead. Jerusalem would be in total ruins. As the only living apostle, John was to be found in exile far from Palestine.
Following the death of James, Simon, who was a cousin of Jesus, had been unanimously chosen to be James' successor. Then, as the destruction of Jerusalem loomed frighteningly near, the entire Church fled to the nearby town of Pella.
After the Roman army razed Jerusalem in 70 A.D., Christians returned to help rebuild the city. Two church historians, Eusebius and Epiphanius, tell us that the Church there remained under the control of converted Jews. The Church continued to exist peacefully in Jerusalem until the time of emperor Hadrian, with the kinsmen of Jesus playing an important role in it.
During the second Jewish war in 135 A.D., however, Jewish Christians were persecuted by the leader of the Jewish revolt. All racial Jews were subsequently expelled from Jerusalem by the Roman government. Thereafter, the church in Jerusalem was ruled by Gentiles, and other cities began to gain prominence as centers of Christian teachings.
It was about this time that Jewish Christianity became "stamped as heretical" (Conzelman, p. 134). Although these Christians held fast to the teachings of the apostles, they were seen as retaining a narrow and false legalism.
The weakening of the mother church in Jerusalem meant that there was no longer any one to decide on questions of doctrine. There was no apostle or prophet. The issue of which church could lay claim to having a true "apostolic succession" became a very important one.
At the beginning of the second century, most of the larger churches in major cities were autonomously ruled by local bishops, who had replaced the council of elders mentioned in Acts. Some of the more important bishops were from the churches mentioned in Revelation 2-3, as well as from Rome, which also had a long history of Christian fellowship. No single bishop had preeminence during the first two centuries of Christianity.
Nonetheless, the church at Rome was beginning to be held in high regard by the second century because of its supposed association with two apostles, Peter and Paul, its many converts, and its wealth.
The epistle to the Romans, written around 56 A.D., indicates a thriving primitive Christian community. Like many others, this congregation was first, composed of Jews, such as Priscilla and Aquila, who had been forced by civil authorities to leave Rome (Acts 18).
The Roman historian Suetonius tells us that in 50 A.D. emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. The expulsion was due to their rioting over "the instigation of Chrestus." Historians consider this reference as an erroneous transcription of the name of Christ. The early Church in Rome was further decimated by Nero in 64 A.D. The influence of Jewish Christians had come to an end in the chief city of the empire.
Without the spiritual leadership of Jerusalem, the change in Christian beliefs was a fairly rapid one, arising predominantly in areas outside of Palestine.
"The ritual development of Christianity advances step by step ...It began with very simple practices, all taken from Judaism: baptism, the breaking of bread, the imposition of hands, prayer and fasting. Then a meaning more and more profound and mysterious was assigned to them. They were amplified, and gestures familiar to the pagans added ...It is sometimes very difficult to tell. exactly from which pagan rite a particular Christian rite is derived, but it remains certain that the spirit of pagan ritualism became by degrees impressed upon Christianity, to such an extent that at last the whole of it might be found distributed through its ceremonies" (Guignebert, p. 121).
For example, around 110 A.D. Gnostic followers of Basiledes began to celebrate a festival commemorating Christ's baptism on January 6 or 10. This festival was later worked into the Christian festal calendar as Epiphany, despite the fact that it was also the date of a pagan feast celebrating the birth and growth of light.
In the early second century vague references to observing the "Lord's Day"--Sunday--began to appear. Then the voices for Sunday worship grew more strident. Ignatius of Asia Minor and Barnabas of Alexandria both condemned Sabbath-keeping. Although considered Gnostic heresy, Marcion's anti-Sabbath views were widely promulgated throughout the churches. By 150, Justin Martyr clearly indicated that the day of the sun was the day of rest for Christians. Sunday worship had become a widely accepted practice among these people who professed to follow Christ.
Paganism began to be grafted into every aspect of Christian life. In Roman cemeteries, for instance, the figure of a young man carrying a sheep on his shoulder was a common theme of funerary art. A much later Christian tradition identified this figure as Christ the Good Shepherd (Robert Wilken, The Christians As The Romans Saw Them, p. 81). Another typical portrayal of Christ as the Shepherd was obviously modeled on a statue of Mercury carrying a goat. The earliest known mosaic of our Lord (240 A.D.) shows him with a disk or nimbus at the back of his head. Yet this was also a common pictorial representation of the sun!
By the end of the second century the Mass had taken shape.
"Based partly on the Judaic Temple service, partly on Greek mystery rituals of purification, vicarious sacrifice, and participation through communion in the death-overcoming powers of the deity, the Mass grew slowly into a rich congeries of prayers, psalms, readings, sermon, antiphonal recitations, and, above all, that symbolic atoning sacrifice of the `Lamb of God'..." (Will Durant, Caesar and Christ, p. 599).
Overcome by the society around it, the religion that was now known as Christianity threatened to fragment into scores of uninspired and misguided creeds. One writer counted 80 heresies circulating among these so-called Christians. Wave upon wave of new doctrine and heresy inundated the churches.
Montanists rushed to Roman authorities begging for persecution. The Roman proconsul Antoninus is famous for his scorn of these would-be martyrs:
"Miserable creatures! If you wish to die, are there not ropes and precipices?"
The Theodotians considered Christ only a man, while the Docetists believed He was a phantom. Other groups taught that the Christian was free to do anything he desired since grace covered all sins. It was a period of great religious confusion.
The Consolidation of Church Authority
But some of the churches launched a counteroffensive. The second and third centuries marked a time when the church became "catholic" (in the sense of what was universally accepted) in doctrine and solidified its power and authority. Beset by groups which claimed to represent Christ, the bishops in leading cities sought to protect their flocks by hammering out, a uniform dogma.
The "catholic" church became the standard-bearer of orthodox doctrines as opposed to heretical ones. In reality, few of these doctrines were actually based on New Testament teachings. Rather, they represented a synthesis of pagan, Gnostic, and popular church beliefs of the time.
The first meeting of bishops took place in the middle of the second century. A hierarchy of churches soon developed, with Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch acquiring the most power and the councils emerging as major decision-making bodies.
The controversy over when Passover was to be celebrated is a compelling example of how doctrines became catholic. Although the book of Acts describes Christians observing annual High Days such as Pentecost and the Day of Atonement (see Acts 2:1, 27:9), the bulk of the churches which professed to be Christian had rejected nearly every Old Testament holy day. Passover was the last to be retained according to the Jewish practice.
Irenaeus wrote that the celebration of this day among Western churches was changed during the bishopric of Sixtus of Rome (between 120-135 A.D., roughly the same period when the influence of the Jerusalem church waned). Thereafter, Christianity was divided as to whether Passover should be celebrated on a Sunday in honor of Christ's supposed resurrection, or on the 14th of Nisan in honor of His death.
At this time, all referred to the day as the Pascha. It was not, until centuries later that the day became known as Easter. (Note: The King James Version of Acts 12:4 incorrectly uses the word Easter for the Greek word "Pascha." Other translations render it "Passover." )
The churches of Asia Minor, particularly those mentioned in Revelation 2-3, continued to follow the New Testament observance of the 14th of Nisan. Melito, a bishop of Sardis, traveled to Rome to discuss the Passover and other topics with Anicetus, bishop of Rome. Although they did not agree, neither was willing to let a quarrel arise between them. Melito continued to follow the practice left by the apostle John, while Anicetus felt obligated to follow the practice established by the four presbyters before him.
Several more rounds of sharp dissension took place in what has become known historically as the Quartodeciman controversy. A new element in negotiating the dispute was interjected when the emperor Constantine made peace with Christians. He called the council of Nicea, which finally settled the questions regarding the Passover by decreeing that it was to be celebrated only on Sunday.
This edict was not well received by the Christians who kept the Passover. A group known as the Audiani made a separation in the church and were consequently banished by Constantine. In 341 Quartodecimans in general were condemned as heretics. Later laws by Theodosius I and Theodosius II subjected them to severe penalties and even capital punishment for their religious beliefs.
The final consolidation of catholic Christianity as a force in the Roman empire can actually be attributed to Constantine. Up to that time, believers had been sporadically persecuted by Roman emperors. In fact, during the second century, practicing Christianity in any form could be a capital offense. Intense persecution was especially common in Asia Minor during the late third and early fourth centuries.
After allegedly seeing a cross in battle, Constantine abruptly ended religious persecution. For the first time, a Roman emperor recognized catholic Christianity as an official state religion. In 321 Constantine passed a law making Sunday the official day of rest in the Roman empire. He also established the celebration of Christ's birthday on December 25, traditionally the feast of the sun god.
Under Constantine's protective wing, catholic Christianity experienced a period of mass conversion of pagans. This flood of pagans had a great impact on the catholic system of worship. New customs brought over from paganism included
"devotion to relics, the use of the kiss as a sign of reverence for holy objects, the practice of kneeling, the use of candles and incense, and an increased use of ceremonies patterned on those used in the imperial court" (Barrie Ruth Straus, The Catholic Church, p. 36).
Worship of angels, martyrs, and Mary also began to arise during the fourth century as new converts transferred to them some of the reverence they had felt for pagan deities. The converts believe that they could offer prayer to any of these personages, who would then make intercession for them. By the end of the fourth century, the catholic believers were not the bride of Christ as they claimed to be, but a fallen woman!
The New Sun Worshippers
The changes in the church over the first four centuries were bound by a subtle but. common thread: the incorporation of the symbols and imagery of sun worship. Though Christ was never referred to as a "sun" in the New Testament, the early church writers adapted the comparison in order to appeal to pagans. Tertullian, for example, urged pagans to worship the true Light and Sun, while strongly refuting the charge that Christians were sun worshippers.
By 150 A.D. professing Christians were praying toward the east. Clement of Alexandria claimed this was done because the birth of light came from the East and because some ancient temples existed there. The Apostolic Constitutions, an early document on church customs, stated that the church building and the congregation were to face the East (2, 57, 2 and 14).
A long-time sun worshipper, Constantine saw numerous similarities between catholic Christianity and sun worship. He made every effort to accommodate the two.
Why was sun worship so intriguing and influential a concept? To understand, we need to look at a cult that enjoyed an immense popularity in the Roman empire. Mithraism, the worship of Mithra the god of light, was brought to the empire by Roman soldiers. The first day of the week was held sacred to Mithra, and his followers celebrated his birth on December 25.
Around 150 A.D. Justin Martyr recognized the similarity between Christianity and Mithraism but maintained that these sun worshippers had imitated Christianity. Yet Mithraism was introduced in the Roman empire in the early part of the first century A.D., and converts to this cult spread throughout the civilized world just as quickly as did converts to Christianity. A number of the Roman emperors were followers of Mithra, with the cult of the Sol Invictus (the invincible sun) dominant in Rome and other parts of the empire from the second century A.D. Mithraism was a rival of Christianity, with the competition most intense during the third century.
In his condemnation of pagan sun worshippers, Tertullian described a Mithraic priesthood ruled by a "high pontiff" and made up of celibates and virgins, the partaking of consecrated bread and wine, and the climax of a ceremony ending with the ringing of a bell. He recognized the parallels between the sun cult and the Christianity of his day but refused to admit their common source.
What is historically interesting about Mithraism is that nearly every physical remnant of this religion was destroyed by Christians. After Constantine made Christianity a state religion, Mithraism was doomed. Christian mobs soon sacked and burned Mithraic temples and slew the priests. Intent on obliterating an ancient rival, church authorities turned a blind eye to the very same type of persecution that they had once endured. Believers went to great lengths to show their hatred of this cult. For example, in Rome the prefect Gracchus promised to destroy a Mithraic crypt to show his readiness for baptism.
"Nevertheless, the conceptions which Mithraism had diffused throughout the empire during a period of three centuries were not destined to perish with it ...Certain of its sacred practices continued to exist also in the ritual of Christian festivals and in popular usage" (Franz Cumont, Mysteries of Mithra, p. 206).
As historian Will Durant points out,
"Christianity was the last great creation of the pagan world" (Caesar and Christ, p. 595).
The alluring sights and sounds of ancient rituals were blended with Jewish monotheism and Greek philosophical thought. With its emphasis on brotherhood, probably no more appealing religion than Christianity has ever been presented to mankind. Yet it was never established by Christ! PART 2
As startling as it may sound, the religion the world knows as Christianity was not founded by Jesus Christ! Within the span of three hundred years, this religion had become a vast organization with a clergy presiding over rites taken from pagan mysteries and Judaism. It had borrowed the best elements of Greek philosophy and had formed a dogma appealing to human reason and emotion. This religious organization had become a powerful political force in the Roman Empire. But it was not the Church established by Christ!
"Contemplate the Christian Church at the beginning of the fourth century, therefore, and some difficulty will be experienced in recognizing in her the community of Apostolic times, or rather, we shall not be able to recognize it at all" (Charles Guignebert, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Christianity, p. 122).
The congregations that adhere to the teachings of the apostles and their Jewish disciples are scattered and poor. They live in Syria, Egypt, Palestine, and possibly even in Rome, where they are nearly overwhelmed by the large churches filled with converts from paganism. In the first part of this series, you read how catholic Christianity rejected its Judaic heritage. Now let's look at some of the forces that influenced this repudiation.Judaism in the Roman Empire
Jews were widely dispersed throughout the Roman Empire in New Testament times. Because Judaism had a long history as a religion, the Romans allowed the Jews to continue their practices. Julius Caesar granted them the right to observe the Sabbath and to meet in synagogues, exemption from military service, and the freedom to follow their own laws.
Outside of Palestine, Jews were allowed to exist as independent communities of resident aliens within larger cities. They were subject to their own political structure as well as to that of the Roman Empire.
In New Testament times, probably as many as 5-7 million Jews lived in the Roman Empire, with roughly a million in Egypt, another million in Syria, and close to one million in Palestine. At least 10,000 Jews lived in Rome; Jewish colonies also existed in the large trading centers of Asia Minor. As Josephus remarked,
"There is not a community in the entire world which does not have a portion of our people."
Judaism had long been viewed favorably by pagan writers; Jews were thought to be a race of philosophers, much like the Brahmins of India.
"Throughout the Roman Empire various practices of Judaism found favor with large segments of the populace. In Rome many gentiles observed the Sabbath, the fasts, and the food laws; in Alexandria many gentiles observed the Jewish holidays; in Asia Minor many gentiles attended synagogue on the Sabbath" (Shave J.D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah, p. 55).
The gentiles venerating Judaism were no doubt the people whom Acts called those who "feared God" (Acts 13:16, 26; 16:14; 17;4, 17;18:7). They were not converts to Judaism, but they were appreciative of its doctrines. The major obstacle to their conversion was circumcision, which was looked upon as self-mutilation by Romans.
It has been argued by some scholars that one of the reasons that Jews wrote in Greek was to attract gentile believers. While Judaism had no official missionary work, individual Jews actively sought converts. Christ hinted at this effort when He said:
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte..." (Matthew 23:15).
Judaism continued to gain converts and remained a viable religious movement within the Roman empire until the end of the fourth century.
Freedom of worship, however, did not mean there was an absence of tension between Jews and Romans. The Jews living as resident aliens in cities throughout the empire wanted both tolerance from and equality with their neighbors. They asked for the continuance of their autonomy as well as full rights of citizenship. Many cities refused, and disturbances broke out in Alexandria, Antioch, and Asia Minor during the first century A.D.
The tension was particularly acute in Alexandria, which became a center of anti-Judaic propaganda. "If the Jews wish to be Alexandrians, let them worship the gods of the Alexandrians" was the common sentiment.
It is easy for us in the twentieth century to underestimate the role that religion played in the political life of the Roman Empire. The worship of local gods was considered a vital aspect of assuring civic peace and prosperity (Robert L. Wilken, The Christians As The Romans Saw Them, p. 58). Ritual and government were closely intertwined, and the cities that rejected the Jews' petitions were merely acting on long-standing beliefs.
Religion at that time was not a matter of personal conviction; it was a civic duty. Nonetheless, the Roman government chose to be somewhat tolerant of differing creeds provided their adherents could prove that their beliefs were based on tradition.
Anti-Judaic sentiment was intensified by the wars which the Jews waged against Rome. From A.D. 66-70, Palestinian Jews sought to expel the Roman legions from their homeland. The war ended with the burning of the Temple and the death of more than 500,000 Jews. Palestine was decimated of half of its population. Surprisingly, Jews in other parts of the Roman Empire suffered no repercussions from the hostile acts of their kinsmen. Yet they too later fought against the Romans in a major uprising in 115-117 A.D. Jews in Alexandria, Egypt, Cyprus, and Cyrene launched a revolt which brought destruction for both themselves and their gentile neighbors (Wayne A. Meeks, The Moral World of the First Christians, p. 67-68). The causes of the war are still unclear, but the result was devastation.
The final war between Romans and Jews was waged in Palestine in 133-135 A.D. Led by Simon Bar Kochba, the Jewish rebellion was caused by Roman actions which are also historically uncertain. Again, hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered and so many sold into captivity that their price fell to that of a horse (Will Durant, Caesar and Christ, p. 548). All Jews were expelled from Jerusalem, which became a city of gentiles.
In the context of these uprisings, it is easy to see how anti-Judaic feeling could develop in the Roman Empire. Resentment toward Jews in Rome became so strong after the first Jewish War that crown prince Titus, who had participated in the sack of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., was forced to give up his desire to marry Berenice, sister of Herod Agrippa the Younger.
One of the common complaints voiced by Roman writers during this time was that Judaism was a superstition. In the Roman view, a superstition was a religious practice that neither honored the gods nor benefited mankind (Wilken, p. 60). The Romans could see no value in the cults of the Jews, Celts, Egyptians, or Germans because they did not honor gods in the manner that Romans thought appropriate. Influential writers such as Quintilian, Plutarch, and Tacitus singled out Judaism as a superstition that was harmful and degrading to Roman society. Yet eventually these feelings subsided and Judaism peacefully coexisted with most religions for several centuries thereafter.
The Rejection of Judeo-Christianity
But another storm was brewing. As they continued to reject the Judaic roots of their religion, catholic Christians increasingly viewed Jews as a problem. The conflict between Judaism and catholic belief became sharper from the second century onward. Instead of accepting their common heritage, the church fathers sought ways to reinterpret the Scriptures and to show the superiority of their new religious movement.
Some of them saw the destruction of the Temple as proof that God had rejected the Jews. Justin Martyr scornfully mocked the Jewish sacrificial system. The heretic Marcion claimed that the God of the Old Testament was evil and that only Paul's doctrines of love represented true Christianity. Although he was noted for his keeping of the Passover on the 14th of Nisan, Mileto of Sardis denounced the Jews as Messiah-killers and criminals. The invective against Judaism was continued by Origen, Tertullian, John Chrysostom, Cyprian, Ambrose, and other misguided men.
Tertullian in particular wanted to
"dissociate the Christian message from its Jewish trappings in order to give it a truly Latin expression" (Jean Danielou, The Origins of Latin Christianity, p. 139).
He was not content to confine himself to Judaism, however. He also attacked Jewish Christianity not only in its heterodox forms, but as it existed in the Christian church during his lifetime. His reaction against the Judeo-Christian element, became more pronounced in each of his writings, which influenced a new generation of church leaders.
Ironically, the major criticism leveled at the emerging catholic church was its rejection of Judaism. Around 180 A.D., the Greek philosopher Celsus charged that Christians had deserted the Jewish law. They wantonly disregarded the points that were mostly clearly set forth--the keeping of the Sabbath, the festivals, and the dietary laws. The fact that church fathers were writing rebuttals 80 years later shows the impact that Ceisus had.
But even more devastating were the arguments of Porphyry, a well-known biographer, and philosopher. Several generations of churchmen were unable to answer Porphyry, whose works were finally put to the torch by Constantine. Intimately acquainted with the Scriptures, Porphyry showed that the Christians of his day had abandoned the teachings of Christ and had introduced a new cult in which Jesus Himself was deified. Since they were unable to counter his accusations, the church fathers grew even more vehement in their attempts to allegorize the Bible.
By the end of the third century, the Jews had become an embarrassment. They represented a large and unpopular group that should have but would not accept catholic norms. Under the emperor Theodosius, when Christian uniformity became the official policy of the empire, Christian mob attacks on synagogues grew common. This unlicensed violence was contrary to Roman public policy, since Jews were regarded as valuable and respectable members of society for their general support of authority.
In 388 A.D. the Jewish synagogue at Callinicum on the Euphrates was destroyed at the instigation of the local bishop. Theodosius decided to make the incident a test case and ordered it rebuilt at Christian expense. The bishop Ambrose hotly opposed the decision, and Theodosius withdrew his orders. This event marked an
"important stage in the construction of a society in which only orthodox Christianity exercised full rights" (Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity, p. 104-105).
The Survival of the "Faith Delivered to the Saints"
An even greater embarrassment to the church was the continued existence of Jewish Christian congregations--the element that Tertullian wanted to extirpate. In their efforts to disavow the influence of Judaism, catholics soon viewed these Christians as heretical.
"Yet what was Christian heresy? And for that matter, what was the Church? Most of our knowledge of early Christian history comes from the writings of Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea in the fourth century. Eusebius was in many ways a conscientious historian, and he had access to multitudes of sources which have since disappeared ...He wanted to show that the church he represented had always constituted the mainstream of Christianity, both in organization and faith. The truth is very different ...A dominant orthodox Church, with a recognizable ecclesiastical structure, emerged only very gradually" (Johnson, p. 43).
The apostle Jude, the brother of Christ, urged Christians at the end of the first century to "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints." His epistle is regarded by some modern scholars as one of the literary remains of Jewish Christians from Jerusalem, written after the fall of Jerusalem. What is significant is that the primitive Church was already being threatened from within. True Christians were forced to begin to defend the faith against men who called themselves brothers in Christ.
Christianity did not follow a smooth evolutionary path after the mother Church in Jerusalem was scattered. It divided and re-divided. Gradually, a group of people who called themselves catholics agreed to accept certain doctrines--not the plain and simple doctrines of the New Testament, but doctrines which had been allegorized and reconfigured to their ideas and values.
By the end of the second century, the way of life transmitted by the primitive Christian community in Jerusalem was in grave danger. A few historians believe that it actually perished. Historical information about the groups that followed the apostolic traditions, unfortunately, is sketchy and comes almost exclusively from the writings of the church fathers. Under Theodosius and a later emperor named Valentinian, all writings hostile to the catholic church--including Christian works deemed heretical--were burned.
Yet a few historical traces have been preserved. After the fall of Jerusalem, a certain group of Jewish Christians remained faithful to the apostolic traditions, while another began to incorporate elements of legalism, Essenism, and even Gnosticism into its religious thought. Justin Martyr was the first to point out the difference between the two groups. Some Jewish Christians wanted to impose ritual laws on Gentile converts, but others did not.
Jewish Christians who maintained the apostolic legacy were accepted by neither Jew nor professing Christian. They were occasionally viewed as a political threat by authorities. Several Roman emperors examined their leaders, who were the descendants of Jesus' family, to see if they were a potential menace to the empire. From 90 A.D. the Jews banned them from the synagogues, and from the middle of the second century catholic churchmen strongly condemned their beliefs as unworthy of Christ.
Very likely the group known historically as the Nazarenes represented the Jewish Christianity taught by the apostles. The term "Nazarene" is first mentioned in Acts 24:5 where it is used to refer to true Christians. Later Jewish writings also referred to Christians as Nazarenes. Two catholic writers, Epiphanius and Jerome, stated that the Nazarenes of their day dwelt in Berea, Pella, and in other cities in the hill country of Judea and Syria. Julius Africanus corroborates that Jewish Christian leaders included offspring from Jesus' family. These Christians had a complete gospel of Matthew in Aramaic, as well as commentaries on the Old Testament, which Jerome himself used. They followed the law of Moses along with the teachings of Christ.
Augustine of Hippo was acquainted with such groups as late as 400 A.D. In Antioch, "the synagogue on Saturday, the church on Sunday" was a familiar summary of practice. John Chrysostom lamented the fact that some catholics had begun to observe the Jewish holy days and Sabbath; he admitted that many had high regard for the Jews and believed that their way of life was holy.
In the 430s, the Christian Council of Laodicea ruled in detail against Christian observance of the Jewish Sabbath, their acceptance of unleavened bread from Jews, and their keeping of Jewish festivals (Robin Lane Fox, Pagans and Christians, p. 482). The truth left by the apostolic Church was not easily extinguished.
Did this truth perish after the fourth century? The answer is no. As the catholic church moved into the Middle Ages, what it called Judaizing never ceased to exist.
"In the decrees of the Church councils, the term gained currency from the time of the Council of Laodicea in the fourth century onward. It was used by Christian ecclesiastics like Agobard, who charged Christians at Lyons (in the ninth century) with Jewish inclinations and habits. In the historical literature of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the term 'Judaizer' won frequent place, and came to designate either individuals or groups, who, as in Lombardy, adopted a Jewish outlook on life, and Jewish forms of ceremony and conduct. It was employed to designate certain heretical groups which challenged papal authority. Papal bulls during these centuries when heresies flourished are filled with references to Judaizers and 'Re-Judaizers,' the latter term being applied to Jewish converts to Christianity who later returned to their original faith" (Louis Newman, Jewish Influence on Christian Reform Movements, pps. 1-3).
Is Modern Christianity an Anachronism?
The truth has never been lost, but it has been ignored. Only within this century have scholars attempted to reconstruct early Church history apart from the writings of the church fathers. A few of them have been provocative in their reevaluation.
Whether or not they agree with his conclusions about the divinity of Christ, most Biblical scholars recognize that Hugh Schonfield made a significant contribution to our knowledge of church history. Along with S.G.F. Brandon and Robert Eisler, Schonfield clearly demonstrated that the early Church was a sect within Judaism, not a new religion.
In his book Those Incredible Christians, Schonfield presents an interesting thesis. The religion known as Christianity is an anachronism--an institution out of its proper time. By adopting the trappings of paganism, Christianity reverted to an ancient past. Yet paganism as a religious movement had been slowly dying out among the educated classes of the Roman empire. In a curious twist of fate, educated Romans were moving toward the monotheism that Judaism had embraced for centuries. By converting to Catholicism, they fell back into a form of polytheism evidenced by belief in the trinity.
Schonfield challenges the reader to examine his or her own religious beliefs. He concludes his book with an invitation to Christians to
"go back to the beginning and search out anew in the context of the Jewish vision, which the Church forsook, the mysteries of the Kingdom of God" (p. 225).
In this age of intellectual enlightenment, it is amazing that the modern Christian clings to outdated myths and practices. The one area of life--religion--that a Christian should consider of supreme importance is based on fallacy. One television evangelist has even gone so far as to admit that a certain holiday is pagan in origin, yet he claims it for Jesus just the same.
Is that what Jesus Christ wants? Christ placed a great deal of emphasis on knowing the truth. Remember that He had to combat the false doctrines and ideas of His time. He said,
"You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
He also said,
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit, and in truth" (John 4:24).
Now it can conceivably be argued that He was referring to "spiritual" truth --not truth based on historical evidence.
But twenty centuries later we are faced with a unique dilemma. To understand spiritual truth, the modern Christian must understand historical truth. It is difficult to separate Christian theology from Christian history, because they had an enormous impact on each other. Modern Christianity was shaped by key events and trends in history, as well as by the long process of doctrinal development.
If you believe you are a Christian, it's time to ask yourself some hard questions. Do your beliefs agree with those of primitive Christianity, or have they been accommodated to the society around you? If your church has, not been built on the foundation of Christ and the apostles as described in the New Testament, your faith may be a hollow shell--a relic of ancient religions far removed from the God of the Bible.
May God guide you in answering these questions!
Early Christianity ping!
ping to read later
Ping
An article you may be interested in...
Read Later
Another article if you haven’t seen it yet....
read later ping.
Many Christians know that Constatine dictated the conclusion of the Council of Nicea in 325, making many of the practices of the early church illegal, indeed making them a capital offense. Historians act as if the entire church obeyed that decision. The truth is that some people stayed faithful to the original teachings of the church. That faith community today is carried on by many organizations, many of which carry the name of Church of God, such as Philadelphia COG, United COG, Living COG, COG, International.
In doing so, these people reject the idea that the original teachings of the Bible have been “interpreted” by later writings. In the view of Primitive Christians, this would be as absurd as suggesting, for example, that to understand the Second Amendment we must look at the writings of modern scholars such as Justice Ginsburg instead what the authors of that Amendment wrote at the time.
Jesus had no siblings. At best, St. James was St. Joseph's son from an earlier marriage and as St. Joseph was not Jesus' biological father, the two had no blood relation whatsoever.
I understand that within the framework of some doctrinal teachings that this is correct, but I don't agree with that framework.
It's precisely because it is so out of step with traditional Christianity. For example, if someone worships on the sabbath (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) and BELIEVES that not doing so is a sin then by default all of Christianity (Catholic and Protestant) has been committing and teaching this sin for hundreds of years. Not a pleasant realization to come to. Even if one acknowledges this, then the next step is to actually "come out" and embrace the practices of the NT saints and as Christians observe God's feast days which is VERY out of step in both Christianity and Judaism.
for later
self ping
Most of the time historians will say that people who practiced these things "died out". But you are correct, they didn't die out, they simply went underground and didn't become part of "official" church history. But they were always there despite prosecution and despite being labeled as heretics or worse.
some would have you think it was polygamy, child brides and Atonement in the Garden instead of the Cross
A major mistake that many Christians make is to believe that Paul's teaching contradict Christ. But they don't. His writings ARE difficult to understand without a basic knowledge of Hebrew old testament practices, Judaism as taught in the time of Christ and early Christians. Peter understood that people would twist Paul's writing into something they weren't:
2Pe 3:15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,
2Pe 3:16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
No, St. James the Just could have been called "brother" in the same sense as St. Peter, for example. "Brothers in Christ."
"Maybe Joseph and Mary had other children, after the birth of Christ."
Mary's perpetual virginity, as a doctrinal article of faith, makes this impossible.
Wrong thread. :-)
“Do your beliefs agree with those of primitive Christianity, or have they been accommodated to the society around you?”
Are you Saved by Grace or works?
Hogwash.
Rubber Bibles and
rubber histories and
rubber dictionaries are a farce.
People can believe anything they want. That does not make it right or change what is right.
The Bible says Jesus had brothers and sisters. The Bible says it and that settles it.
We don’t really know because the Roman Church purged as heresy any thing not meeting the party line
Grace. If you are in God's grace do you disobey him?
Stated nowhere in the Bible, but just another "teaching of men".
I’ve always wondered what constituted a sin against the Holy Spirit. This thread has provided a satisfactory answer. Thanks to all!
Interesting read although I’m only about a quarter of the way through it.
I always hesitate when I hear somebody give their tenets of religion, but leave God out of the picture.
I recall the comments of another regarding the founding fathers. When one reads their writings, written after the apostles had past away, it seems as though they are using the same vocabulary of the apostles without understanding their meaning. It’s like listening to little kids talking about mature political topics at school. They apparently have been around parents discussing the issues with fervent meaning, have grasped some of the vocabulary, but when they attempt to synthesize meaningful expressions are only limited to the syntax, void of underlying meaning.
It took two millennium of theology to more fully express that original meaning.
Ridiculous and pathetic.
Help me out, where does this come from? Isn't is perfectly reasonable to believe that Mary and Joseph had children of their own?
A very misleading article. It picks those parts of scripture and history it wants, and tosses aside much of the New Testament. It also ignores large parts of the Gospels.
bump for later
Jesus told His disciples right before his crucufixion that there were many things He wanted to tell them, but they couldn't handle it yet. Probably stuff like "the gentiles are coming into the Kingdom".
Paul spent a lot of time dealing with the implications of that fact, and distilling the pure Gospel away from Jewish religion and tradition.
As another poster pointed out there's an opposite conclusion to this. They used the example of Constitutional interpretation. Thebuckwheat said "In the view of Primitive Christians, this would be as absurd as suggesting, for example, that to understand the Second Amendment we must look at the writings of modern scholars such as Justice Ginsburg instead what the authors of that Amendment wrote at the time. "
Anyways, I'm glad you're finding the article interesting though I suspect you won't agree with it's conclusions.
Logic. The mother of God later giving birth to others?
"Isn't is perfectly reasonable to believe that Mary and Joseph had children of their own?"
Ordinarily, of course. But in Mary's case many factors come into play.
This is a very insightful statement and I thank you for it. I've always struggled how to express this idea and here you did it. What's generally not understood is how far Jewish tradition and culture had infiltrated the pure gospel, the teachings that were held by God at the beginning of time. Paul understood this and since he was well versed in Jewish tradition and religion he wrote with this understanding. A major mistake that some messianic make is confusing Jewish tradition with biblical teachings.
It's certainly a difficult statement to digest if you're of another mind. But I think he supports the statement very well in the article.
I think the author assumes some things about his readership, but isn't purposely ignoring scripture or history. I've got a pretty good idea about what scriptures you might be thinking about, but what is it that you're objecting to in particular?
“If you are in God’s grace do you disobey him?”
I am not in God’s Grace. God’s Grace is extended to me as one of the Elect. Grace a gift. Yes, sometimes we disobey.
Like a laser shining in the Darkness
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua
I've read a lot of this alternate history stuff you've been posting.
Fanciful contortions, nothing more.
I think we're going to have to define terms here. "Grace", as I see it, is the undeserved favor of God toward man, or men.
Thus when we say we're saved by "grace", we're talking about the attitude and action of God toward us as undeserving sinners. Not mechanics (so to speak) but attitude. Although "mechanics" and "attitude" are wholly inadequate for describing these processes. When we have God's grace, or are in God's grace, we are in God's favor.
The mechanics of receiving this grace are well defined and specific:
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
So God's grace is conditional upon performing certain actions. Primary is that we repent of our sins. We recognize them as sin and turn away from them, go the other way.
Disobedience, sin, is not living within God's grace. It is rejection of his spirit. Yes, it happens in Christians, but it shouldn't purposely or continually happen.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
The more mature a Christian becomes, the less he will sin. The more his life will seem to conform to God's laws. This MUST happen because if it doesn't then we're not letting God's spirit overwhelm our own spirit and desires.
Asking whether were saved by grace or works is like asking if you want a car with an engine or a transmission. Both are integral parts of Christian character.
Good for you. See you in church next sabbath... :-)
Fanciful contortions, nothing more.
I know they're different than what you've been taught or believe. But to many of us they make an eminent amount of sense and square with both scripture and history.
What did the early Church believe and preach?
Rather than having some unsourced article, I suggest that you look at the writings of the Early Church. For example, the Didache:
1. There are two ways, one of life and one of death; but a great difference between the two ways. 2. The way of life, then, is this: First, you shall love God who made you; second, your neighbour as yourself; and all things whatsoever you would should not occur to you, do not also do to another. 3. And of these sayings the teaching is this: Bless them that curse you, and pray for your enemies, and fast for them that persecute you. For what thank is there, if you love them that love you? Do not also the Gentiles do the same? But do ye love them that hate you; and you shall not have an enemy. 4. Abstain from fleshly and worldly lusts. If one give you a blow upon your right cheek, turn to him the other also; and you shall be perfect. If one impress you for one mile, go with him two. If one take away your cloak, give him also your coat. If one take from you your own, ask it not back, for indeed you are not able. 5. Give to every one that asks you, and ask it not back; for the Father wills that to all should be given of our own blessings (free gifts). Happy is he that gives according to the commandment; for he is guiltless. Woe to him that receives; for if one having need receives, he is guiltless; but he that receives not having need, shall pay the penalty, why he received and for what, and, coming into straits (confinement), he shall be examined concerning the things which he has done, and he shall not escape thence until he pay back the last farthing. Matthew 5:26 6. But also now concerning this, it has been said, Let your alms sweat in your hands, until you know to whom you should give.
Chapter 2. — The Second Commandment: Gross Sin Forbidden
1. And the second commandment of the Teaching; 2. You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, Exodus 20:13-14 you shall not commit pæderasty, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, Exodus 20:15 you shall not practice magic, you shall not practice witchcraft, you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is begotten. You shall not covet the things of your neighbour, Exodus 20:17 3. you shall not forswear yourself, Matthew 5:34 you shall not bear false witness, Exodus 20:16 you shall not speak evil, you shall bear no grudge. 4. You shall not be double-minded nor double-tongued; for to be double-tongued is a snare of death. 5. Your speech shall not be false, nor empty, but fulfilled by deed. 6. You shall not be covetous, nor rapacious, nor a hypocrite, nor evil disposed, nor haughty. You shall not take evil counsel against your neighbour. 7. You shall not hate any man; but some you shall reprove, and concerning some you shall pray, and some you shall love more than your own life.
Chapter 3. — Other Sins Forbidden
1. My child, flee from every evil thing, and from every likeness of it. 2. Be not prone to anger, for anger leads the way to murder; neither jealous, nor quarrelsome, nor of hot temper; for out of all these murders are engendered. 3. My child, be not a lustful one; for lust leads the way to fornication; neither a filthy talker, nor of lofty eye; for out of all these adulteries are engendered. 4. My child, be not an observer of omens, since it leads the way to idolatry; neither an enchanter, nor an astrologer, nor a purifier, nor be willing to took at these things; for out of all these idolatry is engendered. 5. My child, be not a liar, since a lie leads the way to theft; neither money-loving, nor vainglorious, for out of all these thefts are engendered. 6. My child, be not a murmurer, since it leads the way to blasphemy; neither self-willed nor evil-minded, for out of all these blasphemies are engendered. 7. But be meek, since the meek shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 8. Be long-suffering and pitiful and guileless and gentle and good and always trembling at the words which you have heard. 9. You shall not exalt yourself, Luke 18:14 nor give over-confidence to your soul. Your soul shall not be joined with lofty ones, but with just and lowly ones shall it have its intercourse. 10. The workings that befall you receive as good, knowing that apart from God nothing comes to pass.
Chapter 4. — Various Precepts
1. My child, him that speaks to you the word of God remember night and day; and you shall honour him as the Lord; for in the place whence lordly rule is uttered, there is the Lord. 2. And you shall seek out day by day the faces of the saints, in order that you may rest upon their words. 3. You shall not long for division, but shall bring those who contend to peace. You shall judge righteously, you shall not respect persons in reproving for transgressions. 4. You shall not be undecided whether it shall be or no. 5. Be not a stretcher forth of the hands to receive and a drawer of them back to give. 6. If you have anything, through your hands you shall give ransom for your sins. 7. You shall not hesitate to give, nor murmur when you give; for you shall know who is the good repayer of the hire. 8. You shall not turn away from him that is in want, but you shall share all things with your brother, and shall not say that they are your own; for if you arepartakers in that which is immortal, how much more in things which are mortal? 9. You shall not remove your hand from your son or from your daughter, but from their youth shall teach them the fear of God. Ephesians 6:4 10. You shall not enjoin anything in your bitterness upon your bondman or maidservant, who hope in the same God, lest ever they shall fear not God who is over both; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 4:1 for he comes not to call according to the outward appearance, but unto them whom the Spirit has prepared. 11. And ye bondmen shall be subject to your masters as to a type of God, in modesty and fear. Ephesians 6:5; Colossians 3:22 12. You shall hate all hypocrisy and everything which is not pleasing to the Lord. 13. Forsake in no way the commandments of the Lord; but you shall keep what you have received, neither adding thereto nor taking away therefrom . Deuteronomy 12:32 14. In the church you shall acknowledge your transgressions, and you shall not come near for your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life.
Chapter 5. — The Way of Death
1. And the way of death is this: First of all it is evil and full of curse: murders, adulteries, lusts, fornications, thefts, idolatries, magic arts, witchcrafts, rapines, false witnessings, hypocrisies, double-heartedness, deceit, haughtiness, depravity, self-will, greediness, filthy talking, jealousy, over-confidence, loftiness, boastfulness; 2. persecutors of the good, hating truth, loving a lie, not knowing a reward for righteousness, not cleaving to good nor to righteous judgment, watching not for that which is good, but for that which is evil; from whom meekness and endurance are far, loving vanities, pursuing requital, not pitying a poor man, not labouring for the afflicted, not knowing Him that made them, murderers of children, destroyers of the handiwork of God, turning away from him that is in want, afflicting him that is distressed, advocates of the rich, lawless judges of the poor, utter sinners. Be delivered, children, from all these.
Chapter 6. — Against False Teachers, and Food Offered to Idols
1. See that no one cause you to err from this way of the Teaching, since apart from God it teaches you. 2. For if you are able to bear all the yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect; but if you are not able, what you are able that do. 3. And concerning food, bear what you are able; but against that which is sacrificed to idols be exceedingly on your guard; for it is the service of dead gods.
Chapter 7. Concerning Baptism
1. And concerning baptism, thus baptize ye: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19 in living water. 2. But if you have not living water, baptize into other water; and if you can not in cold, in warm. 3. But if you have not either, pour out water thrice upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. 4. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whatever others can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before.
Chapter 8. — Concerning Fasting and Prayer (the Lord’s Prayer)
1. But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites; Matthew 6:16 for they fast on the second and fifth day of the week; but do ye fast on the fourth day and the Preparation (Friday). 2. Neither pray as the hypocrites; but as the Lord commanded in His Gospel, thus pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us today our daily (needful) bread, and forgive us our debt as we also forgive our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (or, evil); for Yours is the power and the glory for ever. 3. Thrice in the day thus pray.
Chapter 9. — The Thanksgiving (Eucharist)
1. Now concerning the Thanksgiving (Eucharist), thus give thanks. 2. First, concerning the cup: We thank you, our Father, for the holy vine of David Your servant, which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory for ever. 3. And concerning the broken bread: We thank You, our Father, for the life and knowledge which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory for ever. 4. Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever. 5. But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving (Eucharist), but they who have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord has said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs. Matthew 7:6
Chapter 10. — Prayer After Communion
1. But after you are filled, thus give thanks: 2. We thank You, holy Father, for Your holy name which You caused to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory for ever. 3. You, Master almighty, created all things for Your name’s sake; You gave food and drink to men for enjoyment, that they might give thanks to You; but to us You freely gave spiritual food and drink and life eternal through Your Servant. 4. Before all things we thank You that You are mighty; to You be the glory for ever. 5. Remember, Lord, Your Church, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in Your love, and gather it from the four winds, sanctified for Your kingdom which You have prepared for it; for Yours is the power and the glory for ever. 6. Let grace come, and let this world pass away. Hosanna to the God (Son) of David! If any one is holy, let him come; if any one is not so, let him repent. Maran atha. Amen. 7. But permit the prophets to make Thanksgiving as much as they desire.
Chapter 11. — Concerning Teachers, Apostles, and Prophets
1. Whosoever, therefore, comes and teaches you all these things that have been said before, receive him. 2. But if the teacher himself turn and teach another doctrine to the destruction of this, hear him not; but if he teach so as to increase righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord. 3. But concerning the apostles and prophets, according to the decree of the Gospel, thus do. 4. Let every apostle that comes to you be received as the Lord. 5. But he shall not remain except one day; but if there be need, also the next; but if he remain three days, he is a false prophet. 6. And when the apostle goes away, let him take nothing but bread until he lodges; but if he ask money, he is a false prophet. 7. And every prophet that speaks in the Spirit you shall neither try nor judge; for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven. 8. But not every one that speaks in the Spirit is a prophet; but only if he hold the ways of the Lord. Therefore from their ways shall the false prophet and the prophet be known. 9. And every prophet who orders a meal in the Spirit eats not from it, except indeed he be a false prophet; 10. and every prophet who teaches the truth, if he do not what he teaches, is a false prophet. 11. And every prophet, proved true, working unto the mystery of the Church in the world, yet not teaching others to do what he himself does, shall not be judged among you, for with God he has his judgment; for so did also the ancient prophets. But whoever says in the Spirit, Give me money, or something else, you shall not listen to him; but if he says to you to give for others’ sake who are in need, let no onejudge him.
Chapter 12. — Reception of Christians
1. But let every one that comes in the name of the Lord be received, and afterward you shall prove and know him; for you shall have understanding right and left. 2. If he who comes is a wayfarer, assist him as far as you are able; but he shall not remain with you, except for two or three days, if need be. 3. But if hewills to abide with you, being an artisan, let him work and eat; 2 Thessalonians 3:10 but if he has no trade, 4. according to your understanding see to it that, as a Christian, he shall not live with you idle. 5. But if he wills not to do, he is a Christ-monger. Watch that you keep aloof from such.
Chapter 13. — Support of Prophets
1. But every true prophet that wills to abide among you is worthy of his support. 2. So also a true teacher is himself worthy, as the workman, of his support. Matthew 10:10; cf. Luke 10:7 3. Every first-fruit, therefore, of the products of wine-press and threshing-floor, of oxen and of sheep, you shall take and give to the prophets, for they are your high priests. 4. But if you have not a prophet, give it to the poor. 5. If you make a batch of dough, take the first-fruit and give according to the commandment. 6. So also when you open a jar of wine or of oil, take the first-fruit and give it to the prophets; 7. and of money (silver) and clothing and every possession, take the first-fruit, as it may seem good to you, and give according to the commandment.
Chapter 14. — Christian Assembly on the Lord’s Day
1. But every Lord’s day do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. 2. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned. 3. For this is that which was spoken by the Lord: In every place and time offer to me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, says the Lord, and my name is wonderful among the nations.
Chapter 15. — Bishops and Deacons; Christian Reproof
1. Appoint, therefore, for yourselves, bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, men meek, and not lovers of money, 1 Timothy 3:4 and truthful and proved; for they also render to you the service of prophets and teachers. 2. Despise them not therefore, for they are your honoured ones, together with the prophets and teachers. 3. And reprove one another, not in anger, but in peace, as you have it in the Gospel; Matthew 18:15-17 but to every one that acts amiss against another, let no one speak, nor let him hear anything from you until he repent. 4. But your prayers and alms and all your deeds so do, as you have it in the Gospel of our Lord.
Chapter 16. — Watchfulness; The Coming of the Lord
1. Watch for your life’s sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord comes. Matthew 24:42 2. But often shall you come together, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if you be not made perfect in the last time. 3. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; Matthew 24:11-12 4. for when lawlessness increases, they shall hate and persecute and betray one another, Matthew 24:10 and then shall appear the world-deceiver as the Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never yet come to pass since the beginning. 5. Then shall the creation of men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be made to stumble and shall perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself. 6. And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first, the sign of an out-spreading in heaven; then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and the third, the resurrection of the dead; 7. yet not of all, but as it is said: The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him. 8. Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.
Looking to emulate the Early Church is an admirable goal. But rather than focusing on the doctrines of modern day men, you should look for the historical record, which is perfectly plain to see.
Keep looking...you’ll find it!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.