History of early Christianity

Main article: History of Christianity

The term Early Christianity here refers to Christianity of the period after the Death of Jesus in the early 30s and before the First Council of Nicaea in 325. The term is sometimes used in a more narrow sense of just the very first followers (disciples) of Jesus of Nazareth and the faith as preached and practiced by the Twelve Apostles, their contemporaries, and their immediate successors, also called the Apostolic Age.

Origin

Early Christianity began as a Jewish sect of the followers of Jesus during the late Second Temple period of the 1st century. There were several other Jewish sects in and around what is now the modern state of Israel (then it was the Roman Iudaea Province) during the same time period. These sects included the Sadducees, the Essenes and the Pharisees, and a group recognized as Zealots. Christians are distinguished from these other groups by their belief that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. The word "Messiah" comes from Aramaic and Hebrew word משיח (alternative spelling משיחא), which literally means the "anointed [one]". In Jewish tradition, this term refers to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line who will be anointed with holy anointing oil and inducted to rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age. In Greek, this figure was referred to as Template:Polytonic (Christós). The English word "Christ" comes from this Greek word. It was this belief in Jesus as the Christ or Messiah that later led to to this sect, and later non-Jewish converts, being called "Christians." The name "Christian" was first used by people in Antioch to refer to this group as the early 40s of the first century (before Paul's first missionary journey). The usage of the Greek word Template:Polytonic (Christós) by people of Antioch followed what the Acts of the Apostles describes as another "first" for Antioch: Jesus preaching to "Greek-speakers" (Template:Polytonic) or "Greeks" (Template:Polytonic) in Antioch, as opposed to "Jews" (Template:Polytonic),. It is argued by some, such as Burton Mack that the Acts of the Apostles was only written in the early second century. Based on this argument, the conjecture that Jesus preached to Greek speakers in Antioch may reflect the position taken by the Gentilic followers of Jesus, rather than the Jewish Christians such as the Nazarenes and Ebionites. Previous to the account in Acts of the Apostles, the household of the Roman Centurion Cornelius is the only group of Gentiles mentioned as accepted among the believers in Jesus and his resurrection. Furthermore, previous to this account in Acts there was no general preaching of Christ to Gentiles. Note that here gentile is specifically defined as: distinct from Jews and Samaritans and the "Ethiopian eunuch" of 8:27. Acceptance of these gentiles into the Christian community did not mean that the Jews in the community ceased to view themselves as Jews: the alleged Council of Jamnia that is supposed to have formally expelled "Nazarenes" from the synagogues of Rabbinic Judaism came some thirty years later. See Jewish Christians.

Though Jesus had been crucified, Christians believed that "God raised him from the dead", that he "had risen", and that he ascended to heaven, to the "right hand of God", and would return again to fulfil the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment and establishment of the Kingdom of God (also see Messianism and Messianic Age). Their belief quickly spread to non-Jews, whom the Jews called Gentiles. This spread was seen as fulfilment of Bible prophecy such as Isaiah 42:1–4 (Matthew 12:18–21), Isaiah 42:6 (Luke 2:32), Isaiah 49:6 (Acts 13:47), Amos 9:11–12 (Acts 15:16–17), Isaiah 56:7 (Mark 11:17), Isaiah 60:3 (John 8:12, Rev 21:24). See also proselyte and Judaism and Christianity.

Among the earliest Christians, the apostles had an acknowledged leadership role, as shown, for instance, in the following episodes recounted in the Acts of the Apostles: it was in their teaching that the first Christians "continued steadfastly" (Acts 2:42); they sent envoys to enquirer (see Seventy Disciples) into novelties that arose (Acts 8:14); appeal was made to them, along with the elders, to settle a dispute about the obligations of Christians (Acts 15:2). Some of Jesus' relatives were also prominent early Christians, his mother being a notable follower, and two of his four named brothers from the New Testament: James the Just and Jude; and Simeon of Jerusalem were noted as leaders. Some identify James the Just with the apostle James, son of Alphaeus and James the Less and Jude with the apostle Saint Jude and Simeon of Jerusalem with the apostle Simon the Zealot yet the New Testament also records conflict between Jesus and his family, such as Mark 3:21, see also Rejection of Jesus and Mark 3. Some see a negative view of Jesus' family as related to a conflict between Paul of Tarsus and Jewish Christians.

Later writings, such as the Gospel of Mary Magdalene (which survives in two third-century Greek fragments and a longer fifth-century translation into Coptic), mention certain individuals who are also mentioned in canonical gospels. These individuals, who include Mary Magdalene, Salome (disciple) [9], Lazarus of Bethany and his sisters Martha and Mary, and Nicodemus, are mentioned as being prominent among early Christians and associated with Jesus during his lifetime. Some of these documents present the figures in question as being among the leadership of the apostles. See, for example Sophia of Jesus Christ

It is difficult to cite any individual event as triggering a schism between Judaism and Christianity, and establishing Christianity as a religion in its own right, as opposed to a Jewish sect, however there are several noteworthy events. One is the previously mentioned alleged Council of Jamnia. Another is the perception immediately preceding the Bar Kokhba's revolt in 132, that Simon bar Kokhba was the true Jewish Messiah. A third is the confusion about the requirement for Christians to follow the laws of the Hebrew Bible, most notably circumcision, ultimately leading to Council of Jerusalem in the mid first century. A fourth is the writing and publication of the New Testament, starting in the decade following Jesus's death until around 140. Adherence of early Christians to some Jewish laws and customs continued for several centuries. Many issues concerning abolishing, modifying, or replacing certain Jewish laws and customs were not settled until some 300 years after Jesus's death. The First Council of Nicaea (325) described Jesus as "God from God" recognizing his divinity, and strengthening the doctrine of the trinity. This conflicted with the traditional Jewish understanding of the oneness of God (see Shema). Later the Council of Laodicea (363) outlawed the observance of traditional Sabbath on Saturday. By the end of the early Christianity period in the fourth century, Christianity had evolved to a separate and distinct religion from Judaism.

Practices

From the writings of early Christians, historians have tried to piece together an understanding of various early Christian practices including worship services, customs and observances. Early Christian writers such as Justin Martyr described these practices.

Worship

In his "First Apology," a letter of defense written to Roman emperor, Antonius Pius, 161-180, Justin described simple Christian worship services and practices, explaining:

...after we have thus washed him who has been convinced (converted to Christianity) and has assented to our teaching, we bring him to the place where those who are called brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized person, ...so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation. Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss. There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water; and he taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands. And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying Amen. ... And when the president has given thanks, and all the people have expressed their assent, those who are called by us deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion....And this food is called among us Eucharistia or [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. ... we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is My blood;" and gave it to them alone.

Religious writing

Early Christians wrote epistles, gospels, apocalypses, apologies, commentaries, martyr stories, and more.

Scripture

Key writings were identified early on as inspired. Apologists argued that Christian wisdom was superior to pagan philosophy because Christianity was based on divine revelation (reflected in the epistles and gospels), not reason. By the 4th century, Christians generally accepted as inspired a list of books similar to the Bible canon as it was later defined.

Church Community

Christian groups were first organized loosely, with various members contributing according to their various gifts. By the end of the era, Christianity had an orthodox church hierarchy, led by five patriarchs and hundreds of other bishops.

Christians proclaimed a God of love who enjoined them to share a higher love with one another. They interpreted the Old Testament as revealing primarily a God of justice, whereas the New Testament, particularly the letters of Paul and the Gospel of John, revealed a more loving God. Parallels are found in Pharisaic and Rabbinic Judaism. Christians also believed the impersonal Unknown God of the Greeks was revealed in the Christian God (Acts 17:22–33). Early Christian communities welcomed everyone, including slaves and women, who were generally shunned in Greco-Roman culture, but there were other exceptions, such as Epicurianism.

Monasticism

Christian monasticism started in Egypt. The first monks were hermits (eremetic monks). By the end of the early Christian era, Saint Pachomius was organizing his followers into a community and founding the tradition of monasticism in community (cenobitic monks).

Influences by Greco-Roman and Jewish cultures

Main article: Pagan influences on Christianity

The land in which Christianity began and through which it spread was thoroughly Hellenized. Early church writings were in Greek, even those originating in Rome. Greek concepts of the soul (the immortal, immaterial self separate from the body), the structure of the universe, and of God (or the gods) were generally accepted in the culture.

Modern scholars continue to debate the degrees of influence on early Christian practices by the prevalent non-Christian Greco-Roman cultures of the day. To what degree, for instance, did the Roman veneration of ancestors influence the early Christian veneration of the early Christian witnesses or martyrs, fellow Christians who had been killed for professing and practicing their faith? Likewise, the question is raised - to what extent did official Roman state religious practices, customs and beliefs influence early Christians? For example, just as Roman priests, called pontifs bent the knee in front of the statues of their gods in the magnificent Roman temples, early Christians genuflected (from Latin genu and flectus - literally "the knee to bend") in front of their altars. The ancient title of Pontifex Maximus was first assumed by Pope Damasus I. Today, Pontifiex Maximus is carved inside the nave of the sacristy of Saint Peter's Basilica church in Rome. Likewise, the use of incense in Jewish temple worship and ceremonies found its way into the early Christian liturgies.

Persecution

From the beginning, Christians were subject to various persecutions. This involved even death for Christians such as Stephen (Acts 7:59) and James, son of Zebedee (12:2). Saul, who later converted to Christianity and is best known as Paul of Tarsus, the "Apostle to the Gentiles" (Rom 11:13, Gal 2:8), was a vigorous agent (Acts 9:1–2, Acts 22:5) in the persecution by the Jerusalem authorities, having been present at the stoning of Stephen and approving it (Acts 7:57–8:3, Acts 22:19–20).

Larger-scale persecutions followed at the hands of the authorities of the Roman Empire, beginning with the year 64, when, as reported by the Roman historian Tacitus, the Emperor Nero blamed them for that year's great Fire of Rome. In spite of these at-times intense persecutions, the Christian religion continued its spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin.

The spectacle of Christian martyrs bravely facing death in the arenas demonstrated to the populace the strength of the martyrs' faith. Testimonies of martyrs circulated as religious texts. Martyrs were said to go straight to their heavenly reward rather than waiting for the resurrection of the dead. This tradition is the basis for the Roman Catholic concept of baptism by blood, which remits all sin and punishment for sin.

Christians sometimes sacrificed to idols rather than be executed, and some church leaders denied these Christians readmission to the community even if they later repented. This uncommon practice led to schisms (see Meletius of Lycopolis).

By the end of the early Christian era, the Roman Emperor was a Christian, Constantine the Great. He ended persecution by Rome and instead supported the church. A new phase of the Christian church as the official religion of the land had begun.

Orthodoxy and orthopraxy

The early Christian community had a number of different divisions, including some of them that were considered heretical. There were, of course, different strands of theological opinion among the early Christians, as there are even among those who fully adhere to a faith as highly articulated as that of today's Roman Catholic Church. The room for theological differences within the same body was then greater, since reflection was only beginning on many matters on which the Church reached a conclusion only later.

"No Mainstream" theory

Some claim that Christianity at first had no established orthodoxy or orthopraxy.

Walter Bauer (1877-1960), in his Rechtgläubigkeit und Ketzerei im ältesten Christentum (Tübingen 1934; translated as Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity 1971), developed the thesis that, in earliest Christianity, orthodoxy and heresy do not stand in relation to one another as primary to secondary, but in many regions heresy is the original manifestation of Christianity. Bauer reassessed as a historian the overwhelmingly dominant view that for the period of Christian origins, ecclesiastical doctrine already represented what is primary, while heresies, on the other hand, are somehow a deviation from the genuine (Bauer, Introduction).

A similar view has been put forward by Bentley Layton, that different versions of Christianity flourished side by side, each holding to its own beliefs as the true version. He wrote, "the lack of uniformity in ancient Christian scripture in the early period is very striking, and it points to the substantial diversity within the Christian religion."

Bart D. Ehrman writes that early Christianity comprised several separate groups with conflicting theologies. He coined the term proto-orthodox to name the group that later established itself as the orthodox church.

Mainstream Christianity

Bauer's was admittedly a minority opinion. He himself calls "the overwhelmingly dominant view" that there were, in the early centuries, not just a variety of groups of equal standing, all claiming to be Christian, but also a clear mainstream Christianity. As seen in Ignatius, the 3rd bishop of Antioch's Letter to the Smyrnaeans, this mainstream was called catholic (that is, "universal"), and it condemned doctrines that it judged to be incompatible with the teaching of the bishop: "Avoid divisions, as the beginning of evil. Follow, all of you, the bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father ... Wheresoever the bishop appears, there let the people be, even as wheresoever Christ Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church" (Smyrnaeans, 8); even to the extent of referring to those who propagated such beliefs as "beasts in the shape of men, whom you must not only not receive, but, if it be possible, not even meet with" (Smyrnaeans, 4).

Orthodoxy and orthopraxy in the New Testament

The New Testament itself speaks of orthodoxy and orthopraxy: it contains warnings against teachings considered to be only masquerading as those of Jesus (for example, the Sermon on the Mount, Olivet discourse, But to bring a sword, Rejection of Jesus, Matthew 23, Matthew 24:4–14, 2 Corinthians 11:13–15; 2 Peter 2:1–17; 2 John 7–11; Jude 4–13), and shows how reference was made to the leaders of the Jerusalem Church to decide what was correct doctrine and practice: Acts 15, see also Council of Jerusalem. The text warn against false prophets, antichrists and the Man of Sin.

Beliefs

Early Christian beliefs were based on the apostolic tradition (kerygma) and on the scriptures that would become the Christian Bible.

Main articles of belief

Early Christians believed in five key elements:

1. the Lord God and the Son
2. discipline according to Jesus' teaching
3. baptism
4. common prayer and the Lord's Supper
5. the nearness of the heavenly Kingdom.

Christology

Logos

Main article: Logos

Early Christians identified Jesus Christ as Logos, most famously in the gospel of John. The term "Logos" was used in Greek philosophy and in Jewish religious writing to mean the ultimate ordering principle of the universe.

Those who rejected the identification of Christ with the Logos, as well as the gospel of John, were called Alogi. At the end of the 2nd century, Logos theology survived while its rival, adoptionism, was ruled heretical.

Origen distinguished the Logos from God.

Trinity

Main article: Trinitarianism

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, while Trinity does not explicitly appear in the New Testament, its basis however is established by the New Testament: The coming of Jesus Christ and the presumed presence and power of God among them had implications for the early Christians. "The Holy Spirit, whose coming was connected with the celebration of the Pentecost. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were associated in such New Testament passages as the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19); and in the apostolic benediction: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2Corinthians 13:14)." The Great Commission reflects the baptismal practice at Matthew's time (or later if this line is interpolated, according to The Oxford Companion of the Bible). Aside from this verse, although "Matthew records a special connection between God the Father and Jesus the Son (e.g., 11:27), but he falls short of claiming that Jesus is equal with God (cf. 24:36)."

One of the few elements virtually universal among diverse early Christians was the understanding that Jesus the Son was uniquely united with God the Father.

According to the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the trinity was revealed to the disciples by revelation and in religious visions called theoria.

The close of the early Christian era is defined as the Council of Nicea, which gave the trinity its dogmatic form. But the term "trinity" and concepts related to the trinity existed earlier in the church. Theophilus of Antioch (c. 180) wrote that the first three days of creation correspond to the "trinity" of "God, and His Word, and His wisdom" Athenagoras (c. 200) wrote that Christians "are conducted to the future life by this one thing alone, that they know God and His Logos, what is the oneness of the Son with the Father, what the communion of the Father with the Son, what is the Spirit, what is the unity of these three, the Spirit, the Son, the Father, and their distinction in unity" The phrase "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" became common, especially at baptism. Another trinitarian formula, "Glory to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit," was even more common before the Arian controversy. This earlier formula does not express the co-equality of the three persons.

The Greek philosophical term homoousia (literally translated "same substance" and applied to the Father and the Son), later adopted by trinitarianism, also appears in the early Christian era, as used by Origen, Paul of Samosata, and Alexander of Alexandria. See also Synods of Antioch.

Christian writing, including the books that would later be canon, refer to Jesus as a man and as God, but the Chalcedonian formulation does not appear until soon after the First Council of Nicaea.

Eschatology

Kingdom of God

Early Christians looked forward to the return of Jesus as judge of the world, to the resurrection of the dead, and to eternal life in a perfected world. The general term for this set of beliefs is parousia (or Second Coming). Apologists defended the resurrection of the dead against pagan philosophers, who considered the soul worthy of perfection but not the body. Origen, however, promoted a Platonic viewpoint and denied the physical resurrection.

Early Christians believed that the saved received various divine rewards corresponding to their holiness. While all the saved would gain eternal life in Christ, not all of them would live in heaven. Church father Irenaeus, for example, agrees with tradition that "those who are deemed worthy of an abode in heaven shall go there, others shall enjoy the delights of paradise, and others shall possess the splendour of the city (New Jerusalem)."

Cosmology

Early Christians understood "Heaven" to be literally the divine world above the sky. They sometimes described the souls of the dead waiting underground for the general resurrection. They described gehenna (roughly, hell) as a subterranean fire. The belief that souls of the dead occupied some physical place below heaven was nearly universal in the Roman Empire.

Purgatory

"From the time of the apostles," the Church taught that souls of the saved "are purified by the fire of purgatory.". In fact, "the first Christian communities and the whole Church of the early centuries down to the time of the catacombs was one grand purgatorial society."

Hades

Several early church fathers, such as Tertullian and Hippolytus, use the term "hades" to name the abode of the dead where all (or almost all) souls await judgment day, either in comfort or in torment. The Greek word hades was used by Jews to translate the Hebrew sheol, which at this time was also understood to be segregated into a place of comfort (the bosom of Abraham) and a place of torment.

Angels and Satan

Early Christians understood angels to be active in supporting the church and Satan to be actively opposed to it. Hippolytus, for example, recounts angels physically scourging the first antipope to force him to repent. Christian writers commonly saw Satan as the author of heresies, and he is identified as the father of the Jews or of practicing sinners in the Gospel of John.

The word "angel" is derived from Greek Template:Polytonic, the basic meaning of which is "messenger". The same word was used of manifestations of God in the Old Testament, taken by many to be pre-Incarnation manifestations of Christ. Accordingly, Justin Martyr spoke of Christ as "King, and Priest, and God, and Lord, and angel, and man, and captain, and stone, and a Son born, and first made subject to suffering, then returning to heaven, and again coming with glory, and He is preached as having the everlasting kingdom." He interpreted as Christ the Angel who spoke with Abraham in Genesis 18, and argued for the divinity of Christ by saying: "(T)here is ... another God and Lord subject to the Maker of all things; who is also called an Angel, because He announces to men whatsoever the Maker of all things — above whom there is no other God — wishes to announce to them."

Heresies

The early years of Christianity saw various different and conflicting beliefs. Bart D. Ehrman states that from a historian's viewpoint it was striking in how all of the different beliefs systems traced their lineage back to the original apostles. Most of the understanding of the diverse nature of early Christianity has been lost to historians. This resulted from those beliefs either being reformed or eradicated by what eventually became known as orthodoxy. However, this was not an easy path; what is now identified as heresy, was once part of the predominant beliefs within Christianity.

Adoptionism

Main article: Adoptionism

Many second century Christians believed that Jesus had been a man whom God had adopted as the Son. This outlook appears in The Shepherd of Hermas and, according to some scholars, in Mark and in the epistles of Paul. This Christology conflicted directly with the Logos Christology of the gospel of John.

Gnosticism

Main articles: Gnosticism and Valentinius

Early in the common era, gnosticism comprised several more or less distinct groups, some associated with Jesus and some not. According to gnostic beliefs, salvation depended on secret knowledge (gnosis) to help one escape the material world. Gnosticism developed into a rival of Christianity, with a contrary interpretation of scripture, divinity, etc. While some gnostic elements appear in early Christian writing, orthodox Christianity labeled gnosticism a heresy and rejected its dualistic cosmology and gnosticism's vilification of the material world and the creator of the material. Gnosticism's stance that the God of the Old Testament was not the true God (see the demiurge) and is either fallen (Valentinus) or evil (Sethian and Ophites). Irenaeus labeling them false prophets. Greek philosophers in the tradition of Plato were also outspoken against the gnostics and considered them heretical to Hellenic or Platonic philosophy. (see Neoplatonism and Gnosticism).

According to Stephen L. Harris, the gospel of John both includes gnostic elements and refutes gnostic beliefs. It presents a dualistic universe of light and dark, spirit and matter, good and evil, much like the gnostic(or Essene) accounts. Instead of escaping the material world, however, Jesus bridges the spiritual and physical worlds. John also equates eternal life with knowledge of God and Jesus Christ (17:3).

The Gospel of Thomas has some gnostic elements but lacks the full gnostic cosmology. The scene in John with "doubting Thomas," in which he ascertains that the resurrected Jesus is physical, refutes the gnostic idea that Jesus returned to spirit form after death. The story might be an attempt to undermine the beliefs represented in the Gospel of Thomas.

Christian opposition to gnostic ideas appear in early Christian writings (cf. 1 John 5:5–6, Book of Revelation (see the Nicolaitanes) and the Letter of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans) and many church fathers and Christian saints (see Anti-Gnosticism stub).

Some scholars believe that there were at least three distinct divisions within the Christian movement of the 1st century: the Jewish Christians (led by the Apostle James the Just, with Jesus's disciples, and their followers), Pauline Christians (followers of Paul of Tarsus) and Gnostic Christians (people who generally believed that salvation came through secret knowledge and introspection — see, for example, Romans 16:25 and 1 Cor 2:7). Other scholars believe that Gnostic Christianity was a later development, sometime around the middle or late second century, around the time of Valentinus. Gnosticism was in turn made up of many smaller groups, some of which did not claim any connection to Jesus Christ. In the case of the Mandaeism gnosticism Jesus is refer to as a liar and false prophet. A modern view is argued that Marcionism is mistakenly reckoned among the Gnostics, and really represents a fourth interpretation of the significance of Jesus.[10] [11] Sethian Gnosticism is depicted as the core set of text that the different sects of Gnosticism based their later works and teachings upon. The earlest of these texts is the Apocalypse of Adam in which the creator God of the Old Testament (and therefore the Jewish and Christian God) is depicted as the evil to mankind.

According to Tertullian in Adversus Valentinianos, iv, Valentinus was a candidate for Bishop of Rome (the date would be about 143) and, when passed over in favour of another, "marked out a path for himself" distinct from that of the mainline Christian Church. The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica article on Valentinus suggests that Valentinus did not break with the Church from the very beginning, but "endeavoured as long as possible to maintain his standing within it."

Clement of Alexandria (c. 200) wrote that gnosis "by its own light conveys man through the mystic stages of advancement," culminating in face-to-face knowledge of God.

Marcionism

Main articles: Marcion and Marcionism

In 144, the Church in Rome expelled Marcion of Sinope as a heretic. He thereupon set up his own separate ecclesiastical organization, later called Marcionism. Like the Gnostics, he promoted dualism. Unlike the Gnostics, however, he founded his beliefs not on secret knowledge (gnosis) but on the vast difference between what he saw as the "evil" deity of the Old Testament and the God of love of the New, on which he expounded in his Antithesis.[12] Consequently, Marcionists were vehemently anti-Judaism in their beliefs. They rejected The Hebrew Gospel (see also Gospel of the Hebrews) and all the other Gospels with the exception of a ‘revised’ Gospel of Luke, called the Gospel of Marcion, according to most interpretations, however a minority conclusion is the reverse, that the current Gospel of Luke is based on Marcion's Gospel.

Marcion argued that Christianity should be solely based on Christian Love. He went so far as to say that Jesus’ mission was to overthrow Demiurge -- the fickle, cruel, despotic God of the Old Testament -- and replace Him with the Supreme God of Love whom Jesus came to reveal, see also Antithesis of the Law. Marcion was labeled a gnostic by Irenaeus. Irenaeus' labeled Marcion this because of Marcion expressing this core gnostic belief (see the Sethian and Ophites gnostics), that the creator God of the Jews and the Old Testament was Satan, the devil, the cause of evil to mankind. Or in essence that the Jews, Christians (and anyone who worshipped the creator of the material world the Pagans too) was worshiping the devil. This position, he said, was supported by the ten Epistles of Paul that Marcion also accepted. His writing had a profound effect upon the development of Christianity and the canon.

Montanism

Main article: Montanism

In the 2nd century, Montanism spread across the Roman Empire. It even boasted Tertullian as a convert. The sect's ecstasy, speaking in tongues, and other details are similar to those found in Pentecostalism.

Organization

Despite Ignatius' rejection of Judaizing, see above, Christianity continued many of the patterns of Judaism, adapting to Christian use synagogue liturgical worship, prayer, use of Sacred Scripture, a priesthood, a religious calendar commemorating on certain days each year certain events and/or beliefs, use of music in worship, giving material support to the religious leadership, and practices such as fasting and almsgiving and baptism.

Christians adopted as their Bible the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures known as the Septuagint and later also canonized the books of the New Testament. There are however many phrases which appear to be quotations and other statements of fact, in the early church fathers, which cannot be found in the Bible as we know it. For example in Clement's First Letter he states that Paul "reached the limits of the West", and also appears to quote a variant form of Ezek 33.

A Church hierarchy seems to have been in development at latest by the time of the writing of the Pastoral Epistles in the latter half of the first century, and these structures were certainly formalized well before the end of the Early Christian period, which concluded with the legalization of Christianity in 313 and the holding of the First Council of Nicea in 325.

The Didache, which has been variously dated from 50 to 120, speaks of "appointing for yourself bishops and deacons" and also speaks about teachers and prophets and false prophets.

By the end of the early Christian period, the church was centered on five patriarchates. Four were Greek-speaking: Constantinople (Istanbul), Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The fifth, Rome, was Latin. Rome was accorded primacy based on apostolic succession from Saint Peter. This divide between Greek and Latin would, in the 1054, lead to the East-West Schism.

Significant Early Christian writers

Various authors wrote the gospels and other books of the New Testament. The apostolic fathers are prominent early Christian writers who are traditionally understood to have met and learned from Jesus' personal disciples. Church fathers are later writers with no direct connection to the disciples. Apologists defended Christianity against its critics, especially pagan philosophers. Dates given, if not otherwise specified, are of their writings or bishopric, not of their lives.

Paul of Tarsus, apostle to the gentiles, earliest New Testament author 45~65 anonymous gospel authors, traditionally identified as the Four Evangelists 60~125 anonymous authors of various books of the New Testament early to mid 100s Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, apostolic father 68~107 Clement, bishop of Rome, apostolic father 88~101 Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, apostolic father 110~130 Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, apostolic father 110~160 Marcion of Sinope, rejected the Old Testament, declared heretical in 144 Valentinus ~150, Gnostic, declared heretical in 175 Justin Martyr church father ~165 Melito, bishop of Sardis, ~180 Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, disciple of Polycarp, apologist 180~202 Origen 185~254, Platonist, controversial during his life time, posthumously condemned at the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 Tatian, pupil of Justin Martyr, ascetic theologian ~185 Athenagoras of Athens, philosopher, apologist ~190

Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, excommunicated by Victor I of Rome over the Easter controversy ~196 Montanus, self-proclaimed prophet and founder of Montanism, last quarter of second century Tertullian church father, apologist, first Christian writer in Latin, later a Montanist 197~230 Hippolytus, church father, sometimes termed the first anti-pope, reconciled with the church and died a martyr 217~236 Cyprian bishop of Carthage, martyr 218~258 Clement of Alexandria, church father with gnostic sympathies ~220 Novatian, a rigorist and Antipope in 251 Dionysius, patriarch of Alexandria, pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church 248~264 Paul of Samosata, bishop of Antioch, adoptionist, condemned at 269 Council of Antioch for Christological errors Donatus, bishop of Carthage, (+355), leader of the Donatists from 313 Lactantius, apologist, "Christian Cicero" ~317 Arnobius, apologist ~330 Eusebius wrote History of the Church ~325 after the victory of Constantine over paganism and is considered the Christian Herodotus, the first Church historian

Significant Early Christian texts of disputed authorship

Gospel of Thomas Didache Epistle of Barnabas Shepherd of Hermas Apostolic Constitutions

Canons of the Apostles Liturgy of St James Old Roman Symbol Clementine literature 3rd Corinthians

Parts of the New Testament: Ephesians Colossians 2nd Thessalonians Pastoral Epistles

Hebrews General Epistles Revelation Western Acts Endings of Mark

The term "Christianity"

The earliest recorded use of the term Christianity (Greek Template:Polytonic) is by Ignatius of Antioch, at the start of the second century.

Of the two recensions of Ignatius's letters, the longer is considered to be interpolated and inauthentic. Only the shorter will be considered here.

Ignatius' Letter to the Magnesians has three instances of the word "Christianity":

CHAPTER X.--BEWARE OF JUDAIZING. Let us not, therefore, be insensible to His kindness. For were He to reward us according to our works, we should cease to be. Therefore, having become His disciples, let us learn to live according to the principles of Christianity. For whosoever is called by any other name besides this, is not of God. Lay aside, therefore, the evil, the old, the sour leaven, and be ye changed into the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ. Be ye salted in Him, lest any one among you should be corrupted, since by your savour ye shall be convicted. It is absurd to profess Christ Jesus, and to Judaize. For Christianity did not embrace Judaism, but Judaism Christianity, that so every tongue which believeth might be gathered together to God."[13] [14]

The English translation by J. B. Lightfoot of the shorter recension of Ignatius's Letter to the Romans, chapter 3, also contains the word "Christianity":

Ye never grudged any one; ye were the instructors of others. And my desire is that those lessons shall hold good which as teachers ye enjoin. Only pray that I may have power within and without, so that I may not only say it but also desire it; that I may not only be called a Christian, but also be found one. For if I shall be found so, then can I also be called one, and be faithful then, when I am no more visible to the world. Nothing visible is good. For our God Jesus Christ, being in the Father, is the more plainly visible. The Work is not of persuasiveness, but Christianity is a thing of might, whensoever it is hated by the world.

The modernizations of Lightfoot given on several websites also have the word "Christianity".

There is disagreement among websites about the Roberts-Donaldson English translation of the shorter recension of this one chapter, though they have exactly the same text for all the other chapters. Some, such as this example give a text that contains the word "Christianity":

Chapter III.-Pray Rather that I May Attain to Martyrdom.

Ye have never envied any one; ye have taught others. Now I desire that those things may be confirmed [by your conduct], which in your instructions ye enjoin [on others]. Only request in my behalf both inward and outward strength, that I may not only speak, but [truly] will; and that I may not merely be called a Christian, but really be found to be one. For if I be truly found [a Christian], I may also be called one, and be then deemed faithful, when I shall no longer appear to the world. Nothing visible is eternal. "For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." For our God, Jesus Christ, now that He is with the Father, is all the more revealed [in His glory]. Christianity is not a thing of silence only, but also of [manifest] greatness.

Others, such as this give a text that does not contain the word "Christianity" and that is identical with the text that the other set of sites present as belonging to the longer recension.

Which is the true text of the shorter recension of Romans, chapter III? There is doubt about what is the text of the Roberts-Donaldson translation, but none about the Lightfoot translation, which does contain the word "Christianity". Moreover, the Greek text given as the original of the shorter recension does contain the word "Christianity": "Template:Polytonic" This same text , containing the word "Template:Polytonic", is given also in The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations (Paperback) by Michael W. Holmes (Editor), Baker Academic; Revised edition (November 1999), ISBN 0-8010-2225-8.

Whether Ignatius used the term "Template:Polytonic" four times or only three, nothing in any of the contexts in which he used it can be pointed to as indicating that he considered it a neologism. It is simply the abstract form of the word "Template:Polytonic" ("Christian"), which he uses repeatedly in his letters. In fact, according to Acts 11:26, the term "Christian" (Greek "Template:Polytonic" - Strong's G5546) was first used some seventy years earlier, in the early 40s of the first century, while Ignatius, on the other hand, wrote his letters on his way to martyrdom in Rome in about 110.

In a modern version, such as NIV, the generally accepted text of Acts 11:26 is translated as: "... when he [Barnabas] found him [Saul], he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." The Western version of Acts, which no modern Bible version chooses as the basis for its text, gives the verse in the form: "And having heard that Saul was at Tarsus, he went out to seek him; and when he met him he exhorted him to come to Antioch. And they, when they had come, for a whole year were gathered together ... much people, and the disciples were called Christians then first in Antioch"; or, according to Bruce Metzger, "... when they had come, for a whole year a large company of people were stirred up, and then for the first time the disciples in Antioch were called Christians."

According to Acts 26:28, King Agrippa II used the term "Christian" when interrogating Paul, while in contrast, the earlier 24:5 presented the lawyer Tertullus accusing Paul of being "a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes". The term "Christian" also appears in 1 Peter 4:16.

It has been theorized that the term "Christian" was associated with the activity of Paul in encouraging non-Jewish believers in Jesus not to adopt Jewish customs, but this theory is disputed (see also New Perspective on Paul). Also, the so-called "Jewish customs", the Halakah of Rabbinic Judaism, were still under development at this time, as the Jewish Encyclopedia article Jesus affirms: "Jesus, however, does not appear to have taken into account the fact that the Halakah was at this period just becoming crystallized, and that much variation existed as to its definite form; the disputes of the Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai were occurring about the time of his maturity." On the topic of Paul (who was himself Jewish, as he stressed in Philippians 3:5) and "Jewish customs", the Catholic Encyclopedia article Judaizers writes: "Paul, on the other hand, not only did not object to the observance of the Mosaic Law, as long as it did not interfere with the liberty of the Gentiles, but he conformed to its prescriptions when occasion required (1 Corinthians 9:20). Thus he shortly after circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:1–3), and he was in the very act of observing the Mosaic ritual when he was arrested at Jerusalem (21:26 sqq.)."

See also

• Constantine I and Christianity
• Constantinian shift
• Messianic Judaism
• History of Christian Torah-submission
• Judeo-Christian
• Gospel of Judas
• Jewish Christians
• Pauline Christianity
• Gnosticism
• Marcionism
• Montanism
• Judaism and Christianity
• Proselyte
• Council of Jerusalem
• Council of Jamnia
• Quartodecimanism
• Sabbath
• Antinomianism
• Legalism (theology)
• Ebionites
• Ante-Nicene Fathers
• Godfearers

Scholars

• Walter Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity translated in 1971 (from Rechtgläubigkeit und Ketzerei im altesten Christentum, Tübingen 1934)
• Raymond E. Brown, The Churches the Apostles Left Behind, 1984
• John Crossan, The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus, 1998, ISBN 0-06-061660-1
• James Dunn, Unity and Diversity in the New Testament: Enquiry into the Character of Earliest Christianity. SCM Press 1977 ISBN 0-334-02436-6
• Adolf von Harnack, The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries, 1908
• Bentley Layton
• Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, 1979, ISBN 0-679-72453-2
• E. P. Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism, 1977, Jesus and Judaism 1985 SCM Press ISBN 0-334-02091-3
• Philip Schaff, HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 1910
• Gerd Theissen, The First Followers of Jesus (1978) ISBN 0-334-00479-9 & The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth ISBN 0-8006-2095-X
• Walter Wink
• N.T. Wright

External links

• All you want to know about early christians
• Early Christian Writings
• Christian Classics Ethereal Library
• Catholic Encyclopedia: The Fathers of the Church
• PBS Frontline: The First Christians
• "The Old Testament of the Early Church" Revisited, Albert C. Sundberg, Jr.
• The Jewish Roman World of Jesus
• From the Jesus-people to Early Christianity - 30 - 110 AD