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Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus (c. 30) and the First Council of Nicaea (325). The term is sometimes used in a narrower sense, referring only to 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 as bishops, a period also called the Apostolic Age.
Early Christianity, which began within first-century Judaism, became clearly distinct from Rabbinic Judaism. It continued to revere the Jewish Bible, generally using the Septuagint translation that was in general use among Greek-speaking Jews and Gentile Godfearers or the Targums in use among Aramaic speakers, and added to it the writings that would become the New Testament, thus developing the first Christian Biblical canons. It defended Christian beliefs against criticism by non-Christian Jews and followers of other Roman religions, survived various persecutions, consisted of divisions that accused each other of heresy, and developed church hierarchy. Christianity synthesized Jewish morals, Greek theology, and Roman administration. What started as a religious movement within Second Temple Judaism became, by the end of this period, the favored religion of the Roman Empire under Constantine the Great (leading later to the rise of Christendom), and a significant religion also outside of the empire. According to Will Durant, the Christian Church prevailed because it offered an attractive doctrine and because the church leaders addressed human needs better than their rivals.1 The First Council of Nicaea marks the end of this era and the beginning of the period of the first seven Ecumenical Councils (325 - 787).
The church was first centered in Jerusalem. Jesus' brother James was martyred, the Temple was destroyed, and Jews were banned from the city after the Bar Kokhba revolt, weakening the Jerusalem Church. Churches of the eastern part of the empire, notably in Alexandria and Antioch, used Greek and developed Hellenistic theologies. Churches of the western part of the empire eventually took to using Latin and excelled at the Roman virtues of discipline and rule.
Contents |
History
Jewish Christians
Jesus and all his original followers were Jews or Jewish proselytes. According to many historians, these first followers viewed Jesus as a charismatic preacher and healer, who prophesized the imminent restoration of God's kingdom on earth.2 These first followers of Jesus composed a sect of first-century Judaism marked by their belief in Jesus' prophecy, and other teachings of his; according to Christian tradition, they more specifically believed that Jesus of Nazareth was the long-awaited Messiah3 (Acts 2:22-36), and that the Kingdom of God had come or would soon come,4 in fulfilment of expectation (Acts 19:8).
Practice among the groups that followed Jesus included those who were strictly Jewish, including the Church leaders in Jerusalem, and those strongly attracted to Jewish belief.3 This movement was centered around Jerusalem and led by James the Just. The Acts of the Apostles asserts "All the believers were united and shared everything with one another.They made it their practice to sell their possessions and goods and to distribute the proceeds to anyone who was in need." They held faithfully to the Torah and Jewish law which included acceptance of Gentile converts based on a version of the Noachide laws (Acts 15 and Acts 21). In Christian circles, "Nazarene" later came to be used as a label for those faithful to Jewish law, in particular for a certain sect. These Jewish Christians, originally a central group in Christianity, were not at first declared to be unorthodox, but were later excluded and denounced, as Judaizers. Some Jewish Christian groups, such as the Ebionites, were considered to have unorthodox beliefs, particularly in relation to their views of Christ and Gentile converts. The Nazarenes, holding to orthodoxy except in their adherence to Jewish law, were not deemed heretical until the dominance of orthodoxy in the fourth century. The Ebionites may have been a splinter group of Nazarenes, with disagreements over Christology and leadership. After the condemnation of the Nazarenes, "Ebionite" was often used as a general pejorative for all related "heresies".56
Jewish Christians eventually constituted a separate community from the Pauline Christians and that they remained part of the Jewish community. There was a post-Nicene "double rejection" of the Jewish Christians by both Gentile Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. It is believed that there was no direct confrontation, or persecution, between Gentile and Judaic Christianity. However, by this time the practice of Judeo-Christianity was diluted, both by internal schisms and external pressures. The traditional understanding is that the the original Jewish Christianity continued until the fifth century, after which there are no more references to Jewish followers of the Jesus movement.7 Those remaining fully faithful to Halacha became purely Jews, while those adhering to the Christian faith joined with Gentile, Graeco-Roman, Pauline Christianity. Gentile Christianity remained the sole strand of orthodoxy and imposed itself on the previously Jewish Christian sanctuaries, taking full control of those houses of worship by the end of the fifth century.8 Yet, even today, there are Christian groups that claim to be Contemporary Jewish Christians.
Apostolic Age
The apostolic period between the years 30 and 130 CE produced writings attributed to the direct followers of Jesus Christ, and is traditionally associated with the apostles and apostolic times. In the traditional history of the Christian church, the Apostolic Age was the foundation upon which the entire church's history came to be based.9
The Desposyni (relatives of Jesus) lived in Nazareth during the first century. The relatives of Jesus were accorded a special position within the early church, as displayed by the leadership of James in Jerusalem.10
Earliest Christianity took the form of a Jewish eschatological faith. The book of Acts reports that the early followers continued daily Temple attendance and traditional Jewish home prayer. Other passages in the New Testament gospels reflect a similar observance of traditional Jewish piety such as fasting, reverence for the Torah and observance of Jewish holy days. The earliest form of Jesus's religion is best understood in this context.1112
Disputes over the Mosaic law generated intense controversy in early Christianity. This is particularly notable in the mid-1st century, when the circumcision controversy came to the fore. The issue was addressed at the Council of Jerusalem where Saint Paul made an argument that circumcision was not a necessary practice, vocally supported by Peter, as documented in Acts 15. This position received widespread support and was summarized in a letter circulated in Antioch. Yet, four years after the Council of Jerusalem, Paul had to write to the Galatians about the issue, which had become a serious controversy in their region. According to Alister McGrath, a proponent of Paleo-orthodoxy, Paul considered it a great threat to his doctrine of salvation through faith and addressed the issue with great detail in Galatians 3.1314
Spread among Gentiles
The "Twelve Apostles", and Paul the Apostle, the "Apostle to the Gentiles", also gained converts among the gentiles (non-Jews), following the Great Commission's decree to "go and make disciples of all nations". The leaders of the church affirmed Paul's mission to the Gentiles at the Council of Jerusalem, c 49. Paul met with great success preaching to Gentiles, and Gentiles became an increasingly large part of the Christian population. In Galatians 2:11-14 (the "Incident at Antioch"15) Paul portrays Peter as impeding his efforts.16 The author of Acts portrays Paul as a torah-observant Jew and does not mention this dispute with Peter.17 Also, in Acts 11:1-18, it is Peter who first actively welcomes Gentiles into the Church, and in Acts 15 it is Peter who argues the gentile case at the Council of Jerusalem (for the parallel in Judaism, see Noachide law, for the parallel in modern Christianity, see Dual-covenant theology).
Some modern scholars challenge the prevailing view, that first century Judaism was a religion of legalistic works-righteousness that Paul opposed, suggesting what they call a New Perspective on Paul; James D. G. Dunn, who coined this phrase, has proposed that Peter was the "bridge-man" (literally the "pontifex maximus") between the two other "prominent leading figures": Paul and James the Just.18
Destruction of the Temple
- See also: Schisms among the Jews and List of events in early Christianity
Supersessionists see the Destruction of the Temple in 70 AD as symbolic of God's rejection of Judaism and initiation of the New Covenant, see also Figs in the Bible. Orthodox Judaism on the other hand remains optimistic that their covenant with God is eternal despite numerous calamities, and a Third Temple will be built on the Temple Mount.
Historically, after the First Jewish–Roman War of 66-73 and the destruction of the Temple, two sects of Jews and Jewish proselytes remained, the Pharisees, which developed into Rabbinic Judaism, and Christians, both of which developed into distinct religions.
While it is commonly believed that Paul established a Gentile church, it took centuries for a complete break to be established, and in any case, gentiles had long been attracted to the Jewish scriptures, see proselytes and Godfearers. Certain events are perceived as pivotal in the growing rift between Christianity and Judaism. The first break may have been the Council of Jerusalem of around 5019. Among other things, this council decreed male circumcision optional for gentile converts20 whereas Rabbinic Judaism made their circumcision requirement even stricter21. During the First Jewish–Roman War, the Sanhedrin was reconstituted in Yavne with the permission of the Romans. Commonly called the Council of Jamnia, they added a new blessing to the Jewish liturgy, circa 85: the "birkat ha-minim"; which condemns "minim". Some interpret this word to refer specifically to Christianity; others interpret it as refering to Jewish sectarianism in general. It is probable that this condemnation included many groups, of which the Christians were but one. That some of the later Church fathers only recommended against synagogue attendance makes it improbable that an anti-Christian prayer was a common part of the synagogue liturgy. Jewish Christians continued to worship in synagogues for centuries. There is a paucity of evidence for Jewish persecution of "heretics" in general, or Christians in particular, in the period between 70 and 135. 222324 But, according to historian Paula Fredriksen, it is likely that Jewish authorities would have persecuted any Jews preaching the restoration of God's kingdom, or the return of the messiah, following the disastrous war of 67-70, for fear of provoking renewed Roman wrath against sedition.25
Jews who did not convert to Christianity and the growing Christian community gradually became more hostile toward each othercitation needed, see also List of events in early Christianity, Responsibility for the death of Jesus, and Tarfon. Christianity established itself as a predominantly Gentile religion that spanned the Roman Empire and beyond, eventually leading to an attempt to create a unified Christendom during the period of the Seven Ecumenical Councils.
Bar Kokhba Revolt
The Bar Kokhba Revolt (132 - 135) created a large rift between Judaism and Jewish Christians. Simon bar Kokhba was recognized as the Jewish Messiah by Rabbi Akiva. The Christians, believing Jesus to be their Messiah, rejected Bar Kokhba and refused to join the revolt. The revolution turned against the Jewish Christians and some were killed. The failure of the revolt had serious consequences. Jews and Jewish Christians were barred entry into Jerusalem, leaving the church in Jerusalem without a Jewish identity. Many historians believe this revolt was the most notable event in the split between Judaism and Christianity.2627
Paul, Peter, James and the Gentiles
According to The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Paul's letters are rhetorically powerful and theologically profound, and, against his own wishes, his understanding of what he called "the good news" hastened the separation between the messianic sect and mainstream Judaism.28 Many scholars view his epistles as the foundation of Christian theology.2930 Paul's emphasis on the Law's insufficiency, the superiority of faith, and the Gentile Christian's freedom from the Law were decisive in the future development of the new religion.16 (See also Pauline Christianity.)
The First Epistle to the Corinthians, generally considered to have been authored by Paul, identifies Jesus as establishing a New Covenant with his flesh and blood (1 Cor 11:23-25), the bread and wine of the Eucharist. The New Covenant also appears in Luke 22:20 though not in all copies31 and is primarily discussed in the Epistle to the Hebrews which is generally considered anonymous. The previous covenant was that of Moses, called the Mosaic Covenant (see also Biblical law in Christianity and Supersessionism).
Jewish and Christian Scripture
The first Christians used the same scriptures and religious writings as the Jews. The rabbis, however, rejected the Septuagint translation32, which included the books that some Christians (Catholics) now designate as deuterocanonical books and others (Protestants) as biblical apocrypha.
Perhaps as early as the early second century, some Christians (notably Justin Martyr) began to accept early Christian texts as additional scripture. By the first century, Paul's letters and the separate Gospels were circulating among Christian communities. In the second century, the last books of the New Testament were written, Paul's letters were referred to as scripture, the four canonical Gospels were asserted by Irenaeus33, and other epistles were also accepted as canon. By 325, the Church had roughly the same New Testament in use in the East and West, but the details were still disputed, see Antilegomena.
Judaizers
Christian groups such as Ebionites that insisted on circumcision and other aspects of Jewish law were increasingly disparaged as Judaizers, especially after the 3rd century.
Rejection of Judaism
Some early Christian groups went further than others in distancing themselves from Judaism and Judaizers. Marcion (d. 160) rejected the Old Testament altogether, saying that its God of Law had nothing to do with Jesus Christ's God of Love.34 Gnostic groups, though they generally did not reject the Old Testament, also commonly identified the Old Testament's God as the Demiurge (see also Dualism), the evil or lesser god of the material world (as contrasted with the superiority of the spiritual world).
Beliefs
Early Christian beliefs were based on the apostolic preaching (kerygma), considered to be preserved in tradition and, according as was produced, in New Testament scripture.35
Christology
Divinity of Christ
Most Christians identified Jesus as divine from a very early period, although holding a variety of competing views as to what exactly this implied.36 Early Christian views tended to see Jesus as a unique agent of God;37 by the Council of Nicaea in 325 he was identified as God in the fullest sense, literally 'of the same substance, essence or being', hence in the further wording of the Creed, "Θεόν αληθινόν εκ Θεού αληθινού" Theón alēthinón ek Theoú alēthinoú 'true God from true God'.
The first and second-century texts that would later be canonized as the New Testament several times imply or directly refer to Jesus' divinity, though there is scholarly debate as to whether or not they call him God38. Within 20-30 years of the death of Jesus, Paul, who authored the largest early expositions of Christian theology, refers to Jesus as the resurrected Son of God, the savior who would return from heaven and save his faithful, dead and living, from the imminent destruction of the world. The Synoptic Gospels describe him as the Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and who will return to judge the nations. The Gospel of John identifies Jesus as the human incarnation of the divine Word or "Logos" (see Jesus the Logos) and True Vine. The Book of Revelation depicts Jesus as the "Alpha and Omega, the first and the last"39, who died and now lives for ever and who holds the keys of death and Hades,40 and as the Alpha and Omega who is to come soon.4142 The book speaks of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God as reigning with him for a thousand years43 before the final defeat of Satan44 and the Judgement at the Great White Throne.45
The term "Logos" was used in Greek philosophy (see Heraclitus) and in Hellenistic Jewish religious writing (see Philo Judaeus of Alexandria) to mean the ultimate ordering principle of the universe. Those who rejected the identification of Jesus with the Logos, rejecting also the Gospel of John, were called Alogi (see also Monarchianism).4647
Adoptionists, such as the Ebionites, considered him as at first an ordinary man, born to Joseph and Mary, who later became the Son of God at his baptism, his transfiguration, or his resurrection.
Trinity
The Trinity is a post-New Testament doctrine.16 However, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are associated in various New Testament passages.48 The Great Commission of Matthew 28:19 possibly reflects the baptismal practice at Matthew's time. Baptism has been in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost since the end of the first century.49 Acts 2:38 speaks of baptism "in the name of Jesus Christ", which some interpret as another method of baptism, while others do not, since "in the name of" is used elsewhere in Acts to mean not a form of words but "by the authority of", "for the sake of".50 Aside from this verse, Matthew does not equate Jesus with God nor does he specify inequality either, though he indicates a special relationship between them.51 One of the elements virtually universal among diverse early Christians was the understanding that Jesus the Son was uniquely united with God the Father.52
According to the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Trinity was revealed to the disciples by revelation and in religious visions called theoria53 during the Theophany and the Transfiguration of Jesus called the Tabor Light or uncreated light.
The close of the early Christian era is defined as the First Council of Nicea, which gave the trinity its dogmatic form. But the term trinity (coined by Tertullian) and concepts related to the trinity existed earlier in the church. 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 common even before the Arian controversy. However, this earlier formula does not express the co-equality of the three persons.54
The Council used the Greek term homoousios (literally "of the same substance, essence or being") to express its view of the relation of the Son to the Father. However, it also appears in the early Christian era55 as used by Origen, Paul of Samosata, and Alexander of Alexandria though not without controversy, see for example Synods of Antioch. Various Christian writings refer to Jesus as a man and as God, but it was this Council that gave official sanction to the common Trinity formulation using this term.
Many, including Oneness Pentecostals and some Restorationists, styling themselves as restoring early Christian practice, reject the trinitarian concepts of the early church, and generally place no importance in the post-apostolic writings of the Church Fathers on the subject. (See below in the discussion on the Church Fathers.)
Eschatology
Kingdom of God
The Apostles believed that Jesus would soon return to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. The general term for this set of beliefs is parousia (or Second Coming).
Among early Christians there was a widely accepted belief that Christ's return would establish not the general resurrection but a thousand-year kingdom, with the general resurrection following (a belief known as chiliasm or premillenialism).56 Chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation is the main source of this teaching, though it may owe something to the Book of Daniel and to ideas popular in late pre-Christian Jewish apocalyptic literature, especially 2 Esdras and the non-canonical Books of Enoch57
Early Christians followed the Pharisaic precedent58 of believing in a physical resurrection of the dead. They 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 the saved would live in heaven.citation needed
Apologists defended the resurrection of the dead against pagan philosophers, who considered the soul worthy of perfection but not the body. Origen, however, who attempted to synthesise Platonism and Christianity, appears to have supported the idea of an ethereal rather than corporeal resurrection.59
Cosmology
The ancient Jewish picture was of the sky as a firmament, a dome covering the earth. But the prevailing picture in early Christian times was that of the earth as a sphere with one or more other spheres, containing the stars, rotating around it. They sometimes described the souls of the dead waiting underground for the general resurrection. They described gehenna (roughly, hell) as a subterranean fire, see also Lake of Fire. In some Hellenic traditions, influential in the Alexandrian church, souls escaped the material world of the earth and returned to the spirit realm above.
Prayer for the dead
- See also: Prayer for the dead
That early Christians prayed for the dead, believing that the dead were thereby benefitted, is attested from at least the second century, and celebration of the Eucharist for the dead is attested since at least the third century.60 Specific examples of belief in the communion of the living with the dead through prayer are found in many of the Church Fathers61 The Encyclopædia Britannica says that: "The well-attested early Christian practice of prayer for the dead ... was encouraged by the episode (rejected by Protestants as apocryphal) in which Judas Maccabeus (Jewish leader of the revolt against the tyrant Antiochus IV Epiphanes) makes atonement for the idolatry of his fallen soldiers by providing prayers and a monetary sin offering on their behalf (2 Maccabees 12:41–46); by the Apostle Paul's prayer for Onesiphorus (2 Timothy 1:18); and by the implication in Matthew 12:32 that there may be forgiveness of sins in the world to come."62
Hades
The Greek word "Hades", which, like the Hebrew word "sheol", is generally used of the abode where the dead are reckoned to be, appears several times in the New Testament.63 In the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the dead rich man "in Hades" (16:23), speaks of being "tormented in this flame" (16:24), and is said to be separated by a "great gulf" from Abraham (16:26), in whose bosom Lazarus is said to be placed (16:22). The word "Hades" was used in Acts 2:27-31 (as in the Septuagint) to translate the word "sheol" of the Hebrew text of the Psalm there quoted.
Early Church Fathers who wrote in Greek, such as Hippolytus of Rome in his book on Hades, continued to use the term "Hades".64 Early Christian writers in Latin also used either the Greek word "Hades" itself65 or employed as its equivalent the Latin word "infernus", the Roman word for the underworld,66 as Jerome did in his translation of the New Testament.67
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.6869 Christian writers commonly saw Satan (or Beelzebub, see Mark 3) as the author of heresies. In John 8:44, Satan, rather than Abraham, is named as the father of those Jews who rejected Jesus. See also Rejection of Jesus.
The word "angel" is derived from Greek ἄγγελος, the basic meaning of which is "messenger". Visitations from the "angel of the LORD" in the Old Testament are taken by many to be pre-Incarnation manifestations of Christ.707172 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".73 He interpreted as Christ the Angel who spoke with Abraham in Genesis 18, and argued for the divinity of Christ.74
Orthodoxy and heterodoxy
Traditionally, orthodoxy and heresy have been viewed in relation to the "orthodoxy" as an authentic lineage of tradition. Other forms of Christianity were viewed as deviant streams of thought and therefore "heterodox", or heretical. This view was dominant until the publication of Walter Bauer's Rechtgläubigkeit und Ketzerei im ältesten Christentum ("Orthodoxy and heresy in ancient Christianity") in 1934. Bauer endeavored to rethink early Christianity historically, independent from the views of the church. He stated that the early church was very diverse and included many "heretical" groups that had an equal claim to apostolic tradition. Bauer interpreted the struggle between the orthodox and heterodox to be the "mainstream" Roman church struggling to attain dominance. He presented Edessa and Egypt as places where the "orthodoxy" of Rome had little influence during the second century. As he saw it, the theological thought of the Orient at the time would later be labeled "heresy". The response by modern scholars has been mixed. Some scholars clearly support Bauer's conclusions and others express concerns about his possible bias. More moderate responses have become prominent and Bauer's theory is generally accepted.citation needed However, modern scholars have critiqued and updated Bauer's model.75
Divisions
Perhaps one of the most important discussions among scholars of early Christianity in the past century is to what extent it is appropriate to speak of "orthodoxy" and "heresy". Higher criticism drastically altered the previous perception that heresy was a very rare exception to the orthodoxy. Bauer was particularly influential in the reconsideration of the historical model. During the 1970s, increasing focus on the effect of social, political and economic circumstances on the formation of early Christianity occurred as Bauer's work found a wider audience. Some scholars argue against the increasing focus on heresies. A movement away from presuming the correctness or dominance of the orthodoxy is seen as understandable, in light of modern approaches. However, they feel that instead of an even and neutral approach to historical analysis that the heterodox sects are given an assumption of superiority over the orthodox movement. The current debate is vigorous and broad. While it is difficult to summarize all current views, general statements may be made, remembering that such broad strokes will have exceptions in specific cases.76
Adoptionism
One conception about Jesus that was found among second and third-century Christians was that which Adolf von Harnack called "Adoption Christology": Jesus was regarded as "the man whom God hath chosen, in whom the Deity or the Spirit of God dwelt, and who, after being tested, was adopted by God and invested with dominion".77 This stream in early Greek theology regarded Christ as a man gifted with divine powers. First represented by the Ebionites, it was later developed by the Monarchians, such as Theodotus of Byzantium and Paul of Samosata.78 It conflicted with the tradition, as in the Gospel of John, that Jesus was the eternal Logos.
Arianism
Arianism was the principal heresy which denied the full divinity of Jesus Christ, and is so called after its author Arius.79 It has been called the most challenging heresy in the history of the Church. 1
Arius, born probably in Libya between c. 260 and 280, was ordained a priest in Alexandria in 312-313. Under Bishop Alexander (313-326), probably in about 319, he came forward as a champion of subordinationist teaching about the person of Christ.80
Arius appears to have held that the Son of God was not eternal but created by the Father as an instrument for creating the world and therefore not God by nature, different from other creatures in being the one direct creation of God.79 The controversy quickly spread, with Arius seeking support from other disciples of his teacher Lucian of Antioch, notably Eusebius of Nicomedia, while a synod under Alexander excommunicated Arius.80 Because of the agitation aroused by the dispute, 79 Emperor Constantine I sent Hosius of Córdoba to Alexandria to attempt a settlement; but the mission failed.80 Accordingly, in 325, Constantine convened the First Council of Nicaea, which, largely through the influence of Athanasius of Alexandria, then a deacon, but destined to be Alexander's successor, defined the Catholic faith in the coeternity and coequality of the Father and the Son, using the famous term "homoousios" to express the oneness of their being, while Arius and some bishops who supported him, including Eusebius, were banished.79
This council marks the end of the early Christian period.
Ebionites
The Ebionites ("poor ones") were a sect of Jewish Christians who flourished in the early centuries of Christianity, especially east of the Jordan. They emphasized the binding character of the Mosaic Law and believed Jesus was the human son of Joseph and Mary. They seem to have been ascetics, and are said to have rejected Paul's epistles and to have used only one Gospel.81
Gnosticism
Early in the common era, several distinct religious sects, some of them Christian, adhered to an array of beliefs that would later be termed Gnostic. The most successful Christian Gnostic was the priest Valentinus (c. 100 - c. 160), who founded a Gnostic church in Rome and developed an elaborate cosmology. Gnostics considered the material world to be a prison created by a fallen or evil spirit, the god of the material world (called the demiurge). Gnostics identified the God of the Hebrew Bible as this demiurge. Secret knowledge (gnosis) was said to liberate one's soul to return to the true God in the realm of light. Valentinus and other Christian gnostics identified Jesus as the Savior, a spirit sent from the true God into the material world to liberate the souls trapped there.
While there appear to be Gnostic elements in some early Christian writing, Irenaeus and others condemned Gnosticism as a heresy, rejecting its dualistic cosmology and vilification of the material world and the creator of that world. Gnostics thought the God of the Old Testament was not the true God. It was considered to be the demiurge and either fallen, as taught by Valentinus (c. 100 - c. 160) or evil, as taught by the Sethians and Ophites.
The Gospel of John, according to Stephen L Harris, both includes Gnostic elements and refutes Gnostic beliefs, presenting a dualistic universe of light and dark, spirit and matter, good and evil, much like the Gnostic accounts, but instead of escaping the material world, Jesus bridges the spiritual and physical worlds.82 Raymond E. Brown wrote that even though gnostics interpreted John to support their doctrines, the author didn't intend that. The epistles were written (whether by the author of the Gospel or someone in his circle) to argue against gnostic doctrines.83
The Gospel of Thomas has some Gnostic elements but lacks the full Gnostic cosmology. The scene in John in which "doubting Thomas" ascertains that the resurrected Jesus is physical refutes the Gnostic idea that Jesus returned to spirit form after death. The written gospel draws on an earlier oral tradition associated with Thomas. Some scholars argue that the Gospel of John was meant to oppose the beliefs of that community.84
Some believecitation needed 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.citation needed Others believe that Gnostic Christianity was a later development, some time around the middle or late second century, around the time of Valentinus.85 Gnosticism was in turn made up of many smaller groups, some of which did not claim any connection to Jesus Christ. In Mandaeist Gnosticism, Mandaeans maintain that Jesus was a mšiha kdaba or "false messiah" who perverted the teachings entrusted to him by John the Baptist. The word k(a)daba, however, derives from two roots in Mandaic: the first root, meaning "to lie," is the one traditionally ascribed to Jesus; the second, meaning "to write," might provide a second meaning, that of "book;" hence some Mandaeans, motivated perhaps by an ecumenical spirit, maintain that Jesus was not a "lying Messiah" but a "Book Messiah", the "book" in question presumably being the Christian Gospels. This however seems to be a folk etymology without support in the Mandaean texts.86 A modern view has argued that Marcionism is mistakenly reckoned among the Gnostics, and really represents a fourth interpretation of the significance of Jesus.87 Gnostics freely exchanged concepts and texts. It is considered likely that Valentinius was influenced by previous concepts such as Sophia, as much as he influenced others.
Marcionism
In 144, the Church in Rome expelled Marcion of Sinope. 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. 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 short version of the Gospel of Luke, often called the Gospel of Marcion.
From the perspectives of Tertullian and Epiphanius (when the four gospels had largely canonical status, perhaps in reaction to the challenge created by Marcion), it appeared that Marcion rejected the non-Lukan gospels, however, in Marcion's time, it may be that the only gospel he was familiar with from Pontus was the gospel that would later be called Luke. It is also possible that Marcion's gospel was actually modified by his critics to become the gospel we know today as Luke, rather than the story from his critics that he changed a canonical gospel to get his version. For example: compare Luke 5:39 to 5:36-38; did Marcion delete 5:39 from his Gospel or was it added later to counteract a Marcionist interpretation of 5:36-38? See also New Wine into Old Wineskins. One must keep in mind that we only know of Marcion through his critics and they considered him a major threat to the form of Christianity that they knew. John Knox (the modern writer, not to be confused with John Knox the Protestant Reformer) in Marcion and the New Testament: An Essay in the Early History of the Canon (ISBN 0-404-16183-9) was the first to propose that Marcion's Gospel may have preceded Luke's Gospel and Acts.88
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. Marcion was labeled a gnostic by Irenaeus. Irenaeus' labeled Marcion this because of Marcion expressing this core gnostic belief, that the creator God of the Jews and the Old Testament was the demiurge. 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.89
Montanism
About 156, Montanus launched a ministry of prophecy, criticizing Christians as increasingly worldly and bishops as increasingly autocratic. Traveling in his native Anatolia, he and two women preached a return to primitive Christian simplicity, prophecy, celibacy, and asceticism.1 Tertullian, having grown puritanical with age, embraced Montanism as a more outright application of Christ's teaching.1 Montanus's followers revered him as the Paraclete that Christ had promised, and he led his sect out into a field to meet the New Jerusalem.1 His sect spread across the Roman Empire, survived persecution, and relished martyrdom.1 The Church banned them as a heresy, and in the 6th century Justinian ordered the sect's extinction.1
The sect's ecstasy, speaking in tongues, and other details are similar to those found in Pentecostalism.
Religious writing
Early Christians wrote many religious works, some of which were later canonized as the New Testament of today.
Oral tradition and first written works
- See also: Logia
Christian testimony was entirely oral for roughly twenty years after Jesus' death. Christians passed along Jesus' teachings, proclaimed his resurrection, and prophesied his imminent return. Apostles established churches and oral traditions in various places, such as Jerusalem, Antioch, Caesarea, and Ephesus. These traditions gradually developed distinct characteristics.
When those who had heard Jesus' actual words began to die, Christians started recording the sayings in writing. The hypothetical Q document, a collection of Jesus' sayings, is perhaps the first such record (c 50).
Paul's epistles
- See also: Pauline epistles
At about the same time, Paul of Tarsus also began writing (or dictating90) letters ("epistles") to various churches that would later be considered scripture. Some scholars think Paul articulated the first Christian theology: namely that all people inherit Adam's guilt (see Original Sin) and can only be saved from death by the atoning death of the Son of God, Jesus' crucifixion.
Gospels and Acts
- See also: Gospel and Acts of the Apostles (genre)
The gospel of Mark was written during c. 65-70, possibly motivated by the First Jewish-Roman War. The gospel of Matthew was written c. 80-85 to convince a Jewish audience that Jesus was the expected Messiah (Christ) and a greater Moses. The gospel of Luke, together with Acts (see Luke-Acts) was c. 85-90, considered the most literate and artistic of the gospels. Finally, the gospel of John was written, portraying Jesus as the incarnation of the divine Word, who primarily taught about himself as a savior. All four gospels originally circulated anonymously, and they were attributed to Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John in the 2nd century. Various authors wrote further epistles and the Apocalypse of John.91
Later epistles
- See also: General epistles
Epistles by other hands than Paul's circulated in the early church. Many of them, including one written as late as c 150,16 were eventually included in the New Testament canon. Many later epistles concern issues of church leadership, discipline, and disputes.
Revelation
- See also: Apocalyptic literature
Several apocalypses circulated in the early church, and one of them, the Revelation of John, was later included in the New Testament.
Defining Scripture
Debates about scripture were underway in the mid-second century, concurrent with a drastic increase of new scriptures, both Jewish and Christian. Debates regarding practice and belief gradually became reliant on the use of scripture. Similarly, in the third century a shift away from direct revelation as a source of authority occurred. "Scripture" still had a broad meaning and usually referred to the Septuagint. Beyond the Torah (the Law) and some of the earliest prophetic works (the Prophets), there was no universal agreement to a canon, but it was not debated much at first. By the mid-second century, tensions arose with the growing rift between Christianity and Judaism, leading eventually to the determination of a Jewish canon by the emerging rabbinic movement,92 though, even as of today, there is no scholarly consensus as to when the Jewish canon was set, see Development of the Jewish Bible canon for details. Some scholars argue that the Jewish canon was fixed by the Hasmonean dynasty.93
Regardless, throughout the Jewish diaspora newer writings were still collected and the fluid Septuagint collection was the primary source of scripture for Christians. Many works under the names of known Apostles, such as the Gospel of Thomas, were accorded scriptural status in at least some Christian circles. Apostolic writings, such as I Clement and the Epistle of Barnabas, were considered scripture even within the orthodoxy through the fifth century. A problem for scholars is that there is a lack of direct evidence on when Christians began accepting their own scriptures alongside the Septuagint. Well into the second century Christians held onto a strong preference for oral tradition as clearly demonstrated by writers of the time, such as Papias.94
The acceptance of the Septuagint was generally uncontested (even the Peshitta appears to be influenced95). Later Jerome would express his preference for adhering strictly to the Jewish canon, but his view held little currency even in his own day. It was not until the Protestant Reformation that substantial numbers of Christians began to reject those books of the Septuagint which are not found in the Jewish canon, refering to them as Biblical apocrypha. In addition, some New Testament books were also disputed, see Antilegomena.
Fathers of the Church
From an early date the title "Father" was applied to bishops as witnesses to the Christian tradition. Only later, from the end of the fourth century, was it used in a more restricted sense of a more or less clearly defined group of ecclesiasical authors of the past whose authority on doctrinal matters carried special weight. According to the commonly accepted teaching, the Fathers of the Church are those ancient writers, whether bishops or not, who were characterized by orthodoxy of doctrine, holiness of life and the approval of the Church. Sometimes Tertullian, Origen and a few others of not unimpeachable orthodoxy are now classified as Fathers of the Church.96
Apostolic Fathers
- See also: Apostolic Fathers
The earliest Christian writings (other than those collected in the New Testament) are a group of letters credited to the Apostolic Fathers. These include the Epistle of Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas and the Epistles of Clement, as well as the Didache. Taken as a whole, the collection is notable for its literary simplicity, religious zeal and lack of Hellenistic philosophy or rhetoric. Fathers such as Ignatius of Antioch (died 98 to 117) advocated the authority of the apostolic episcopacy (bishops)97.