When Did Christianity Start
75WHEN DID CHRISTIANITY BEGIN
The 12 Apostles were Jewish men who walked and lived with Jesus Christ during his Earthly ministry. The Apostles testified they saw Jesus on numerous occasions after He rose from the dead. 40 days later, Jesus ascended to Heaven in their presence. These 12 Apostles had the task set before them of spreading the Gospel (Good News) to all peoples in all lands. The Good News is that Jesus was resurrected; and by becoming a Believer, our sins are forgiven, we can be transformed into His likeness, we can receive the greatest gift ever offered to humankind: Eternal Life after death.
But how could 12 Apostles with 120 other Believers accomplish this mission? None were learned men; they had no political power; no army—they were a collection of nobodies from a backwater. Yet within 150 years there were perhaps one million Believers from Britain to India. And today Jesus is the most well known and revered person in the history of this planet. How did this happen? It seems so . . . supernatural.
What was it about these men that was so convincing? They and their followers were cut off from their communities, harassed, beaten and murdered for believing in the resurrection of their Lord. Some wonder why we don't know more about the 12 Apostles. That is because the story is not about them. It is about the message they delivered to the world.
SAINT PETER
Peter was the rock upon which Jesus said He would build His church. He was strong, confident, and courageous—and flawed like all men. Why Peter? Why not John, the beloved disciple who was probably closest to Jesus in Spirit? I will paraphrase Dorothy Sayers, "John was all gold, and gold is rare. The work could not wait while God found enough men like John. Peter was a common man; made of stone as are most men."
On the Day of Pentecost (50th day since the resurrection) Peter took the reins as the leader and spokesman for the Apostles. He preached that day and 3,000 persons were converted. Peter would go on to preach throughout Judea and Samaria for many years. He was a successful evangelist because he performed a number of miracles in Jesus' Name through the power of the Holy Spirit. He healed the sick and raised the dead.
Peter and the other Apostles were arrested in Jerusalem by the Jews, who were incensed that the Christians had begun including Gentiles (non-Jews) in the Apostolic Church. They each received 39 lashes, were imprisoned, but miraculously freed.
Peter went to Rome and because of his stature as one of the 12 Apostles was named the first bishop of the church in Rome. Emperor Nero crucified him upside down in the Hippodrome (circus stadium) in 64 A.D. His bones lie in the Vatican.
ST JOHN
John was one of four fishermen among the Apostles. His character was a reflection of his Master's. He was with Jesus at His Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane. John braved the hostile crowd to be at the foot of the Cross when his beloved Lord was crucified. Jesus entrusted to John the care of His Mother Mary.
John left Palestine about 55 AD after Mary, Mother of Jesus, died. He spread the Gospel throughout Syria and Asia Minor. When John laid his hands on people they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is not known when he wrote the Gospel of John, or his three Epistles. Speculation is between 38 and 67 AD. It is known that he lived in Ephesus for many years, where he discipled Ignatius and Polycarp, two of the well known Apostolic Fathers of the church. John was exiled to the Island of Patmos as an old man and it is there he wrote Revelation in 97 AD. He was the only Apostle known to have died of natural causes (estimated to be 100 years old) and his tomb is in Ephesus.
HISTORY ABOUT CHRISTIANITY
Andrew was Peter's brother. Andrew traveled widely as a missionary, winning converts in what are now Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Greece and Turkey. He is the Patron Saint of all these countries except Turkey; and also of Scotland. It is likely as not that he also traveled through parts of Bulgaria, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and maybe even Poland. Andrew founded the church in Byzantium (Constantinople or Istanbul) in 38 AD. He was crucified on an X shaped cross in Patras, Greece around 75 AD. Relics of his bones are in many countries including Scotland. The X on the British Flag, the Union Jack, is in honor of St. Andrew.
APOSTLES
James was John's brother and the first Apostle to be martyred, in 44 AD. James was one of the first followers of Jesus and one of three present at the transfiguration. He was a leader in the earliest church in Jerusalem.
Herod Agrippa, King of the Jews, had James killed by the sword in the midst of a wave of persecution of Christians he had unleashed to please the Jews. James converted his prison guard, who volunteered to be beheaded next to James—and so he was.
James is the Patron Saint of Spain and there lie his remains.
APOSTLE
Thomas became the missionary to Persia and India (and modern day Pakistan). There have been rumors he journeyed as far as China and Japan; and spent time in Ethiopia. He certainly traveled farther from Israel than any other Apostle. It appears his ministry in India began in the north, in Taxila; proceeded to southern India (Chera); to the southwestern coast (Malabar); and the southeast coast where he was martyred in 72 AD with a spear in Mylapore. He was revered in India by Muslims and Hindus as well. His bones are in a reliquary at Edessa, Turkey.
MATTHEW
Matthew (Levi) was a tax collector who wrote the first (and most popular) Gospel in the New Testament in about 48 AD, probably in Antioch.
Matthew was an eyewitness to the Life of Jesus and was known as a fine teacher.
His goal was to convince the Jews that Jesus was their long awaited Messiah.
He was the missionary to the Hebrews; and traveled into the mission field to Syria, Persia and Ethiopia—where it is believed he died.
WHERE DID CHRISTIANITY ORIGINATE
Bartholomew (Nathaniel bar-Tholami) was a missionary in Ethiopia, Armenia, Mesopotamia (Iraq) and India.
He is best known for his work in the Konkan Coast of western India, which includes Mumbai (Bombay).
He was flayed (skinned alive) and then crucified in Armenia.
Parts of his body are in Germany and England.
12 APOSTLES
Jude Thaddeus preached the Good News to Judea; Samaria; Syria; Libya; Armenia; and (what are now) Iraq and Jordan; before being martyred with an axe in Beirut, Lebanon, in 65 AD.
Simon the Zealot was martyred with St. Jude by being sawed in half. He was a missionary in Egypt, Persia and Armenia. There are legends that have him evangelizing in Ethiopia, Britain, and what is the modern nation of Georgia.
Philip preached in Greece, Syria, Ukraine, and Anatolia—where he was crucified in about 80 AD. He served the Apostles early on as interpreter to Greek-speakers.
James Alphaeus (James the Less) was crucified in Egypt for preaching the Gospel. He might have been the brother of Matthew.
Matthias was the replacement for Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for money and promptly committed suicide. Matthias evangelized in Judea, Ethiopia and what is now Georgia—where he died. His bones are in Trier, Germany.
HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
Besides the 12 Apostles, there were many others who played key roles in Origin of Christianity. Stephen was the first deacon (servant) of the church and the first martyr (witness). He was illegally stoned to death by the Sanhedrin (Jewish Judges) in 35 AD because of his famous testimony explaining that they had rejected and murdered Jesus, their Messiah. This was a key moment in the History of Christianity. His murder was approved by Saul of Tarsus—the man later known as Saint Paul. Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and his face shown like an angel. He forgave his killers as he lay dying in the street. Today, there are churches, schools, monasteries, and hospitals named after him around the globe.
BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY
James the Just was the stepbrother of Jesus, and the first bishop of Jerusalem, which was the center of the church until the city was destroyed in 70 AD. He was a vegetarian, never drank alcohol, did not cut his hair, and was known to pray so often that his knees developed calluses, leading to his nickname "Camel Knees." He lived as a Messianic Jew and wrote a manual for Jewish Christian conduct known as the Epistle of James in 42 AD. James was murdered—he was recruiting Jews for Jesus—by being hurled from a parapet in 62 AD. He forgave his murderers while barely still alive, and then was bashed in the head with a club.
In the destruction of Jerusalem one million Jews were killed by the Romans and 97,000 hauled away as captives. The Jewish Temple, which had stood for 545 years, was completely demolished to the point that it had not one stone left on another—as prophesied by Jesus. All of the books in the New Testament had been written by this time except Revelation. And they were written to be read aloud.
GOSPEL OF MARK
Mark (John Mark) wrote the 2nd Gospel in 46 AD, as it was dictated to him by St. Peter—a gripping story of the divine, miraculous Jesus from his chief disciple.
Mark was a young man from Libya, and a cousin of Barnabas, when the Apostles began to meet in his mother's home in Jerusalem. He went with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. When they decided to go to Galatia, Mark quit the mission.
He quit because he was afraid of the Galatians who lived in the hinterlands of Anatolia. They were a fierce people who were of a race known as Celts, Gaels, Picts, Britons, Gauls, Belgae, and Galicians in other parts of Europe.
Barnabas later wanted to bring Mark along on another mission but Paul refused and they went their separate ways, with Barnabas taking Mark with him to Cyprus to evangelize his home island.
Mark went to Rome as St. Peter's interpreter, before settling in Alexandria where he became the first bishop (45-62) of the (Egyptian) Coptic Church. He was martyred in 68, dragged through the streets behind a horse.
GOSPEL OF LUKE
Luke was from Antioch (Syria) and the only Gentile writer of the Bible. He was an educated, cosmopolitan physician with a thorough knowledge of the law. Luke was a gifted writer, who wrote in a concise, elegant, picturesque style. He wrote the Gospel of Luke in 55 AD based on interviews with eyewitnesses—probably including Mary the Mother of Jesus. He has been described as the most widely read and most accurate historian of his era. Many things he wrote were disputed by secular historians only to be proved correct by subsequent archaeological discoveries. Nothing he wrote has been disproved.
Luke authored the Acts of the Apostles, which is about the history of the church from 30 AD to about 65 AD, after traveling with Paul on his mission trips. He was shipwrecked with Paul at Malta and was the only Brother with him when he was arrested in Rome. He died in Greece in 84 AD (Anno Domini—the year Jesus was born, which is how we mark the years on our calendars today).
PAUL THE APOSTLE
Barnabas was a large, imposing man who was to become Paul's mentor and travel extensively with him. He was widely respected and active in churches in Antioch, Damascus and Jerusalem. Barnabas was influential in the acceptance of Paul by the nascent church despite Paul having been their chief persecutor not long before—and greatly feared by Christians everywhere. Barnabas may have written the book of Hebrews. Another possible author is Apollos, who was a great preacher in Corinth, though from Alexandria. Barnabas was brutally martyred in 61 AD in Cyprus, where he is recognized as the founder of the church there.
APOSTLE PAUL
Titus was a gentile convert of Paul who then hosted Christian meetings at his home. Titus helped Paul plant churches in Asia Minor, Macedonia and Dalmatia (Croatia) before being assigned to Crete, where he became the first Christian bishop. He was the recipient of Paul's pastoral letter Titus. He died in 107 at 95 years old.
Silas joined Paul, as his protégé, on his missionary journeys after Paul and Barnabas parted ways. He was a Roman citizen from Jerusalem. Silas and Paul were illegally beaten with rods while naked, and they were in jail together for performing an exorcism in Philippi, where they were miraculously freed—and converted their jailer on the way out.
Paul and Silas were soon joined by the young Timothy, to whom Paul would later address his two pastoral letters. Timothy was from Lystra (Zostera). Paul ordained him the bishop of Ephesus in 65. He was stoned to death in 80 by pagans for preaching the gospel.
ST PAUL THE APOSTLE
Lastly, we turn to the Apostle Paul. Paul (Saul) was a rabbi, Pharisee, and rising star in the Jewish community who hated Christians and vowed to exterminate them. He would accomplish this by hauling whole families away at night for beatings, stoning, arrests, and executions—a campaign of terror. Paul also had a thorough knowledge of the Torah and had been an outstanding student under the renowned Jewish teacher Gamaliel.
While on his way to Damascus to eliminate Christianity there, he became the last person to see the risen Jesus. Jesus appeared to him in a vision and changed Paul and human history forever. His heart was wholly transformed.
Paul went to live in Damascus—the oldest inhabited community on Earth—and preached there three years. Then Barnabas introduced him to Peter and James in Jerusalem and they gave him their blessing to be a missionary for the church. Paul went first to Anatolia and Syria for eight years. He was a brave, energetic, hearty man to say the least. He was also gregarious, engaging and charismatic with a keen intellect. His message was one of Grace and Mercy; of Faith, Hope and Love. And thousands believed him to speak the Truth.
Paul's next expedition was to Cyprus in 47 where he converted the governor after walking 160 miles across the island. Then it was on to Asia Minor where he won many converts, established churches—and caused riots. After he was stoned to the point of death in Lystra, he retraced his entire route—right back through places he had been chased out of! He even returned to Lystra, before heading on to Macedonia—after walking 500 more miles.
Paul traveled to Philippi (named for Alexander the Great's father) for about a year and preached about Jesus as the Christ (anointed one or Messiah); His resurrection from the dead; and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There he healed the sick and performed exorcisms. Paul moved on to Thessalonica (named for Alexander's half-sister) where he worked 12 hours a day as a tent maker so the church would not have to support him.
Paul then set his sights on Athens, where he gave his famous speech about the "Unknown God" to the Areopagus on Mars Hill. He converted Dionysus, who became the first bishop of Athens.
Paul next went to Corinth—Sin City of the world. To get there was a dangerous 50 mile walk alone on a road infested by bandits, that was very narrow and on a high cliff. Surprisingly to him, he had great success in Corinth. He stayed 18 months and started the church there. He then decided to go back to Jerusalem.
Paul left Jerusalem to return to Antioch and then went to stay in Ephesus for a few years. Following this, it was back to Corinth and Macedonia before traveling to Jerusalem for the last time. Since the majority of these journeys were on foot, one would imagine Paul was in terrific physical condition.
It did not go so well in Jerusalem. He was seized by Jews who tried to kill him for preaching about Jesus Christ at the Jewish Temple, but was saved by Roman army officers—who promptly arrested him. The Jews plotted to kill him while in transport with the Romans to Caesarea to stand trial, but his nephew tipped him off and they escaped the trap. He spent two years under house arrest before appealing to Caesar as a Roman citizen—and his wish was fulfilled that he would be shipped to Rome to stand trial there. During this journey he was shipwrecked on Malta and bitten by a deadly viper—but miraculously lived.
Paul was beheaded by Nero in 67, but not before writing 1/4 of the New Testament. Five times he had been arrested, imprisoned, and given 39 lashes. Today, there is a church named St. Paul's in virtually every city in the Western World.
WHEN DID CHRISTIANITY START?
By the year 100 there were Christians in all provinces of the Roman Empire, living in astonishing unity though thousands of miles apart. Everywhere, they practiced baptism, shared Communion and celebrated Easter.
"That a few simple men should in one generation have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so loft an ethic and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in the Gospel. After two centuries of Higher Criticism the outlines of the life, character, and teaching of Christ, remain reasonably clear, and constitute the most fascinating feature of the history of Western man." Will Durant, American Historian
I previously wrote the story that precedes this one, The Life of Jesus. And where this story ends, I continue on 200 more years in the Origin of Christianity; and proceed into the 5th Century, from Constantine to Augustine, in the History of Christianity.
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You are welcome John, I used to say - these are not compliments, just a simple truth.
John, if you find my insights interesting, then I would like to share with you some of reliable information about origin of Christianity, which I have encounter while searching for infos about Esau and his Edomite / Idumean Nation.
John, it is interesting to notice what Jews think about the origin of Christians and Gentiles in general; after all, they are the masters of studying their scripture.
Over a decade ago, searching Internet for information about Edom, I've found this site. In fact, it was the # 1 site to be display when you typed the keyword - Edom.
This page was a part of the book called, The Key of David, by Warder Cresson
(Michael Boaz Israel ben Abraham)
Published: 1852 ,
and it teaches us about the Jewish point of view on origin of Christianity. I was surprise what I've found reading this book, however, looking at historical background of the Nation of Edom, this theory sounds plausible.
Without looking in to Talmud, this book is the most popular book within Jewish circles, teaching Jews about Christians and their Edomite / Aramean origin
I will provide fragments of this book and the link:
The Key of David, by Warder Cresson
(Michael Boaz Israel ben Abraham)
Published: 1852
Origin of Edom, Babylon, and Rome, or Christianity
God has declared that he has "magnified his Word above all his name." (Ps. 138:2.) How very careful then should we be to give diligent heed to his Written Word.
It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that we become acquainted with the Genealogy of the Gentiles, who are Esau, or Edom, for God has declared
"that every one of the Mount (or House) of Esau may,
or shall, be cut off by slaughter," (see Obad. 9 v.,) and that "there shall not be any remaining of the House of Esau,*
for the Lord has spoken it." Verse 18th.
* God confirms this and says "Amalek was first of the nations , (Amalek was son of Eliphaz, and grandson to Edom or Esau, see Gen. 36:9 and 12,) but his latter end shall be that he perish forever," (Num. 24:20,) and this corresponds with Obadiah and all the rest of the Prophets.
If these words of God be true--we cannot, and should not, spare any pains, however great, in order to ascertain who Esau, or Edom, is. See Gen. 27:30 and 36....
Christianity became the established religion, under Constantine;* hence Babylon, Rome, Edom, and Christianity are one....
The Great Wise Men and Rabbis Kimchi, Ibn-Ezra, and Maimonides, and Abarbanel, all unite with the foregoing Scripture testimony in saying, that all the Gentile Christians are the seed, or children, of Esau, or Edom, and that "the prophets did not only prophecy against the land of Edom, which is in the neighborhood of the land of Israel, but against the seed of Rome, or Edom, which is of the root, or rather children of Kittim, or Chittim."....
http://www.jewish-history.com/Cresson/cresson25.ht
We have plenty of information about Edom in the Bible, Genesis 36, and some interesting statements from archeological scholars.
These archeological statements posted below, refer to the time before David and Solomon, before the genocide of Edomites, descendants of Esau, done by Joab, one of David's Israelite generals.
With this Genocide, Israelites destroyed metallurgical industry of Edom and blocked the main trade roads of Arabia and Middle East.
We read about this genocide in the Bible.
In 1 King 11 we read:
Solomon’s Adversaries
"14 Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom.
15 Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom.
16 Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom.
17 But Hadad, still only a little child, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father."
Now let's go back to the archeological excavation of Essaios race and their territories:
From the Brown University professor emerita Martha Sharp Joukowsky, present directing the archaeological excavations of the Great Temple at Petra, Jordan, came this statement:
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institu
"According to tradition, in ca. 1200 BCE, the Petra area (but not necessarily the site itself) was populated by Edomites and the area was known as Edom ("red").
Before the Israelite incursions, the Edomites controlled the trade routes from Arabia in the south to Damascus in the north.
Little is known about the Edomites at Petra itself, but as a people they were known for their wisdom, their writing, their textile industry, the excellence and fineness of their ceramics, and their skilled metal working."
In the last century, the idea of highly developed civilization of Edom was rejected by many Israelite and modern scholars, however, recent excavations such as the 2002-2004 UCSD dig at Khirbat an-Nahs in Jordan have shed new light on history of Edom, unearthing artifacts and evidence of settled society as early as the thirteen through tenth centuries BCE.
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/soc/EDOM.asp
"The Edomite lowlands, home to a large copper ore zone, have been ignored by archaeologists because of the logistical difficulties of working in this hyper-arid region.
But with an anthropological perspective, and using high precision radiocarbon dating, this new research demonstrates two major phases of copper production—during the 12th to 11th centuries B.C. and the 10th to 9th centuries B.C. In this period evidence was found of construction of massive fortifications and industrial scale metal production activities, as well as over 100 building complexes."
Careful reading of the Book of Genesis, indicates that in fact Esau / Edom, not Jacob / Israel, was the true carrier of Abrahamic religion.
Genesis 36 tells us, that the first born son of Esau and Adah, the Hittite, was named Eliphaz; the Book of Job makes it clear that after Esau, he was the carrier of Abrahamic religion and of the blessing.
Eliphaz was one of Job's three friends who visited him in his affliction. (The Book of Job - chapter 2). In the dialogues, he states with remarkable force of language the infinite purity and majesty of God.
Esau was the founder of the nation of Edom, and Edom was known before Christ times as Idumea.
Before the time of Christ, Idumea was located between Judea and Nabataea and it's capital city was Hebron.
Esau – in Greek Esai, means “God is salvation, God is great gift”.
In Hebrew the meaning of this name is “he that acts or finishes”. (From Wikipedia)
Esau was renamed as Edom / Greek Idumea, and in the second century B.C. his descendants were peacefully living in the country called Idumea - located south of Judea.
John Hyrcanus, a son of one of the Maccabee brothers, ruled Judea from 134-104 BC. He forcibly conquered Samaria and Scythopolis. "John's wars of fire and sword were marked by massacres of city populations whose only crime was that they were Greek-speaking.
The province of Idumea was also conquered by the Jews and the inhabitants of its two main cities, Adora and Mariss, were forcibly converted to Judaism or slaughtered if they refused.
The following is from Josephus Antiquities 13:9:1:
"... Hyrcanus took also Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all the Idumeans; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they would circumcise their genitals, and make use of the laws of the Jews; and they were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers, that they submitted to the use of circumcision, and the rest of the Jewish ways of living; "
John, I think we have several strong points to make a plausible statement, that the descendants of Esau are in fact the Essaios race of the DSS, and that they are the original Christians, as the Jewish scholars tells us.
Sagittarius 2012— Thank you for the kind compliments. I appreciate your fascinating insights. Yes, I think it is possible that the name Essenes could have something to do with "Esau." I have no proof of it but it could be so. I don't think the Essenes could be named after Jesus Christ (as I said earlier) since they predated Him by quite a ways.
James, - you are welcome. I have noticed many more of your very well written historical hubs; great material for future exploration.
James, going back to the origin of Essenes, there is interesting article on Wiki which says that Essenes were often called "Essaois race":
"Josephus uses the name Essenes in his two main accounts[9][10] as well as in some other contexts ("an account of the Essenes";[11] "the gate of the Essenes";[12] "Judas of the Essene race";[13]
but some manuscripts read here Essaion; "holding the Essenes in honour";[14] "a certain Essene named Manaemus";[15] "to hold all Essenes in honor";[16] "the Essenes").[17][18][19]
In several places, however, Josephus has Essaios, which is usually assumed to mean Essene ("Judas of the Essaios race";[20] "Simon of the Essaios race";[21] "John the Essaios";[22] "those who are called by us Essaioi";[23] "Simon a man of the Essaios race").[24] Philo's usage is Essaioi, although he admits this Greek form of the original name that according to his etymology signifies "holiness" to be inexact.[25] Pliny's Latin text has Esseni.[6][26] Josephus identified the Essenes as one of the three major Jewish sects of that period."
Reading Quran I have noticed that the Arabs call Jesus Essa son of Mary; Jesus / Essa is one of the main Prophets of Islam who are called in Quran by name. It would match the idea that Essaios are followers of this Essa - Jesus.
One of the problems, as you have noticed, is that Essaios were living in Palestine 150 years before Jesus/Essa was born.
However, reading Quran and knowing Bible, it get in to my attention that there are two Prophets of Islam who are called in Quran by the name Essa.
There is the the Essa / Jesus son of Mary and there is another Prophet Essa living in Patriarch's time. From the setting it looks like this Prophet Essa is from the line of Isaac and ancestor of Job (both, main Prophets of Islam).
Ahmed Deedat, one of the famous Islamic scholars, says that there in no difference between the names Essa/Jesus and Essa/Esau.
From the Bible, the Book of Genesis, we know that Essa/ Esau was the grandson of Abraham and firstborn and beloved son of Isaac. This Essa/Esau, was also the older tween brother of Jacob/Israel.
James, do you think that I would be possible that the " Essaios race" / Essenes, are in fact descendants of Essa / Esau, the firstborn and beloved son of Isaac?
Sagittarius 2012— You are welcome. Thank you for posting such fascinating remarks. I am of course thrilled that you enjoy my writings.
I appreciate you bringing to my attention the "House of the Virgin Mary." I had not heard of this before. It is plausible that it is genuine.
I don't see how the Essenes could have meant their name to mean "followers of Jesus" since they were in existence a couple hundred years before Jesus walked the earth.
The Essenes did not have the chief idea of the Christian Faith, which is that it is universal—for all men in the whole world. The Essenes were quite strictly Jewish and aiming to remain Jewish only. Essenes were born not converted.
It could very well be that the Essenes sensed the Messiah was coming and coming soon. But like most all Jews, they misunderstood what His coming would mean.
As far as militancy and violence, I am quoting from one of my favorite historians, the great Paul Johnson. When you first asked about the Essenes, I immediately reached for his "A History of Christianity." They seem to have hated outsiders and been willing to express this with bloodshed. Among the Essene literature was found menacing documents that included war plans and military training methods.
There is no evidence that the Essenes created a religion based upon the person of Jesus Christ.
The Essenes had a prophet they called the "Teacher of Righteousness" but he lived long before Jesus and was probably Kohen, a priest descended from Zadok. It could be that the Essenes thought this man was the Messiah, just as many mistakenly thought John the Baptist was.
Thanks again for your learned expressions and interesting questions.
Hello James,
thank you for your warm welcome. Reading your hubs is truly a pleasure, I envy you your writing talent.
I'm not a good writer, but while reading interesting articles, like yours, I always want to learn some more, and tent to ask questions. So allow me:
Last October while visiting Ephez, the guide took us to the nearby mountain and show us the house of Mary; what do you think about this house, is it the original house of Mary?
Regarding Essenes, you say they were "militant and violent", do you have links to any documents to support your point?
Years ago someone asked interesting question on hub pages:
"Essenes means, "Followers of Essa" and Essa is Arabic for Jesus.
We know that the Essenes lived in Palestine and Egypt between 200 B.CE. and 100 A.D.
They were: The Theraputae of Egypt, the Essenes of Qumran, and the Essenes of Mount Carmel.
Essenes established Christianity as a religion they used the term for the Messiah which we know as Jesus in its modern term.
Who then was Essa / Jesus they followed?
Could there be another Jesus, the Christ in ancient India or Egypt, before the birth of Biblical Jesus?"
James, do you know any Essa from the Bible or history, leader or maybe ancestor of Essenes.
One more question, you say that Essenes were a pure, strict Jewish sect founded by priests that predated Jesus by 150 years. From history we know that in 150 B.C.E. it could be only Sadducees or Pharisee. I think we can certainly exclude Sadducees (no live after death), so we are left with Pharisee.
We know that the Pharisee were very strict, traditional Jewish sect; know them well from the wars of Mahebees.
James, don't you think that it would be much to much for the not satisfy Pharisee priests and members, to create a new sect which will:
- create new rituals; sacred meal of bread and wine, etc.
- change calendar from Jewish lunar to Hellenistic solar.
- change language, from Jewish Hebrew to Hellenistic Aramaic.
???
Sagittarius 2012— Welcome to the HubPages Community. Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I appreciate your discerning comments and keen questions.
The Essenes were a pure, strict Jewish sect founded by priests that predated Jesus by about 150 years. The Essenes were an important and respected movement of perhaps 4,000 people, scattered about, as you say, centered at the Qumran (I have been there) monastery.
The Essenes saw the temple at Jerusalem as no longer significant and saw themselves as an elect within an elect. The temple of God had thus moved from a physical building to a community of worshippers. It does seem that the Essenes longed for a New Covenant with God.
It does appear that the Essenes developed a sacral meal of bread and wine, which took place at the Hall of the Covenant. However, I do not think we can consider the Essenes as Christians.
Instead, I see the Essenes as an extreme apocalyptic-eschatological group, militant and violent, seeing all Gentiles as the enemies of God.
The Christian Faith—unlike the Essenes—features a matrix for a world-wide, universal religion.
John the Baptist was probably an Essene monk. The Essenes seem to have anticipated the Christ. I see them as a bridge movement from Temple Judaism to Jesus Christ.
What role played Essenes in development of Christianity? Are not, in fact, the first followers of Christ members of the Esseness?
It is not the reason, the sect of Essenes is not mentioned in the New Testament, because the first Christians at that time were known as Essenes?
From DDS, and other historical writings, we know now that Essenes were as popular as Pharisee and Saducee, and were living in Palestine, Syria and Egypt.
Who were the Essenes?
ron— Thank you for reading my article. I would hope it is self-explanatory.
when did christianity originate
george lopez— Thank you!! Thank you very much! :D
hooo
Ron— You are welcome. I am glad that you appreciate this article.
Jesus was a Rabbi. I believe he said he came not to oppose the Law but to fulfill it. The word "fulfill" here is translated from the Greek word "plero," which means to satisfy or complete.
Except for Luke, I don't think the writers of the Gospels considered their work to "history" in man's sense of the word. It is meant to be a "Revelation" of Jesus Christ—who is he? And what does it mean?
Luke, I think, is regarded as a top-flight historian by most scholars of the ancient world.
As far as Christology goes, I believe the orthodox view that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. It seems to me that Peter and surely John expressed this, as well as the author of Hebrews (perhaps Paul dictating?).
I don't think Jesus "replaced God." When I pray, it is always to the Father "In Jesus name"—in other words that my prayer will be heard because I have a blameless intercessor.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my article. Your comments are thoughtful and most excellent.
This is the first (or second—if you count my "Life of Jesus") episode of which there are by now 30-some, stretching up to the 19th century so far as a comprehensive History of the Christian Faith. The followup to this one is here:
Thank you James for your rather traditional take on Christianity. Appreciate the read although some scholars may take upbridge with your conclusions.
Few would argue that Jesus teaching are not the basis upon which Christianity is founded. Many scholars would say however that Jesus was a "Zelot for the law" as were his followers, which of course means he was a rabbinical Jew. James , almost certainly his half brother being the formost in the Zelous belief. Jesus repeatedly denies any claim to diety or any deviation from the "Law" what so ever. Some would claim that St. Paul almost single handedly created Jesus's divinity and replace God with Jesus as our divine conduit to savior. Since the Acts and Epistles of Paul whom most scholars consider predate the 4 gospels it may be likely that they draw a large part of their doctrine from Pauls letters and the Act in general.
While there is little doubt that at least two of these writers knew Jesus personally, it seems strange that their gospels are not a acurate chronological history of Jesus (Perhaps they say no need for it)but more of a devotional text.
platinumOwl4— Yes, I suppose they did use models. I am not sure if a painting is a graven image. Weren't graven images part of idol worship? The worship of wood and stone? I surely do not worship these paintings. I only put them in this Hub to break up the text and add a bit of beauty for the eye to behold.
Surely someone did know how these men looked but hardly any art survives from their times. I do think it is amazing that pictures of Jesus have a remarkable consistency. I have read one art critic say that it is possible artists copied other art (non-extant) made when the subjects were in living memory. In other words, it is possible that some these images are real to some degree.
tlpoague— Thank you for wishing me luck. I do appreciate your encouragement. I will be announcing the completion of my book here on Hub Pages first. :)
These are great artist expressions and the artist were exquisite. However, you must know they used models. And somewhere in the wisdom of the bible it says something about not having graven images. You are familiar with the phrase a picture is worth a thousand words.Painting did not start with these artist I am a firm believer that some one had to have known how they looked. I give you credit for having a great deal of intelligence don't disappoint me at this juncture.
I wish you the best of luck in publishing your book. I know it will be a success. I look forward to purchasing it.
tlpoague— You are most welcome. Thank you for reading my article. I appreciate your gracious remarks. Funny you should ask: I am working right now to finish up the 19th and 20th centuries in this history of Christianity. I have published 30 Hubs in this series so far. I am putting it into a book, which I hope to publish yet this summer.
What an interesting piece of history to read. The pictures are amazing too. I have often wondered how these apostles intertwined with each other in history. Just out of curiousity, have you published this series in a book yet? This would be a must buy in my book. Thanks for sharing this priceless information.
platinumOwl4— Where did I find paintings by Rubens, Michelangelo, El Greco, Donatello, Carravaggio, and Murillo? They are in the public domain. They are famous paintings. What do you mean by "misrepresentations?" These are pieces of art. No one knows what they really looked like.
Where did you find these pictures that misrepresent the apostles of Jesus?
manthy— Thank you very much for giving my Hub that link. I am honored. I also appreciate your compliments on this article. I will come over and read your Hub later today. God Bless You!
Awesome Hub - I gave you a link under Christian
http://hubpages.com/hub/Usama-Bin-Laden-is-dead-th
I look forward to following you & reading more of your hubs
God-Bless
sabbybieber— Thank you! Thank you very much. :D
PB_Smith— I don't know if you'll ever see this. I just found your comment from 11 months ago in my HubPages "Spam" folder. I didn't even know there was a "Spam" folder. I approved your wonderful comment and it now appears above. I love what you wrote, epecially this:
"One thing I would add is the dramatic about face in Peter's personality after the infilling of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. If we look at Peter prior to that day we see a man who is rash, impulsive, unsure and then ultimately a coward and liar when Jesus was taken captive. Then after Pentecost he is transformed into a very bold, outspoken and confident spokesman for Christ."
Amen!
pretty goodd!!!:)
anaonymous— I had to scramble and go look. They are very similar. Here is James the Just:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://st-takla.org/Pix/Saints/09-Coptic-Orthodox-Saints_Heh-Waw-Yeh/St-Takla-org_Coptic-Saints_Saint-Yacoub-El-Rasoul-The-Apostle-01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://st-takla.org/Full-Free-Coptic-Books/His-Hol
And here is Enoch:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.orthodoximages.com/images/icons/patrons/saint_elizabeth_convent/Enoch_Pr_4x6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.orthodoximages.com/patrons_cse.html&usg
I thought that picture of James the Just was Enoch.
Anyone have any comments they want to make about that?
pastor sam barr— I understand that this is controversial. In the several books I used as references Peter is described with this terminology. I agree with you. But that doesn't change the history of Christianity.
This Hub began a series I am writing about the History of Christianity, which now includes thirty Hubs and has reached the 17th century—so far. I have thoroughly covered the Reformation in this series.
Thank you very much for reading this article. I appreciate your comments.
Good well documented hub, but unfortunately wrong in regards to Peter being the rock. In the scriptures Christ himself is always the rock and he was building His Church upon himself the chief cornerstone, the only true foundation. I could quote you any amount of scriptures to back up my case if you so wanted me to. God bless
Sister Eunice Gesare— Thank you for your wonderful note. I am not sure to what you refer with the word "partner." I am sorry to say that I have no financial means at all. I once did but now all is lost. If I can help in some other way, please let me know. You can help me by spreading the word about my writings. I get paid a few pennies each time my work is read. I will greatly appreciate that. Feel free to send me a private email anytime. God Bless You! Thank you for serving the Lord as you do.
James
Dear servant of the living God,
Honour, glory,mighty and power unto Father who sits in the throne.Kindly allow your hearts to receive our sincere greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ the son of the living God.We have thanked our Lord and also we are very much thankful, to visit your website and we are very much impressed with your work.May the Lord bless you richly.
Brethren since we have gone through your website since yesterday and today whereby we are very much touched by the great work you are doing. The way you avail them whereby you moved our hearts until we feel that God willing we know them more and partner up with the way you have formatted your ministerial work.
If God willling to open your hearts to fight for the lost hearts in the world. Please consider our request to your ministry. I am sister Eunice and Pastor Joseph. We are Kenyan citizens from Transmara Kilgoris District.
God has blessed us with three children ( one daughter and two sons) and they all love and work for the Lord. We also have 135 members whereby 35 are total orphans whose parents died of HIV/AIDS who stay with us who are supported by the church members with food they take daily and the clothes and also about school. Though we are unable we believe that all are possible in the Lord. (Psalms 41:1,2)."Whoever may consider orphans and the poor God will support him/her when in need. So please consider us in Jesus name.
We are non -denomination organization we are not covered by any ministry. We request you if you are willing we work under your ministry. God has assisted us that we have progressed for three years.Our evangelism started from house to house up to now that this congregation has grown though we have faced much problems but it the work of the Lord which needs patience. Through this patience we have seen the Lord's hand who is the living God.
We believe the second coming of jesus our christ and saviour. We hope and trust that God will assist you to partner with us. We are the true servants of God. Anything you like to inquire from us you are welcome. Our orphans are registered as a small organization with the ministry of Gender and Social Services.
Directors of the ministry :-
1. Sister Eunice - Director
2. Pastor Joseph
3. Beatrice Moraa
4. Mary Moraa
5. Esther Kanana
We are all Christians saved by the blood of Jesus Christ.
We hope to hear from you God servants.
Yours in Christ,
Sister Eunice
Dchosen_01— Thank you! Thank you very much. :D
God bless you brother!
Tamarajo— You are quite welcome. Thank you for visiting and for leaving your gracious remarks. Welcome to the Hub Pages Community! :)
bookmarking this one. Very thorough historical information. learned some things I didn't know about the lives of the apostles after their biblical accounts Thank you.
randslam— You're welcome. I do tend to get lots of interesting comments. I'm thankful for that.
You have a point about the bones. I think they ended up with more bones than men! (in the reliquaries)
I don't think Simon Peter built any buildings. I have heard about the black statue and the Simon Magus theory. I don't know. It seems far-fetched.
You do know your subject and that makes it a joy to read your comments. Thank you for taking the time to read my article and for responding so kindly.
Thanks again, James. Your discussion commentary is as interesting as the hub--but not really.
As far as the six days of Creation--let's just go poetic on that--the idea that God would have to fool people with created fossils is silly. In Genesis it says that the earth was null and void--which likely means that God didn't create the planet about 6,000 years ago--that part of the narrative is usually overlooked. The earth was there to begin with and likely the dinosaurs ruled, and "pre-man" roamed around the planet. Things died and bones turned into fossils and vegetation turned into oil.
He said, "Let there be light." So our scientists could tell you when the star we call our Sun was lit.
Proverbs 14:12 indicates that "with God a day is as a thousand years." That also being poetic would indicate that time is quite irrelevant to a being, a creator--a different planed entity.
I still thank you for all of your 23 hours in studying and researching this hub, but I would question whether some of the remains of the Apostles are the actual bones of these men.
James did become a leader of the early church after Jesus' death and resurrection.
But now for the conspiracy theory of a lifetime. If the Catholic faith has got so much doctrinal strife--did Simon Peter really start the polytheistic saint/god system that Catholicism has become? Did Simon Peter start with all of the building focus of Vatican--Diocese--Temples?
Not likely, as a matter of fact the new testament claims that "where two or three of you gather, there am I."
So with that preface, could the original Peter have been none other than Simon Magus who tried to bribe his way into apostleship? Think about that one.
I've been to the Vatican and seen the black statue of Peter. It was the first thing I thought 26 years ago. Why would a statue of the founder of Christianity be created using an obsidian stone of darkness?
Just thought I'd offer up a few thoughts. I like to think--hope it doesn't cause too big a ruckus for your Catholic friends.
Gratefully,
Rand
Don Simkovich— Thank you. I surely agree with you, Don. Most folks do not know the history. That's why I am publishing this series. I think it is a fascinating story. I appreciate you for visiting and commenting.
James
Great Hub. I'm fortunate to have grown up in the Eastern Orthodox Church, attend evangelical churches, and even have work with Catholic churches. I appreciate the well-rounded perspective and historicity. So many Christians today know little or nothing about church history.
Isabel— Why, thank you very much! I'll keep on as long as I am able. :-)
I— Thank you. I'm glad you did. That is an interesting monicker you have chosen there. :D
this is amazing, keep on writing!:D
I really liked the pics they were awesome, and of course the info!
Anitha— Thank you so much for reading my page. Your comments have made my day! :D
Hi James
The Information you provided on this page is amazing……
Dianne--- The people are fine and dandy.
Hey ppl how yhu goen..??
OpinionDuck--- Huh. I don't know what to think about that. Probably hookam. :D
James
I saw it on PBS, basically a computer scans the bible or any document, but this was on the bible. They use algorithms that skip so many characters, and they get words and sentences that have predictions of events that have already happened. It is like the DaVinci codes.
Opinion Duck--- Bible codes? I'm not sure what that is. It is very possible people once lived to be 800 years old. Why not? You believe in dinosaurs don't you? Why is it so easy to believe what some scientist--a mere man--tells us but doubt what God says?
Ictodd1947--- Thank you so much. You are welcome. Hmmm . . . I don't gamble . . . much. :D
I appreciate the visitation and your comments.
James,
The point that I was trying to make is that the voice of the Bible is not consistent. In one place 6 days to create the Earth, in other place 800 years for the life of a person, then 40 years in the desert. Day cannot be interpreted correctly.
Changing the subject a little, what is your thought on the Bible Codes?
I am more than a Skeptic, and truth is a misnomer. They used it in, We Hold These Truths Self Evident, yet they need centuries and the Supreme Court to define them and to uphold them.
It is deeds and not words that are really indicative of a truth.
Just found this hub. so well written and studied. Thanks for presenting it to us to read. The truth is the truth, skeptics one day will see the light!! Bet on it!!! Oh, we don't bet, do we?
OpinionDuck--- The Earth could have been made is six days or 6,000,000 days by God, the eternal Creator of all that you see. He has NO limitations. God could have made the Earth with fossils embedded in it, if He so chose. When I see somebody saying, "Well, God couldn't have done this or that" I know they are on the wrong track. There is no limit to what God can do. You cannot limit His powers.
I will go read your Hubs today that you mentioned here.
James,
Thanks, I also appreciate the conversation.
I guess that I am in that class of people called skeptics, although I like the word analytical better.
To lighthen the subject for a moment, my inlaws who are old time religion people, were so tired of trying to answer my thousands of questions over the years, finally gave me the "Mysteries of the Bible" book.
It didn't help them.
When they would come home from church, I would ask them about what they learned from the sermon. Apparently, not much.
Back to the more serious.
Let us start at the beginning, Genesis. Although, I believe that it was not the first book written in the Old Testament.
Maybe there is a Bill Clinton semantic about the word "error", but there is no connection between the accounts in Genesis to that which exists in real life.
The Earth couldn't have been created and populated in 6 days. Even if the days were millions of years old.
Days didn't technically exist until after the light and the dark existed, which had to be when the Earth rotated on its axis for each revolution. Genesis could have mentioned the rotation but it doesn't have much detail.
The progression of the "Earth as described in Genesis is vague and it doesn't contain any information that would not have been known to man at the time it was written.
I don't play chess, but that is my opening move.
Mystique commented on my hub, "God, Creator or Unknown Forces".
I also have another one called, "God versus Science".
Thanks for your reply and consideration of my questions.
OpinionDuck--- You are welcome. I appreciate the conversation. You keep me guessing. I never know what you'll say next. :D
I cannot disagree with your assertions about the liberties taken by churches, or denominations, or sects with the Word of God. All I am saying is that the Word has been delivered to us intact, Elaine Pagels and Bishop Spong notwithstanding.
The evidence of the Creator's hand in His divine Word is in the millennia of skeptics who have tried their darndest to find error in it and have failed. For instance, the Doctor Luke is the ONLY ancient writer about whose history we can find no flaw, though numerous flaws have been reasonably posited and later disproved by archaeology.
I will research Dr. Gene Scott and comment further. I've not heard of him.
Yes, there are disasters on this fallen Earth. But life as we know it hangs in a tiny balance in the black void of space, utterly hostile to any life, that to me, is surely a miracle, not an accident.
James,
Thanks for the reply, and I appreciate the time you took away from your other very busy hub.
We continue to agree to disagree, and I think that our ability to reason, think and question is also a part of our universe. I look at the universe as half empty and you look at it as full.
I cannot dispute your statement about the ability of some people to be able to retain and repeat massive amounts of information. This is evident on the TV show Jeopardy.
What I have a problem with is the purported delegation by God to mere men to chronicle his word. Religions and churches have taken Carte Blanche with the words in the Bible(s) for their own advantage.
I also don't challenge the intelligence of the authors of the Bible(s) because their work was brilliant. I also think that Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and many others were also brilliant. It is the lack of direction from the Deity to the scribiner that I challenge. It is sort of like the news reporting, in the old days, the news was reported without opinion. Today, it is an editorial surrounding a news event. At what point, do we know if the author is doing an editorial or just reporting the events.
As for the punctuation and the meaning of words, there was a preacher named Dr. Gene Scott and he was fluent in all of the languages that were used to translate the Bible. At least those that eventually ended up into the English version.
He died a few years back and his wife Melissa Scott is continuing his ministry. The ministry is based in Los Angeles and it is seen on TV. I don't particularly agree with his ministry, but I am using it to show that people cannot understand the Bible at face value reading, that at least is the tenet of Bible Study and many ministers, as well as the Catholic Church.
On another note, I have used the Constitution as a parallel for the problems with people and documents. I notice that by its absence in your reply, that it may be difficult to discount in applying it to the Bible(s).
BTW, the universe is not a real good example for me as an example of an Almighty and Perfect God. It is as imperfect as the people on Earth, it works, but just barely. The universe looks more like it was designed by Rube Goldberg.
Take for instance all of the objects in our Solar System alone. They have been scarred by space debris, including the Earth and its Moon. This isn't a great creation by any means. Things eventually evovled to work after a fashion, but it causes as much damage as it does good. Solar Winds, Meteors, Asteroids, Comets, Earthquakes, Typhoons, Drought, Floods, Lightning, Tidal Waves, etc. are not good things for human beings.
just my opinion..
OpinionDuck--- I apologize for the delay in responding. I have been without a computer much of this past weekend. Ok. Let's see what we've got here . . .
The psychology experiment you mention at the start of your commentary is exactly what I was referring to. It is a phenomena of modern human psychology that we cannot remember details because we have so many crutches to rely on, books, libraries, other witnesses, mass communications, TV, radio, computers. We naturally want to impose these limitations on our ancestors but in this case there is plenty of evidence this is a false application. Even now, I know a man who can recite the dialogue to every Star Trek episode--but we think it impossible that John the Apostle could remember what Jesus--who he thought to be God himself walking the earth--really said.
I understand the Constitution very well.
Myths and fables are hardly the same thing--Joseph Campbell notwithstanding. People draw the wrong conclusions. There are stories around the world of a worldwide flood. Skeptics take this to mean that Moses simply copied somebody else's story. I say a flood of that magnitude would naturally be remembered in many places.
"Mary and Joseph are foundational symbols of Christianity."
I do not agree at all with that sentence. They are characters in the story of Jesus but their roles are downplayed in the Gospels for a reason: it is not at all about them.
God tells us what we need to know about Jesus-not what we want to know. There is plenty that we do know about Jesus to think about, obviously: books about him have been written by the library full. It was common for rabbis to begin their public ministry at 30.
God has His reasons for the Old Testament, to tell us about our origins and how He made various covenants with ancient man. The important thing is that God gave clear instructions, a clear warning as to what would happen if the instructions were disobeyed, and evidence that that the curses promised for disobedience were delivered.
It is true there was no punctuation and that this is required to understand English and many languages but not Hebrew or Greek. You don't think the Hebrews and Greeks understood what they wrote? They were every bit as smart as people today. The only thing that progresses is technology and knowledge--not intelligence.
Regarding the Canon of the New Testament, there was debate about which books to include but that is greatly amplified to something it was not by skeptics, with dark spiritual forces whispering in their ears as they speak. The only books in the NT that were disputed are Revelation, Hebrews and James. God made the ultimate decision. There were some books considered that God decided He did not want in the Canon. If God is the ultimate author of the words, He can surely make certain the correct ones are in the Canon.
The greatest artifact of God's existence is the universe in which you live.
You summarized the three monotheistic religions quite well. Thank you. :D
James,
Thanks for your answers, but you know that I like details.
The part about the oral story telling is probably true, but that is also a problem.
Anyone that has taken psychology, has done the experiment with a group of people and passing on from the first person to the last, something that only the first person actually saw. The results were poor as to the first persons account compared with that of the last person. This experiment is done with only minutes from beginning to end. The story telling that you mention was fifteen centuries.
My example of the US Constitution shows that the human problem of understanding is present even when the words are printed. And in the case of the Constitution even when all of the authors contribute to it at the same time.
Your statement abut the people in those days not be able to read could be part of the problem, rather than an answer. Legends, myths, fables and other stories share the same basic mechanism with the stories from the Bible(s). How do you separate them to find truth in any of them?
I also think that it is important to know about Mary and Joseph as they are foundational symbols of Christianity.
Mary was under the age of 16 when she delivered Jesus. Joseph is the one that was attributed with giving that name.
The point about the age is also interesting as Jesus didn't coome to those 3 1/2 years for his ministry until his late ttwenties. He first got involved at the age of 12, so why the gap?
Not to challenge your knowledge as an accomplished religious historian, but I am not familiar with the written form of the Bible that you mention.
To me, there are two Bibles, the Old Testament and the New Testament. I assume that you are referring to the New Testament. The fact that God needed two Bibles detracts from an almighty and perfect God.
The Old Testament was written by several authors and it was ccollated without punctuation. As any writer knows, punctuation, is, very important, to the, meaning of the document.
It is my understanding that not all of the available documents that could have been put into the Bible were put into it. Some sort of human publishing criteria.
The human race can't even adhere to the tenets of the Ten Commandments, much less the complexity and patent contradictions in the text. As I have mentioned to you before, I find it puzzling that God would have made something as important as the tablet for the Ten Commandment so fragile. This tablet along with many other artifacts of God's existence are also strangely missing.
Final point, The Jews believe solely in the Old Testament, Christians believe in the Old and New Testaments, but focus on the New Testament. The Muslims re-wrote the Testaments to focus on Mohammed rather than Jesus.
Jews- Jesus not the Saviour
Christians - Jesus is the Saviour
Muslim - Mohammed replaced Jesus as the Saviour.
Thanks, hope things are going better for you and your family.
OpinionDuck--- Thank you very much. I think the lack of information regarding Joseph and Mary is because they are not meant to be the focus of the story. The focal point is Jesus' ministry of 3 1/2 years. The New Testament existed in oral form before it was written down. Us moderns think there is something wrong with that because we have so many books but in those days oral storytelling was king and certain people were masters at it. Most couldn't read. The printing press surely made the Bible available to the masses but before then handwritten copies were read aloud--as the Bible was meant to be. It is meant to be spoken aloud. I read it aloud even when I am alone. There is power in the spoken word.
God did use many writers because the focus is not to glorify the writers but the message itself. I disagree about "editing." There is very little difference between ancient and new versions of Scripture. No one in olden times in particular had the temerity to edit God's Word. The Bible was widely used within 50 years of the death of Christ in written form much as it is today.
James
Another masterpiece.
I was doing some research on the beginning BC to AD, and I was astounded on how little information exists on Mary and Joseph.
I was surprised on how short of a life span they had, and that Joseph died really before Jesus was into his ministry.
Like the lack of details in Genesis, there is also the same lack of detail on Mary, Joseph, the Apostles as well as the first twelve years of Jesus.
It should make you wonder what the millions of people in the world did while there was no Old Testament and the many years from AD to Christianity. These times had to be a void where millions of people in the world had to go to Hell because they didn't have the new Scriptures.
Really it wasn't until the printing press became popular, that the Bible(s) became availabe to a larger segment of the world population.
In my opinion, history has shown that man is more like the blind leading the blind, rather than man being led by an almighty deity. Nothing has really changed since recorded history began. Evil is still dominant, and good still has to be preached. No one needs lessons on how to be evil.
On a final note, it strains the bounds of reason to accept that the Bible(s) should have been written as one document with all the contributors working together. Instead, we are presented with a composite account written at different times and at different places. It was also put together and edited by others that were not present at the time of the events mentioned therein.
The Bible(s) like our Constitution cannot stand on its own, they must be interpreted to be useful. And we know from the endless interpretations of our Constitution how well that works out.
Translations of the Bible(s) lose something, but the biggest loss is in the interpretation. With the Costitution, we have the document written by its authors, as well as documents and accounts of what they intended that the Constitution would provide for the country. The Bible(s) don't have these same attributes.
The Constitution was a document that was immediately used to create this country, while the Bible(s) were written after the "fact" and not implemented for centuries.
If you can see the flaws in our Constitution, then it should be apparent, that any document, including the Bible(s) could have those same flaws.
emogirl— Wow! I haven't been called a Freak since high school and then it was compliment!
I am so sorry that was my daughter. She is mad because I took away her phone. But please do NOT write back to this message. Thank You! ;)
yo, freak you DON'T have to put their fricken screen names before every fricken message you send them!!!! jeez!!! :^(
*emogirl*
stay—you have asked a very good question. I think the true Christian religion is one that looks at the life of Christ and those of his Apostles and imitates them. I don't think it matters a lot—not a deal-breaker anyway—which denomination you are in. I would go to a church where you think the style of worship fits you well; where there is a preacher who refers to Scripture often; where the other congregants have a strong sense of community with each other. If that turns out to be Catholic or Pentecostal or somewhere in between; I think you will be fine.
Dude, i never expect that i can visit your site for just a click of mouse.I am watching always the movie of doomsday and i am asking myself. I am in right path way of religion a lot of question come into my mind. being a christian is complicated life. we kneeling in the cruz where christ suffer and died and the reason why his life ended because of cruz. now thier are a lot of religion abour christianity and translated in different thought and ideas which make people confuse. now in your idea and research what is the true christianity religion?
Juliana Brook— Welcome to HubPages!
I am so pleased that you enjoyed my article. Thank you for the compliments. I thoroughly enjoyed your comments here and I am in agreeance with you. One of my favorite authors is Juroslav Pelikan and after completed his book series "The History of Church Doctrine" (20 years of work) he converted to Orthodox from Lutheran!
This Hub is part of a series that has now reached 11 Hubs and reached the year 1200. The latest one I wrote is called "The Third Crusade." The one before that, called the "Holy Crusades" includes links to all of the previous Hubs and brief descriptions of their content.
James, it is indeed great to see someone researching the Early Church. So few people in the Western world have any idea that any of this history exists. There is the perception that The Church died during the Dark Ages and only came back into existence around 350 years ago and as a result people miss out on so much.
Many people think that the Roman Church is the original Church and of course it was part of the original Church until 1052, but has since moved away from most the practices and beliefs of the Orthodox Church. The Roman Church has unfortunately done things in the past that have caused people to disassociate themselves from anything to do with them and have developed a strong dislike for the Roman Church and therefore won't look at anything that remotely resembles it. I was most certainly like that. I am eternally grateful that God had mercy on me and helped me to overcome this mindset.
When I began searching for the Early Church, I was Pentecostal at the time and had been all my life. I began questioning the fact that there was this belief that the Early Church had died, when Christ was very clear in His Word that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. Either (God forbid) Christ was a liar or what I believed was a lie and so my search began and with it the most exciting journey of my life.
I found the True Church, the Orthodox Church about 5 years ago and knew the moment I walked through the door, that everything I had ever longed for or hoped for I had found in this precious Treasure. In fact, today 4 years ago I was baptised into the Orthodox Church and was given the name Juliana after St Juliana who is commemorated today as a martyr for Christ.
Great Article James, I hope everyone who reads it is challenged in their understanding of the Early Church and enjoys discovering these precious treasures.
Good Hub James, one thing I would add is the dramatic about face in Peter's personality after the infilling of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. If we look at Peter prior to that day we see a man who is rash, impulsive, unsure and then ultimately a coward and liar when Jesus was taken captive. Then after Pentecost he is transformed into a very bold, outspoken and confident spokesman for Christ.
@pjk_artist the above example is but one of many intrinsic evidences of the validity of the Bible record. The history as related in the Old Testament is actually considered to be a more reliable source than the histories of other contemporary ancient sources. One simple "evidence" is the apparent lack of any accounts of defeat recorded in the histories of the Egyptians, Babylonians and other peoples of the time. Often there are conflicting accounts of battles where both sides have claimed victory. The telling of Hebrew history in the Bible stands as being much more viable given that defeats as well as victories are recorded. May seem a small thing, but when evaluating ancient documents and history it is just such "reading in-between the lines" type of evidences that lend credence to the accuracy of a given account.
A great deal of archeological evidence also supports much of the Biblical record. The Dead Sea scrolls silenced the notion that much of the OT books that had prophetic references to Jesus were written after the fact because of the striking detail contained in the prophecy, most notably the portions of Isaiah.
Your assertion that the Biblical accounts are symbolic and metaphorical really just speaks to your lack of knowledge concerning the Bible and how historical accounts are authenticated. There are many things taught as historically accurate facts that have much less verification then Biblical accounts do.
Great hub James, sorry I kinda got carried away there.
Paul— Ah yes! You are correct that the Copts were not yet around during the time of St. Mark. I appreciate that. You surely know your church history. When I have more time later tonight I'll change the wording there.
Thank you for coming by and reading my article. I appreciate your comments, too.
Hi James, well-researched. One point: St Mark (you say) was the first bishop of the Copts. The Copts were not around at that time. In around the 5th Century there was a group of believers who taught that Jesus had only one nature, 100% God, 100% man, and that His human nature was absorbed by God's nature. The Orthodox Church at the time (Rome was still part of the Church at the time) taught (and still holds to the view) that Christ had 2 natures: 100% man, 100% God. It sounds pedantic but is important if Christ suffered as a man. A council (in Chalcedon) was held and confirmed this belief and a small group broke away and became known as 'monophysites' and they called themselves Copts. They obviously claim to have Mark as their founder but so does the Orthodox Church in Alexandria. There is no communion between them. Very good research though!
peacenhim— Thank you very much! I appreciate your gracious words. Welcome to the Hub Pages Community!
Great Hub! You perfected the origin of Christianity with great detail and true documentation.
Mark Andrew Marley— I cannot thank you enough for your words of encouragement to me. I had a lot of help from the Holy Spirit on this one. It was a blessing for me to research and write it. You are most welcome.
Dear Mr. Watkins:
I have been a Roman Catholic (unfortunately not practicing) for forty-four years. I have attempted to try and understand Jesus, the Jews, and the how, when, what, whys’ of the making of Christianity. I will say, that after reading your work, you have made it ever so clear, the understanding of when Christianity started.
Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to understand Christianity and its beginnings. You are a wonderful person.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Marley
kkk— I would seriously consider and new handle. :)
Thanks for reading and commenting.
cooooooooolllllllllllllllllllll
Chantelle Dexter— Well, I'm sure glad you read my work. What would you like you know. I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have.
i dont get any of these comments i need help
karson— baby jesus
baby jesus
Kim Garcia— Thank you so much! I agree with you, the commentary has been excellent. I love all history, but especially Christian History.
I am glad to save you a lot of time! :D
Your gracious words have brought a big smile to my face. I appreciate you for leaving them here for me to see.
Great Hub, and great teaching!! I've enjoyed reading the commentary as much as your post. You dig deep into history, which I love, and not just give an overview of Biblical facts but equip us with valuable information regarding the origin of Christianity which many believers have no clue, they just accept everything face value without cracking a book. I always learn from your History Hubs, and I thank you for doing such extensive research....saves me loads of time.LOL!! Well Done!! peace ~ K
Tina Irene—Oh yes, I agree. I was only speaking of the 12 apostles. They were not the kind of fellows people would generally pick to lead a mass movement. Luke and the Apostle Paul were geniuses and very learned men.
Thanks for your readership, friendship and support. :D
James -
Not all the followers of Christ were unlearned (uneducated). Luke (a pagan convert) had been a physician and Cornelius (another pagan convert) had been employed with the pagan Roman Empire.
Interesting though how the Jewish converts were, for the most part, uneducated but some of the pagan converts were educated.
Great hub, by the way!
Kaie Arwen— Welcome to the Hub Pages Community. I appreciate you stopping by and I thank you for your comments and excellent question.
May I assume you are referring to the Canon of the New Testament? And the "gospel of Thomas" "gospel of Philip" and "Shepherd of Hermas?" I think the 300 most holy (set apart for lifelong service to God) men who could be found deliberated for a long time and decided these documents were not authentic, or not written in the Apostolic Age. Or, in their words: The Holy Spirit after days on our knees has guided us as to what books we should include.
This was not a big part of Nicea, I don't think. Nicea was more about who Jesus was. The followers of Arius wanted a different Jesus (a man who had earned Christhood) than the followers of Athanasius (Trinitarians).
I get into this subject in my other Hub called:
Wonderful article............ now I go to watch the "Bible" on the history channel. Isn't it amazing how many people are still mesmerized by the Bible stories they grew up with.
School starts Wednesday, and my co-workers and I just had our end of summer get together on Friday, and what is usually an extremely casual occasion turned into a three hour discussion about religion. It was great. As a group we represented the Jewish, Non-Denominational, Catholic, and Greek Orthodox Churches. Add our one atheist, and we had a fairly well rounded group.
We had a great dialog about the manuscripts overlooked at the Counsel of Nicea. What do you think about those?
axeny— Why, thank you so much! :)
The perfect hub - a lot of information and great pictures :)
vitaman249— Thank you very much. Welcome to the Hub Pages Community. I look forward to reading some of your work soon.
Awesome hub. Great pics
pjk—artist—That is a great parable. Thanks for posting it here.
pjk_artist— There are 40 parables in the New Testament and they are transcendent teaching tools. I love them. Thanks for your comment.
The Sower and the Seeds
Luke 8:5-15
When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, he spoke in a parable. "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold." After saying this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear. Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. He answered, "Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that 'they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.
A parable is a brief, succinct story, in prose or verse, that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human characters....like the bible.
When you read the bible and treat it as a parable you find your eyes glaze over much less and find passages that never made sense suddenly do.
Waren E— I couldn't have said it better myself, which I why I did not address this part of UnicycleGuy's comment because you have it covered for me. Thanks! :D
Sagittarius 2012 Level 3 Commenter 4 days ago
My appology James, for my mistake and calling you John.