One of the purposes of OriginalChristianity.net is to look at how Christianity started and what was originally believed and practiced, and to then look at how it developed over time, and compare that to the original. We are doing that here with scripture, what was scripture or had scriptural status with the original Christians, how […]
Eusebius’ New Testament “Canon” only has 20 Truly Undisputed Books Read More »
The purpose of originalChristianity.net is to look at how our church started and then morphed into the numerous diverse sects that make up the church now. From what we can tell, what the people in the times of Jesus and the apostles considered “Scripture” was “the law, the prophets, and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44) although
The Muratorian Canon Read More »
Preface The position of originalChristianity.net is that the Scriptures are a collection of divinely inspired writings. The “Scriptures” refer to those writings that are the word of God. From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Every Scripture is
If there is a theme verse to this website it may be this: So then, brothers, stand firm, and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word, or by letter. (2Th 2:15 WEB) This website is focused on original Christianity and the standards that were set there. Specifically, the apostles charged
Scripture on Determining which Writings are Scripture Read More »
As the old saying goes, Marcion was “the son of a preacher man”. Actually, his father was Bishop at Sinope. But Marcion’s upbringing in the Church did not lead him to accept the orthodoxy of the times. He was a wealthy shipowner and merchant who evidently compared the religion of his father with the religions
The teaching in church this week centered on the inspiring story of Esther. In a nutshell when Xerxes was king of Persia the Queen was named Vashti. And in a moment of defiance Vashti refused the command of the King. After consulting with his advisers the king decided on a process to find a new
The Marvelous Story of Esther, Absent From Early Canons of Scripture Read More »
And he said unto them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me. (Luke 24:44 ASV) Jesus referred to the word of God as The
Jesus’ Word of God; Original Christianity’s Canon Of Scripture Read More »
Continuing with the pattern that we saw in Clement’s epistle there are again no Scripture references to New Testament epistles in either the long or short versions of the epistles by Ignatius deemed to be genuine. In fact, there are no Scripture references at all in the short versions. In the long versions, as we
01.2.5 Ignatius Epistles Still only Call Old Testament Scripture Read More »
As an example of the dispute over certain books of the bible, and as further evidence that the canon of scripture was absolutely not always accepted, look at what Dionysius of Alexandria wrote regarding the dispute over the Book of Revelation: “Then, a little further on, he speaks of the Revelation of John as follows:
Proof That There Was Refutation of The Book of Revelation Read More »
The early church Father Clement regularly quotes the Old Testament with variations of “it is written,” and quotes the Lord Jesus with the words like “the words of the Lord” [1] For example: …being especially mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus which He spake, teaching us meekness and long-suffering. For thus He spoke:
01.1.2 Clement of Rome’s Canon of Scripture Read More »
Christian gospel writing was not limited to the four Gospels we know as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There are many known accounts of the life and times of Jesus. These include the Protevangelium of James, the Infancy Story of Thomas, the Arabic Infancy Gospel, the Armenian Gospel of the Infancy, the History of Joseph
In the Christian Churches of early Christianity, there simply wasn’t an Old Testament, New Testament, or Bible when Christ arose or even later when Paul died. These books, these collections of sacred writings, developed over centuries. The Law and the Prophets were scrolls that were widely read in these times. There were epistles, mainly by
Many Christians today rely on the Gospels and Epistles as the only authority for faith and practice of the New Covenant. Some justify this by saying that the books of the New Testament were always accepted as the Word of God. We have already looked at how Papias in the late first century did not
Gospels were Called Memoirs in the Second Century Read More »
If the epistles and other books of the New Testament were immediately received as the word of God then we would expect that disciples writing at that time would treat the New Testament writings with that status and respect. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There is no evidence that the New Testament writings were
This is an article about the divisions among believers over the multiple views among the Christian churches on the place of scripture, including biblical inerrancy, biblical infallibility, biblical sufficiency, and myth. The divergence of these views is at the heart of many of the divisions in the church. This article does not focus on the
Biblical Inerrancy Read More »
Some things in Christian churches are assumed. Even though there is no proof, these tenets are accepted without question. For example, some assume water baptism every time the word “baptism” is used. Some assume that the 66 books in the Protestant Bible are the Word of God, complete and entire. Another assumption is that the
LP0.1 Only The Law and the Prophets Had Divine Status Initially Read More »