01.2.1 Ignatius as an Example of the Problems in Studying Early Church Writings

Ignatius, a.d. 30-107, is a man who sat at the feet of the apostles. There is a claim that Ignatius as a very small child was held by Jesus and that is why he is named Theophorus which means “carried by God”.[1]

Ignatius played an instrumental role both as the Bishop of Antioch, and a prolific writer. Just how prolific is a matter of dispute. There are 15 epistles credited to his name, only seven of which are agreed upon by scholars as genuine. The problem gets even more complicated due to the fact that there are both longer and shorter versions of epistles agreed upon as genuine.

The following have been deemed to be spurious:

To the Virgin Mary,
Two to the Apostle John,
To Mary of Cassobelae,
To the Tarsians,
To the Antiochians,
To Hero, a deacon of Antioch,

The above epistles have references to things after the date of Ignatius’s life.[2] Neither Jerome nor Eusebius makes any mention of them. But the following epistles are agreed upon to be the genuine work of Ignatius:

To the Philippians
To the Ephesians,
To the Magnesians,
To the Trallians,
To the Romans,
To the Philadelphians,
To the Smyrnaeans,
To Polycarp.

The following is an example of the shorter and longer version in the Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians

Chap. VI. — Have Respect to the Bishop as to Christ Himself.

Shorter Version

Longer Version

Now the more any one sees the bishop keeping silence,¹⁷ the more ought he to revere him. For we ought to receive every one whom the Master of the house sends to be over His household, (Comp. Mat_24:25) as we would do Him that sent him. It is manifest, therefore, that we should look upon the bishop even as we would upon the Lord Himself. And indeed Onesimus himself greatly commends your good order in God, that ye all live according to the truth, and that no sect¹⁸ has any dwelling-place among you. Nor, indeed, do ye hearken to any one rather than to Jesus Christ speaking in truth.

The more, therefore, you see the bishop silent, the more do you reverence him. For we ought to receive every one whom the Master of the house sends to be over His household, (Comp. Mat_24:25) as we would do Him that sent him. It is manifest, therefore, that we should look upon the bishop even as we would look upon the Lord Himself, standing, as he does, before the Lord. For “it behooves the man who looks carefully about him, and is active in his business, to stand before kings, and not to stand before slothful men.” (Pro_22:29, after LXX.) And indeed Onesimus himself greatly commends your good order in God, that ye all live according to the truth, and that no sect¹⁸ has any dwelling-place among you. Nor indeed do ye hearken to any one rather than to Jesus Christ, the true Shepherd and Teacher. And ye are, as Paul wrote to you, “one body and one spirit, because ye have also been called in one hope of the faith. (Eph_4:4) Since also “there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.” (Eph_4:5-6) Such, then, are ye, having been taught by such instructors, Paul the Christ-bearer, and Timothy the most faithful.

Comparing the shorter and longer versions we find that the longer version usually has explanations and elaborations, often with relevant Scripture references, of the shorter version. While the meaning of each section is basically the same it is clear that someone either elaborated on Ignatius’ writing or abridged it. The consensus is that the shorter versions are genuine, and the longer versions are some later scribes’ attempts to elaborate more fully on Ignatius’ points. Still, some make a case for the longer versions, and while the versions are very similar in meaning they are not identical. In other words, the longer is not merely the shorter version with more words added. Also, the longer version is not longer in each chapter, occasionally the “long” version of a chapter is shorter than the “short” version of a chapter. Go figure!

What is clear is that having numerous writings that don’t appear genuine, and having multiple versions of the ones that are genuine complicates what should be a simple study of reading some letters by an early bishop in the church. Add that to the fact that most of the writings attributed to Ignatius are probably forgeries, and it makes all the reading at least slightly suspect.

Ignatius is probably the most egregious example of the failure to transmit documents accurately throughout the ages. But there are so many spurious writings, and numerous versions of documents throughout the early church period that it is easy to understand why processing the information in these valuable writers’ documents requires careful deliberation.

[1] INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO THE MARTYRDOM OF IGNATIUS. E-Sword Program
[2] INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE EPHESIANS. E-Sword Program

Author’s note: Michael W. Holmes, in his book THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS, defines three recensions. What is stated as the short version above he calls the middle recension. He defines the short recension as a “Syriac abridgment of the letters to the Ephesians, the Romans, and Polycarp.[3]

[3] THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS, edited by Michael W. Holmes, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1999, p. 131

Original Christianity

This web is a look at primitive, original Christianity, how it developed over time into innumerable denominations and divisions and how original Christianity compares to current practices. It is a resource for looking systematically at the beliefs and practices in the original Christian church, numerous movements and churches since, the modern Christian church, with discussion about how all these changes happened and especially focusing on how well each of these compares to scripture.

Why?

"Jesus Christ is Lord" is the common belief of billions of Christians. But there are tens of thousands of denominations. While ancient denominations like the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox claim to be the original and consequently "true" church, innumerable churches and denominations have started citing error in these ancient bastions and/or the leading of the spirit to reform the church and restore the church.

There are numerous disputed issues. Cessation doctrine (prophecy and the gifts of the spirit ended with the apostles), infant baptism, the inerrancy of Scripture, the form of Church government, the role of women in the church, and currently, the acceptance of homosexuality are just some of the many disputed doctrines that cause the Christian body to be so divided.

The Reformation movement performed an invaluable service. But instead of simply reforming the church or simply working to create one more correct alternative church the Reformation movement worked to increase the number of disputes over scripture and consequently the number of splits has increased exponentially.

The problem with looking at all the denominations is that it can become confusing to just compare this church or denomination to that one. The complexity of looking at all the theological implications can become overwhelming. For many busy people that means just making the best, less than fully educated decision they can, and staying with the church of their heritage or finding a church where they feel they can grow. Just finding the information can be an overwhelming task. Putting it into some understandable framework is an even more complicated task.

This web site, rather than trying to just compare all the current positions on the differences goes back to the beginning (primitive, original Christianity) and evaluates Christianity starting at that point. This includes looking at the gospel accounts, but also includes looking at early church documents as well as other ancient documents, both secular and religious. (There is also a section on Philosophy because its profound impact on Christian theological development.) The articles have numerous references to works both in print and online.

Next the web site looks at the developments in Christianity from original Christianity forward to see how the church developed over time comparing each development with what we know about original Christianity. The goals are:

To trace the development of the church from start to now to see how the church at large wound up with all these competing churches/denominations today, and

To equip people with the knowledge of original Christianity to enable people to make an informed decision on what is the true faith and practice of the church Jesus Christ started.

For an overview of the articles by category, go to the Table of Contents Page.

This is a work in progress. My prayer is that sharing my journey is helpful to you and that together we can grow in the faith that Jesus Christ made available some two thousand years ago.

Also Please Pardon our Dust. There are hundreds of posts and some of them still have typos. If you find typos You can contact Mark at [email protected]. Please be so kind as to mention the name of the post as well as to copy and paste the section with errors. Thank you and God Bless You.

01.2.1 Ignatius as an Example of the Problems in Studying Early Church Writings

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