"So is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do." - Isaiah 55:11
This website looks to apply the same approach as the Bereans discussed above, who compared what all the apostles were preaching to the then-known Scriptures, which, at that time, were all Old Testament references. Some New Testament churches, utilizing the philosophies and writings of different writers and councils since the apostles, have developed numerous doctrines, some acknowledged to be beyond what Scripture says. These philosophies and extra-biblical doctrinal developments have all contributed to the a plethora of disagreements in the church.
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, and 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. (Denominations are not just the big guys like Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist; they include all the little groups of churches under the same authority, even if they claim to be nondenominational.) 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 errors in these ancient bastions or the leading of the spirit to reform or 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 creating one more correct alternative church, the Reformation movement increased the number of disputes over scripture, and consequently, the number of splits has increased exponentially.
The problem with examining all the denominations is that it can become confusing to compare this church or denomination to that one. The complexity of examining all the theological implications can become overwhelming. For many busy people, that means 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 website, rather than trying just to 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, early church documents, and other secular and religious ancient documents. (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 website 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.
This website looks to apply the same approach as the Bereans discussed above, who compared what all the apostles were preaching to the then-known Scriptures, which, at that time, were all Old Testament references. Some New Testament churches, utilizing the philosophies and writings of different writers and councils since the apostles, have developed numerous doctrines, some acknowledged to be beyond what Scripture says. These philosophies and extra-biblical doctrinal developments have all contributed to the a plethora of disagreements in the church.
For an overview of the articles by category, go to the Table of Contents Page.
This is a work in progress. I pray 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, some of which still have typos. If you find any typos, you can contact Mark at webmaster@originalchristianity.net. Please be so kind as to mention the name of the post. if you could kindly copy and paste the section with errors in your message, that would be fantastic. Thank you, and God Bless You.
- The Great Flood Regularly Generates Interest even among Secular Scientists – There are Hundreds of Ancient Great Flood Stories Around the World
- H5 Gay Pride Month – Homosexuality as a Current Example of Indoctrination in the World, A little of the History of Same-Sex Relationships and Gay Pride, Deliverance is Available
- 15.1.1 Erasmus of Rotterdam; Translator, Researcher, And Humanist Pioneer; The Movement Back to Evaluating Greek Manuscripts To Get To The Originals; The Danger in Integrating Christianity and Worldly Philosophies Or Religions
- Indoctrination and Deception Part 2 – The Trinity and Other Doctrines That Christians are Indoctrinated With – Not All Things Are Better Caught Than Taught
- Jesus Was Anointed, We Are Anointed And What That Means ; Anointing With Oil vs Anointing With Spirit
- Textual Criticism; New Testament Verses That Are in Some Versions But Not Others; Anomalous Verses
- T 1.12 Tradition in Original Christianity, Part 12, The Apostles Manifested God’s Power, Performing Miracles and Healing People, While Praying Without Ceasing
- Jesus Healed People
- Eusebius’ New Testament “Canon” only has 20 Truly Undisputed Books
- The Sacraments Do Not Save You; Your Faith in Christ Does ; The Gospel of Salvation in the Scriptures Vs The Sacramental Life as Necessary for Salvation Gospel Part 1
- The Muratorian Canon
- There are Multiple Canons of Scripture in Use Today: Claims of Communal Divine Inspiration; Some Resources that Discuss the Different Canons of Scripture
- Basic Christianity (25)
- Canon of Scripture (16)
- Division Intro (2)
- Divisions (29)
- End Times (2)
- Grammar and Logic (4)
- Heresies (5)
- Homosexualtiy (5)
- Introduction (5)
- Jesus' Teaching and Miracles (18)
- Koine (Biblical) Greek (26)
- Liturgy (6)
- Miscellaneous (10)
- Modern Christianity (12)
- Movements (52)
- Objections to Restoring New Testament Christianity (2)
- Original Christianity (28)
- Outside Criticism of Christianity (1)
- Philosophy (19)
- Prayers (3)
- Preface (1)
- Prophecy (3)
- Roman Catholicism (10)
- Scriptural Translation And Interpretation (37)
- Sermons (19)
- Spirit (5)
- The Law and The Prophets (4)
- Theology (1)
- Tradition (28)
- Trinity (26)
- Uncategorized (1)
- Worship Experiences (2)