Original Christianity Dot Net is the name of our new YouTube channel. The first video is titled “Welcome to Original Christianity Dot Net.”

Outline:

Original Christianity is about how God so loved the world; John 3:16

Original Christianity is about the ministry of Jesus and his apostles.

Jesus incredible ministry: Matt 15:29; John 21:25; Acts 1:4-5

The Apostles incredible ministry: Acts2:42-47; 4:32-33; 5: 12-16; 19:11-12

It was an incredible time when the believers were of one heart and soul, while the apostles walked in amazing power.

OriginalChristianity.net points:

This site is a look at 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 discussions 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 thousands of denominations. 45,000 denominations?
Denominations are not just the big guys like the Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist churches; they include all the smaller 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.

A Divided Church

There are numerous disputed issues. It’s not that issues should divide us; it’s that issues do divide us.

Baptism: Infant vs Believers and/or Spirit
Abortion
Apostasy – already done or still in process?
Apostolic Succession
Bishops replaced Apostles?
Canons of scripture – which canon, if any?
Celibacy
Cessation doctrine – gifts ceased?
Church Government Forms-Which one is scriptural?
Clergy and laity distinctions
Covenantism vs Dispensationalism – Are either of these in the bible?
Devils – real in our day and time?
Divorce and remarriage
Doctrine – isn’t it really a lot of concern
over unimportant details?
What is the point of doctrine?
Does doctrine factor into loving God?
Drinking alcohol OK?
Ecumenicism – are there really
just a few important essentials
Or is it a big compromise
In the name of peace?
Essential Doctrines – Who Decides?
End Times – Eschatology: What do we really know?
Eternal life for everyone or just those who make Jesus Lord?
Eternal Security, make Jesus Lord once, and you are done forever?
Evolution – Does the bible really rule it out?
The Flood – how could it even be possible?
Is tithing required in our day and time?
Grace – what is it and how does it work?
Healing – When does God heal?
Hell – eternal death or eternal torment?
Holiness
Holy Spirit manifestations
Bible – Inerrancy, infallibility, or fallibility?
Integration of the church – state?
LGBTQ+ – Is it acceptable? What about gender orientation?
The Love of God – how is it different? Isn’t all love the same?
Is Orthodoxy the true Christian Doctrine
Were Philosophers prophets to other countries than Israel?
Philosophy – how is it different from revelation?
Polygamy – What was the purpose? Is it forbidden in scripture? Why is it often hated in the world?
Popes – Did Christ ordain popes?
Predestination – how does free will work with being chosen?
Has prophecy ceased, or is there still a place for prophets?
Prosperity – Word of faith teaching – is it accurate?
Is psychology acceptable?
Radical Politics – What is the role of churches in guiding their members?
Sacraments vs ordinances and memorials – what do the scriptures say?
Sainthood, all believers or just those canonized?
Social Justice – What is the role of the church?
Is speaking in Tongues proof of salvation?
Suffering – what is the point?
Transubstantiation – Is the communion wafer literally Christ’s physical body?
Textual Criticism – applying probability to biblical study? …properly handling scripture?
What are women’s roles in the church, in the home?
Sacerdotalism (Are priests needed to mediate between God and Men?)
Is revelation really different from reason?
Young earth? Old Earth? What if the creation of light doesn’t refer to sunlight?
Is revelation really different from reason?

Seek God:

Matt 7:7-8; Prov 8:17

Note:

On this site, original Christianity ends with the passing of the Apostles, a point that will be further investigated in future episodes.

The Most Important Thing

The most important thing is fulfilling the greatest commandment, which is: You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Welcome to OriginalChristianity.net!

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.

"The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:10-11)
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.

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.

Welcome Video on our new Youtube Channel added

Outline:

Why?

A Divided Church

Seek God:

Note:

The Most Important Thing

Original Christianity

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