I think that it has not really been established, based on the evidence, that there was a particular Yeshua (it was a common name in 1st Century CE Palestine) who actually claimed he was a son of Yahweh. Whether or not a man called Jesus actually existed, there is no doubt that a legend began in 1st and 2nd Century Palestine and by the late third Century a new religion emerged, possibly based on myths surrounding a rabbi.
A few years back I became interested in the history of Early Christianity and did some reading on the subject, mostly from online sources. My research led me to write some essays, unpublished at this time. I will make a brief synopsis of what I know here.
Christianity evolved out of Judaism, in particular Second Temple Judaism (530 BCE to 70 CE). The main sects of Judaism during this period were the Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and Zealots. All these groups had different beliefs and social statuses, which I will not get into here.
Much of what we know of Early Christian belief has been gleaned from the Dead Sea Scrolls.
What I learned in my research is that Early Christianity was just as diverse with as many sects and beliefs, if not more, as the Christianity of today.
The period after the death of Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic Age (323-32 BCE) saw the influence of Greek philosophy and science in the development of many schools of thought which influenced many of the peoples of the Middle East, including the Jews.
The Apostolic Age of Early Christianity lasted from c. 33 to 100 CE.
The Ante-Nicene Period lasted from 100-325 CE
It is my understanding that the Early Christians had evolved into three separate groups WITHIN Judaism. As other sects emerged later, some of them were influenced by Gnostic thought and also Pagan views of divinity, primarily Egyptian and Greek. The first groups. of course, were all Jews: Ebionites, Elkasites, and Nazarenes. And these three sects had differing views on the divinity of Jesus.
Ebionites: Originating in and around Palestine, this sect practiced voluntary poverty and placed an emphasis of observing the spirit and letter of the Torah. They did not believe in the divinity of Jesus, maintaining he was just a man. Therefore, they rejected the belief that Jesus preexisted and was born of a virgin. It was their belief Jesus became the Messiah by obeying the Law (Torah) and called Israel to repentance through his death. They also opposed animal sacrifice. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Ebionites migrated to the Transjordan. By the time of 140 CE the Ebionites had largely disappeared.
Elkasites: Originating in the Transjordan and named after their founder Elkhasai, and was active in Lower Mesopotamia in the Sasanian Empire. This sect believed in the remission of sins and placed an emphasis on baptism and had gnostic beliefs: that a gigantic angel who was the Son of God revealed a book. This angel had a sister who was the Holy Ghost. In their teachings, Jesus preexisted, had a natural birth, and was reincarnated. They also practiced circumcision and held the Law of Moses. The Elkasites were active from 100-400 CE.
Nazarenes: This sect originated in and around Jerusalem. They were the earliest followers of Jesus and were named Nazarenes because he was said to be from Nazareth. Like the Ebionites, the Nazarenes upheld Jewish law which included observance of the sabbath, adherence to kosher dietary laws, and the practice of circumcision. They believed that Jesus was the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy. They also observed the Torah. As other ethnic groups became involved with and joined these three Judaic sects, the name Nazarene began being used to distinguish the Jews who observed the Torah from the Gentiles who did not.
While these three early sects existed, other sects emerged that were influenced by Gnosticism. I am just going to name a few here (they number in the hundreds): Kenteians, Mandaeiism, Valesians, Cainites, Ophites, Precilianism, Valentinianism, Marcionism, etc, etc.
While these sects were emerging, there was a variety of sacred texts being written and were circulating among these different groups of Judaic and Gentile Christians (just to name a few): Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Judas, Apocalypse of Adam, Shepherd of Hermas, Polycarp to the Philippians, Didache, First Epistle of Clement, etc., etc.
The Apostle Paul (c. 5 BCE-64/65 CE) developed a theology which placed an emphasis on Jesus being the source of salvation and accepting Gentiles as adherents. as well as the rejection of circumcision. This is known as Pauline Christianity, or Pauline Theology. Of the 13 epistles attributed to Paul, Galatians, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philemon, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, scholars have determined he actually wrote, while three (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are seen as written by others.
There also existed a sect that is called Proto-orthodox Christianity: this sect emerged during the late 2nd to early 3rd Centuries CE. They believed in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and accepted Pauline Theology. They also promoted the office of bishop. They moved the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. It was the Proto-orthodox who criticized being involved with Jews, i. e. "Judaizers." Furthermore, the Proto-orthodox were involved in shaping the canon of what eventually became the Christian Old and New Testaments. This sect was intolerant of other sects of Christianity. By the end of the 3rd Century CE, when this sect became prominent, it claimed that its views had always been the majority position and that its rivals were, and always had been, 'heretics', who willfully 'chose' to reject the 'true belief.' When Constitine had consolidated his power and control over the Roman Empire, he converted to Christianity in 312 CE. In 325 CE he held the Council of Nicaea and Proto-orthodox Christianity had become the official religion of the empire, thus the Catholic Church was born.
In 381 CE Theodosius I (r. 379-395) made an edict outlawing all other religions in the empire.
The process of Christianity becoming a separate religion from Judaism was a long one. Gentiles were gradually and increasingly becoming converts. Between the destruction of the Temple (70 CE), the Jewish-Roman Wars (66-135 CE) and the growing dominance of the Proto-orthodox sect (ca. 280s) was approximately 220 years. By the early 300's Christianity was definitely no longer Judaic.
Again, the historical periods of Early Christianity are as follows: Apostolic Age (33-100 CE; 67 years). Ante-Nicene Period (100-325 CE; 225 years). There was an overlapping and successor period called the Patristic Era (100-451/787 CE), which during this time, significant theological developments occurred, and key figures emerged.
I better end this here.
My apologies if this became TL2R. There were a lot more details that I left out. Otherwise, what I had wrote would have been another book and not an article.
A few years back I became interested in the history of Early Christianity and did some reading on the subject, mostly from online sources. My research led me to write some essays, unpublished at this time. I will make a brief synopsis of what I know here.
Christianity evolved out of Judaism, in particular Second Temple Judaism (530 BCE to 70 CE). The main sects of Judaism during this period were the Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and Zealots. All these groups had different beliefs and social statuses, which I will not get into here.
Much of what we know of Early Christian belief has been gleaned from the Dead Sea Scrolls.
What I learned in my research is that Early Christianity was just as diverse with as many sects and beliefs, if not more, as the Christianity of today.
The period after the death of Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic Age (323-32 BCE) saw the influence of Greek philosophy and science in the development of many schools of thought which influenced many of the peoples of the Middle East, including the Jews.
The Apostolic Age of Early Christianity lasted from c. 33 to 100 CE.
The Ante-Nicene Period lasted from 100-325 CE
It is my understanding that the Early Christians had evolved into three separate groups WITHIN Judaism. As other sects emerged later, some of them were influenced by Gnostic thought and also Pagan views of divinity, primarily Egyptian and Greek. The first groups. of course, were all Jews: Ebionites, Elkasites, and Nazarenes. And these three sects had differing views on the divinity of Jesus.
Ebionites: Originating in and around Palestine, this sect practiced voluntary poverty and placed an emphasis of observing the spirit and letter of the Torah. They did not believe in the divinity of Jesus, maintaining he was just a man. Therefore, they rejected the belief that Jesus preexisted and was born of a virgin. It was their belief Jesus became the Messiah by obeying the Law (Torah) and called Israel to repentance through his death. They also opposed animal sacrifice. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Ebionites migrated to the Transjordan. By the time of 140 CE the Ebionites had largely disappeared.
Elkasites: Originating in the Transjordan and named after their founder Elkhasai, and was active in Lower Mesopotamia in the Sasanian Empire. This sect believed in the remission of sins and placed an emphasis on baptism and had gnostic beliefs: that a gigantic angel who was the Son of God revealed a book. This angel had a sister who was the Holy Ghost. In their teachings, Jesus preexisted, had a natural birth, and was reincarnated. They also practiced circumcision and held the Law of Moses. The Elkasites were active from 100-400 CE.
Nazarenes: This sect originated in and around Jerusalem. They were the earliest followers of Jesus and were named Nazarenes because he was said to be from Nazareth. Like the Ebionites, the Nazarenes upheld Jewish law which included observance of the sabbath, adherence to kosher dietary laws, and the practice of circumcision. They believed that Jesus was the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy. They also observed the Torah. As other ethnic groups became involved with and joined these three Judaic sects, the name Nazarene began being used to distinguish the Jews who observed the Torah from the Gentiles who did not.
While these three early sects existed, other sects emerged that were influenced by Gnosticism. I am just going to name a few here (they number in the hundreds): Kenteians, Mandaeiism, Valesians, Cainites, Ophites, Precilianism, Valentinianism, Marcionism, etc, etc.
While these sects were emerging, there was a variety of sacred texts being written and were circulating among these different groups of Judaic and Gentile Christians (just to name a few): Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Judas, Apocalypse of Adam, Shepherd of Hermas, Polycarp to the Philippians, Didache, First Epistle of Clement, etc., etc.
The Apostle Paul (c. 5 BCE-64/65 CE) developed a theology which placed an emphasis on Jesus being the source of salvation and accepting Gentiles as adherents. as well as the rejection of circumcision. This is known as Pauline Christianity, or Pauline Theology. Of the 13 epistles attributed to Paul, Galatians, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philemon, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, scholars have determined he actually wrote, while three (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are seen as written by others.
There also existed a sect that is called Proto-orthodox Christianity: this sect emerged during the late 2nd to early 3rd Centuries CE. They believed in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and accepted Pauline Theology. They also promoted the office of bishop. They moved the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. It was the Proto-orthodox who criticized being involved with Jews, i. e. "Judaizers." Furthermore, the Proto-orthodox were involved in shaping the canon of what eventually became the Christian Old and New Testaments. This sect was intolerant of other sects of Christianity. By the end of the 3rd Century CE, when this sect became prominent, it claimed that its views had always been the majority position and that its rivals were, and always had been, 'heretics', who willfully 'chose' to reject the 'true belief.' When Constitine had consolidated his power and control over the Roman Empire, he converted to Christianity in 312 CE. In 325 CE he held the Council of Nicaea and Proto-orthodox Christianity had become the official religion of the empire, thus the Catholic Church was born.
In 381 CE Theodosius I (r. 379-395) made an edict outlawing all other religions in the empire.
The process of Christianity becoming a separate religion from Judaism was a long one. Gentiles were gradually and increasingly becoming converts. Between the destruction of the Temple (70 CE), the Jewish-Roman Wars (66-135 CE) and the growing dominance of the Proto-orthodox sect (ca. 280s) was approximately 220 years. By the early 300's Christianity was definitely no longer Judaic.
Again, the historical periods of Early Christianity are as follows: Apostolic Age (33-100 CE; 67 years). Ante-Nicene Period (100-325 CE; 225 years). There was an overlapping and successor period called the Patristic Era (100-451/787 CE), which during this time, significant theological developments occurred, and key figures emerged.
I better end this here.
My apologies if this became TL2R. There were a lot more details that I left out. Otherwise, what I had wrote would have been another book and not an article.
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."--Thomas Jefferson
