Was the Early Church Unified?

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Tcg
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Was the Early Church Unified?

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Post by Tcg »

It's not uncommon to encounter charts similar to the following:

Image

It is based on the idea that the early church was unified thus the single line representing the initial state of Christianity. Is this accurate though? In 1 Corinthians 1 we find the following:
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
This documents the fact that there were divisions amongst early Christians. Is there any reason to conclude that the early church was ever truly unified?


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Re: Was the Early Church Unified?

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Post by Eloi »

The very fact that Paul was speaking about these matters to a distant Christian congregation shows that all the congregations were served by a common unified group. If not ... what does Paul have to be writing to all the congregations in the different cities of the Roman Empire?

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Re: Was the Early Church Unified?

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Post by Miles »

Tcg wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 2:10 pm It's not uncommon to encounter charts similar to the following:

Image

It is based on the idea that the early church was unified thus the single line representing the initial state of Christianity. Is this accurate though? In 1 Corinthians 1 we find the following:
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
This documents the fact that there were divisions amongst early Christians. Is there any reason to conclude that the early church was ever truly unified?
No there isn't, at least outside its earliest inception. Nor, looking at how loosely the Bible is constructed, should it be expected to be. It's almost as if the bible was purposely written to be cherry picked so as to fracture Christianity into the 45,000+ denominations now in existence.*


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Re: Was the Early Church Unified?

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Post by TRANSPONDER »

I reckon absolutely not. Quite apart from the sectarian split where the Gnostic and Arian sects were suppressed and the suppression of Heresy carried on till today and only a largely secularist form of society stops holy wars breaking out, I reckon that Paul began his own Gentile -friendly version of Jewish messianism which basically jettisoned the Mosaic Law and Gentiles had an equal part in the world to come through Faith in Jesus as the Risen messiah, even though Jesus as God incarnated was a later invention by his Greek Gentile followers.

We know from his letters that he was opposed by Jews, and I suspect that he first fawned over the apostles when he was trying to buy credibility and acceptance by collecting for the 'Saints' in Jerusalem during the 45 AD famine, and later was trying to sell his own validity as an apostle by arguing that all the apostles were the same. I have a theory ;) that after a falling out, attempt to bring him into line and being told to stop telling Greeks that they could be equally God's Own people (who were not His people) without following Jewish law, he wrote his sneering reference to the 'Super apostles' who I suspect were Jesus' own followers.

After that, as is usual in religions, various sects and doctrinal different sects cropped up and if one of them became the Authority, it would of course crack down on all the others, just as much as it ever cracked down of other religions.

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Re: Was the Early Church Unified?

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Post by JehovahsWitness »

Miles wrote: Mon Apr 25, 2022 5:12 pm ... looking at how loosely the Bible is constructed, should it be expected to be.
The unity of the first century church was not dependent on universal access to the complete bible canon which would be established progressively over many decades. It was initiated by the ORAL teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and scriptures indicate established under the authority of his (Jesus) APOSTLES and their représentatives.


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Were the first century Christians an organized, unified community?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 34#p885434
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


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Re: Was the Early Church Unified?

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Post by JehovahsWitness »

DOES PAULS COUNSEL TO THE CORINTHIANS INDICATES A RELIGION UNITED IN NAME ONLY WITH VARIOUS RECOGNISED CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS OF ALTERNATVE LEADERSHIP AND DOCTRINE?

No, as mentioned earlier, the very fact that Paul wrote with obvious authority to the congregation at Corinth indicates he was acting within a certain structure. Indeed , Paul was writing, not as a random well-wisher that happened to hear of the situation but as a travelling representative of a central synod with the responsibility of safeguarding structural and doctrinal unity.

ACTS 16 : 4, 5

As they traveled on through the cities, they would deliver to them for observance the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and the elders who were in Jerusalem. Then, indeed, the congregations continued to be made firm in the faith and to increase in number day by day.

One interesting feature of Pauls letter to the Corinthians was that he informed them of his organising a relief fund, not of a general humaniterian nature but specifically for fellow believers in Judea. (See Romans 15:26) What does this indicate? That the Corinthian Christians were part of a network of believers that through their leadership and travelling representatives where not only aware of each geologically dispersed fellow believers but were united in a sense of bejng part of what the Apotle Peter wrote of as "an association of [...] brothers* in the world"


What are we to make of Pauls warnings against disunity?

We are to conclude their must have been a doctrinal and organisational unity he was trying to preserve. Evidently, each seperate congregation was not free to decide for themselves what policy, teachings, writings or practice they would follow; thus his'letters. As an duly appointed representative of the central governing body, Paul was expressing his authority to discipline even expulse (excommunicate) those that did not comply with official teachings and standards of conduct.

History testifies this unity did not survive much beyond the 2nd century but the biblical and historical record indicates that, at its initial stages, Christianity was not an umbrella term for independent groups of wandering hippies that estalished their own churches according to the flavor of the local community, but a structured interlinked organised religion under a recognised leadership.


How could first century Christians be doctrinally united without a complete bible?
viewtopic.php?p=1075894#p1075894
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Re: Was the Early Church Unified?

Post #7

Post by historia »

Tcg wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 2:10 pm
It's not uncommon to encounter charts similar to the following:

Image

It is based on the idea that the early church was unified thus the single line representing the initial state of Christianity. Is this accurate though?
I think this depends on how the chart is conceiving of "early Christianity."

If that means early orthodox Christianity, then it works reasonably well. Especially since the focus of the chart seems to be on modern-day Christian denominations, and those are all descended (in one form or another) from early orthodox Christianity.

But, if we take a broader view of Christianity to include any historical religious group that traced its origin back to Jesus of Nazareth, then certainly the chart is woefully inadequate, as a variety of Christian religious expressions (some more Jewish in orientation, others more Gnostic in outlook) besides the orthodox expression existed from quite early on in the history of Christianity. They didn't survive into the present, though -- largely thanks to Islam, it seems -- and so have little direct relevance for modern-day denominations.

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Re: Was the Early Church Unified?

Post #8

Post by Tcg »

historia wrote: Tue Apr 26, 2022 7:39 pm
Tcg wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 2:10 pm
It's not uncommon to encounter charts similar to the following:

Image

It is based on the idea that the early church was unified thus the single line representing the initial state of Christianity. Is this accurate though?
I think this depends on how the chart is conceiving of "early Christianity."

If that means early orthodox Christianity, then it works reasonably well. Especially since the focus of the chart seems to be on modern-day Christian denominations, and those are all descended (in one form or another) from early orthodox Christianity.

But, if we take a broader view of Christianity to include any historical religious group that traced its origin back to Jesus of Nazareth, then certainly the chart is woefully inadequate, as a variety of Christian religious expressions (some more Jewish in orientation, others more Gnostic in outlook) besides the orthodox expression existed from quite early on in the history of Christianity. They didn't survive into the present, though -- largely thanks to Islam, it seems -- and so have little direct relevance for modern-day denominations.
I agree to some extent, but wouldn't the church of Corinth be considered orthodox? Paul himself documented the divisions in that one church alone.


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Re: Was the Early Church Unified?

Post #9

Post by historia »

Tcg wrote: Tue Apr 26, 2022 7:47 pm
I agree to some extent, but wouldn't the church of Corinth be considered orthodox? Paul himself documented the divisions in that one church alone.
I would call it proto-orthodox.

At that primitive stage in the development of Christianity, there are a lot of beliefs and practices still taking shape, so things could have gone in a number of different directions for the Christians at Corinth -- which is precisely why Paul feels the need to guide them.

By the end of the 2nd Century, and certainly by the 4th Century, we have something that is more easily demarcated as "orthodox" Christianity, in contrast to Gnostic or Jewish expressions of Christianity.

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