After having shown that today’s Christianity, the Christianity that survived the “Christianity wars” between Pauline Christianity (Paul) and Jewish Christianity (apostles of Jesus), I am intrigued by the question what if Pauline/Roman Christianity lost and the Christianity of the apostles of Jesus won.
My favorite writer and professor of religion Bart D. Ehrman, chair of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, stimulates that kind of thinking in his book LOST CHRISTIANITIES; The Battles for Scripture and Faiths We Never Knew (2003).
We all know that Christianity eventually developed into the dominant religious, political, economic, social and cultural institution of the West. Historians will tell you that Christianity formed and forms the basis for Western Civilization as we know it to this very day. So if things didn’t work out the way they did, we would have a different world right now but how different.
Jewish Christianity, the one headed by James, the brother of Jesus and Peter and the other apostles who followed Jesus during his ministry, maintained that since they knew Jesus personally and were privy to his teachings, only they knew what Jesus wanted to happen after his death.
This group called the Ebionites (poor ones) or Nazarenes (from Nazareth) strictly maintained their Jewishness just like Jesus did and followed all the Jewish religious laws just like Jesus did. In fact, to join the group you had to become a Jew, circumcision and all.
They believed that Jesus was a human but he was also picked by God to be the long awaited Messiah that would free Israel from its oppressors and bring peace and justice to the whole world. They believed that this would happen rather quickly because Jesus told them it would, so they waited.
It is important to understand that they were observant Jews and because they believed Jesus was “the” Messiah, they were a “sect” within Judaism. Since in Judaism, Jews have always and continue to wait for a Messiah, the Jewish Christians were not in opposition to formal Judaism because of their belief. Jews who did not share the Christians belief basically gave them the benefit of a doubt; if Jesus comes back – you were right, if he does not – you were deluded.
St. Paul, according to his own writings and the Book of Acts in the New Testament wanted to be part of this group (The Jerusalem Church) even though he never met Jesus.
He brought them money and hung out with them but from the accounts we have, the relationship was not an amicable one.
The apostles stuck to their story; got to be a Jew and observe all things Jewish.
St. Paul was ministering to the gentiles (non Jews) and they were not about to become Jews, especially the men who would have to submit to circumcision. Paul also preached that Jesus was the Messiah and was coming back soon and for everyone to prepare but he just could not push through the idea that everyone needs to become a Jew to be right with Jesus and on this issue the two camps split.
As we all know Paul went on to establish his version of Christianity and the rest is history. But could things have turned out differently?
The Apostle group in Jerusalem was marginalized when in fact Jesus did not appear; they could not adapt or adjust their beliefs to somehow deal with a non-appearing Jesus. For this reason they vanished from the scene.
Paul also preached about the coming of Jesus and the Kingdom of God but he or his converts were able to adjust and change from the beginning apocalyptical stance to something longer lasting; they moved Jesus’ coming to way into the future without providing a date but talking about “signs” that will signal His coming.
Looking at both Christianities at this early stage of their development, I feel the Jewish Christianity, the one directly linked to Jesus, did not stand a chance of surviving given that they could not grow since they could not get gentiles to convert to Judaism and because they could not even talk their fellow Jews into joining.
Paul’s Christianity would have also fizzled out if it was not for the Roman Emperor Constantine.
Some may argue that this was all God’s plan anyway and they may be right but which God, not the God of Jesus, He vanished with the apostles.
My favorite writer and professor of religion Bart D. Ehrman, chair of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, stimulates that kind of thinking in his book LOST CHRISTIANITIES; The Battles for Scripture and Faiths We Never Knew (2003).
We all know that Christianity eventually developed into the dominant religious, political, economic, social and cultural institution of the West. Historians will tell you that Christianity formed and forms the basis for Western Civilization as we know it to this very day. So if things didn’t work out the way they did, we would have a different world right now but how different.
Jewish Christianity, the one headed by James, the brother of Jesus and Peter and the other apostles who followed Jesus during his ministry, maintained that since they knew Jesus personally and were privy to his teachings, only they knew what Jesus wanted to happen after his death.
This group called the Ebionites (poor ones) or Nazarenes (from Nazareth) strictly maintained their Jewishness just like Jesus did and followed all the Jewish religious laws just like Jesus did. In fact, to join the group you had to become a Jew, circumcision and all.
They believed that Jesus was a human but he was also picked by God to be the long awaited Messiah that would free Israel from its oppressors and bring peace and justice to the whole world. They believed that this would happen rather quickly because Jesus told them it would, so they waited.
It is important to understand that they were observant Jews and because they believed Jesus was “the” Messiah, they were a “sect” within Judaism. Since in Judaism, Jews have always and continue to wait for a Messiah, the Jewish Christians were not in opposition to formal Judaism because of their belief. Jews who did not share the Christians belief basically gave them the benefit of a doubt; if Jesus comes back – you were right, if he does not – you were deluded.
St. Paul, according to his own writings and the Book of Acts in the New Testament wanted to be part of this group (The Jerusalem Church) even though he never met Jesus.
He brought them money and hung out with them but from the accounts we have, the relationship was not an amicable one.
The apostles stuck to their story; got to be a Jew and observe all things Jewish.
St. Paul was ministering to the gentiles (non Jews) and they were not about to become Jews, especially the men who would have to submit to circumcision. Paul also preached that Jesus was the Messiah and was coming back soon and for everyone to prepare but he just could not push through the idea that everyone needs to become a Jew to be right with Jesus and on this issue the two camps split.
As we all know Paul went on to establish his version of Christianity and the rest is history. But could things have turned out differently?
The Apostle group in Jerusalem was marginalized when in fact Jesus did not appear; they could not adapt or adjust their beliefs to somehow deal with a non-appearing Jesus. For this reason they vanished from the scene.
Paul also preached about the coming of Jesus and the Kingdom of God but he or his converts were able to adjust and change from the beginning apocalyptical stance to something longer lasting; they moved Jesus’ coming to way into the future without providing a date but talking about “signs” that will signal His coming.
Looking at both Christianities at this early stage of their development, I feel the Jewish Christianity, the one directly linked to Jesus, did not stand a chance of surviving given that they could not grow since they could not get gentiles to convert to Judaism and because they could not even talk their fellow Jews into joining.
Paul’s Christianity would have also fizzled out if it was not for the Roman Emperor Constantine.
Some may argue that this was all God’s plan anyway and they may be right but which God, not the God of Jesus, He vanished with the apostles.
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