Immutable Kingdom – Part 9

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 9

By Scott A. Klaft

(Further Departures continued)

Due to the Gnostic influence, many Christians in the second and third centuries were led to the belief that normal human processes such as eating, marrying, and childbirth are evil. From this rose the belief that any contact with society was corrupting, and bodily abuse and self-starvation were thought of as pious actions. The celibate life became exalted above marriage, and ministers were thought of as unworthy if they married. This was contested until about the third century when the pressures of the common folk won out due to their stringent belief that demons could control a married man easier than an unmarried man.

As leaders tried to make the church more attractive to pagans and Jews, they began to make increasingly more elaborate and expanded ceremonies. Jewish and pagan priests had taunted the Christians because of their simplicity. They had no temples, alters, victims, or priests, so the leaders decided to respond with the observance of special occasions. They re-invented the Lord’s Supper, turning it into an actual sacrifice of the Lord that is repeated at each observance. “Easter” was instituted as an extremely elaborate celebration, but it also became a divisive issue in the church – not because of its unscriptural basis, but because Asia Minor wanted to keep it on the same day as the Jewish Passover while the Western church wanted it to be on the First Day of the Week. Each would continue its own practice with animosity toward the other side until the first general council of A.D. 325. There, the reigning Emperor naturally decided in favor of Rome, which was another step toward the exaltation of the Roman bishop.

Constantine Augustus

In 305 A.D., Constantine was declared sole Emperor over the West. From A.D. 303, Diocletian had issued a decree authorizing the destruction of church buildings, burning of scripture, and the harsh persecution of Christians. Constantine’s father, the governor of Britain, Gaul, and Spain, was a Christian sympathizer, however, as was his mother who openly claimed to be a Christian. Constantine was able to see first-hand the value of Christianity as a unifying force. The edict of Diocletian had not been carried out by his father, and he witnessed prosperity in these regions as a result. He witnessed the horrible death of Christianity’s most ruthless opponent, Galerius, who was compelled to admit defeat by signing Constantine’s “Edict of Toleration” in A.D. 311.

In A.D. 323, Constantine emerged from conflicts over the throne as the sole Emperor over the now-unified Empire. In addition to building new meetinghouses and paying ministers, he showed his favoritism to Christianity by excusing all ministers from public offices so they could spend their time uninterrupted in the work of the church. In the interest of unity, Constantine controlled all internal affairs of the church, creating a “synod” by which opposing sides of a conflict could be reunited by his own authority.

His favor toward the church was less out of conviction and more a desire to use it as a center of unity and culture for the purpose of preserving the Empire. As evidence of a less-than-complete conversion, we cite the fact that in A.D. 326 he had his own son put to death on charges of treason brought by Fausta, his wife. He soon became displeased with her as well and put her to death. Perhaps more telling of his lack of sincerity toward Christianity was that he kept his position as “Chief Priest” in the pagan state-religion.

The Council of Nicaea

A conflict over the nature of Christ had caused a rift in the church in A.D. 325. Constantine called together a ‘general council” in the city of Nicaea. Calling himself “bishop of bishops,” his concern was not regarding who was right in the dispute but whether there was a “spirit of unity” among the church members. As we have already discussed, at this time, the finer points of theology had been greatly damaged, and the problems in the church were legion.

(Continued next week)
-S. K.

Immutable Kingdom – Part 8

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 8

By Scott A. Klaft

(Further Departures continued)

There have been many individual doctrines that depart from the New Testament pattern which may not have brought about religious sects on their own, but nonetheless have caused great division. These shall be described briefly without taking time to refute them in the interest of space.

Millennialism

A legacy left to the religious world by Judaism is the recurring doctrines of Millennialism. The Jews were under the misunderstanding that the Messiah was going to have a material, physical kingdom on Earth. In a short time, the early Christians transferred this expectation to the second coming of Christ. By the second century, a man (who was also accused of being a heretic) claimed to receive revelations and messages from angels that the Kingdom of Christ was to be bound to earth. Early writers described the nature of the doctrine that Christ would reign for a thousand years in an earth-bound kingdom as a “lust-filled, carnal, pleasure-seeking marriage feast.” Obviously, the doctrines associated with the earliest millennial teachings have grown, changed, and developed over time. A great number of religious sects still hold to this error today.

Original Sin and Baptism

The doctrine of ‘Original sin’ seems to have root in some of the writings of the earliest commentators of scripture. While most of them did not seem to believe that children inherit the sin of Adam, some of their writings gave future teachers of this doctrine a basis from which to formulate it. A “bishop” of Carthage escalated the problem by declaring that, despite the fact that children commit no actual sin, they still need the forgiveness of the sin inherited from Adam, and this could only be received through baptism; hence, infant baptism would eventually become approved. Taking a step beyond the true teaching of the Bible about baptism being “for the remission of sins”, the infant-baptism/ original sin doctrine insists that the baptism “of regeneration” could be had separate from faith or repentance so that children, too young to believe, could be saved from the inherited sin of Adam. During the third century, baptism became a ritualistic ceremony only to be performed by the bishop or an appointed officer and conducted only twice per year. Gradually, the water took on a magical power to the minds of many, and several traditions of the pagan “mystery religions” became attached to immersion. The passion for “fitting-in” and to be like the religious groups in society has always been a curse and temptation to God’s people.

Other Matters

At first, Jewish Christians continued to keep the Sabbath as well as observing the first day of the week, but eventually discontinued the Sabbath observance, recognizing the first day as the “Lord’s Day.” Some modern theologians take the position that the Roman Emperor Constantine changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. In reply to this, it should be understood that even the writings of Justin show Christians exclusively observing the first day of the week one hundred and fifty years before Constantine.

According to some historical writings, the early church observed the Lord’s Supper after the congregation ate a meal together, but the pagan religions continued to influence the church. The elements of ‘the Supper’ began to take on supernatural powers; the vessels holding them had to be gold or silver, and the ceremony took on the ritualism that was affecting all other portions of Christianity. With the idea that ministers were priests, observing the Memorial of the Lord grew into the “mass” of medieval Roman Catholicism.

(Continued next week)

Immutable Kingdom – Part 7

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 7

By Scott A. Klaft

(The Falling Away continued)

Between A.D. 200 and A.D. 300, many other movements to leave the New Testament pattern of Christianity arose and affected the general thinking of the church. The movements had various names behind them, but actually reflected a similarity to the philosophies of the Gnostics due to the many unstable conceptions of that movement.

There was “Neo-Platonism”, which emphasized the emotional response to the contemplation of “higher things” and that the flesh is inherently evil, giving rise to the ascetics of a later age. Through this movement, people were influenced to think of Christianity as nothing more than another popular religious philosophy.

Contemporary with the “Neo-Platonists” was the movement of “Manichaeism”, another philosophical system emphasizing the wickedness of the flesh and superiority of the spirit. A division among them was formed when it was considered a lesser position to be married, and those who do marry should be required to provide for the physical needs of the higher, more spiritual members who did not.

Another body of Christians[1] strayed toward the path of Judaism. This movement characterized the members as “Ebonites,” who held that Moses was equal in authority to Christ. They would use the “Apocryphal” books as their guide, teaching that Christians were obligated to keep the Law of Moses. Since the writings of the apostle Paul taught to the contrary, they held him in contempt. They also thought that Christ was always nothing more than human but was exalted because of His keeping the Law. This ultimately reduced Christianity to a legalistic system, and influencing critics to regard Christianity as such.

Taking its cue from the Ebonites, some of the more disturbing false doctrines arose which concerned the nature of Christ. There were those who denied the divinity of Christ and the virgin birth. Some overreacted, going to the other extreme, insisting on the divinity of Christ but holding that Jesus’ form only appeared to be human. These movements took on many different names, depending on the name of the leader who promoted them. As a matter of process, the Christians attempting to find and defend the truth fell into the use of philosophic language foreign to the scriptures, leaving the door open to many years of debate and conflict. Eventually, the church had, in a sense, conquered the Roman Empire, but in so doing, had been itself conquered by Creeds, ritualism, and an organization that shattered the autonomy and simplicity that the church was intended to enjoy.

Donatists

Due to the severe persecution under the Roman Emperor, Diocletian, many Christians had faltered under the pressure to worship the pagan gods. Some turned in copies of scripture to be burned, while others tried to obtain documents of approval that could be accepted by the Roman police, certifying that they had worshiped the Roman gods according to Imperial law.

When the persecution had ended and toleration was granted to Christianity, many of these erring Christians attempted to return to the fellowship of the church, confessing their weakness and sins. A man by the name of “Donatus” began teaching that these Christians had committed an unpardonable sin, and they could not be restored to the church. This would not be generally accepted by other members, but had at least enough of a following that history took note. The “synod” at Rome decided against the doctrine and future “counsels” would concur and confirm the decision.

Further Departures

Not entirely separate from the growing sects, there were other movements that were more specific in their doctrinal errors. These we can examine independently from the individuals who promoted them.

[1] It is from this point I shall use the term “Christian” in a very loose way in order to designate those who made a claim to Christ , whether their doctrines and practices are correct or not. This only facilitates a distinction from the pagan world of the time and does not reflect the beliefs of the author.

Immutable Kingdom Part 6

The Immutable Kingdom #6

By Scott A. Klaft

(The Falling Away continued)

In the middle of the second century, there was a rapid advance of sectarian attitudes among the church members. Men with skills of leadership and oratory ability, wanting the recognition of men, began to “…beguile… with enticing words” (Colossians 2:4) “…and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple,” (Romans 16:18). Without the ability to rapidly produce and distribute the New Testament writings, the members of the church were semi-powerless to defend against heresies within the church, while continually dealing with Roman persecution from without. Doctrine was being handed down orally, and a flood of uninspired writings was quickly giving rise to several deviation-movements.

Marcion

The son of an elder of the church in the city of Pontus, Marcion grew to be a wealthy ship-owner, eventually becoming an elder himself. In 138 A.D., Marcion came to Rome. Winning the hearts of many with his generosity by giving ten thousand dollars to the benevolent work of the Roman church, he gained considerable sway over the greatly influential congregation. Although he may have furthered the digression from the New Testament pattern, he was a sincere man and, at heart, a reformer, observing that the church had fallen into what he thought was a “cold legalism.”

In order to correct what may or may not have been a just criticism, Marcion went as far as to make a distinction that the God of the Old Testament was a God of justice, but the God of Jesus is a God of love and mercy, and that each opposed the other. He claimed that Paul was the only one to understand this, and that all the other disciples fell into “Judaism” (i.e. forcing an observance of the Law of Moses on those who would be Christians). Marcion was one of the innovators of a modern line of thought, rejecting plainly spoken commands which stand as ‘laws’ because he considered them separate from “faith”.

When the church at Rome rightly withdrew from him, he started a group of his own with those that followed him, and it came to be known as a “Marcionite Church.” Showing a great zeal for missions and benevolence, the Marcionite movement survived into the fifth century (and in principle, even still today).

Gnosticism

The basic Greek word from which we get the word, “Gnostic” means, “to know”. The Gnostics were described as “…religious rationalists who, through their own mental gymnastics, solved problems according to their own speculative philosophical bent.”[1] To over-simplify, they taught that the material world is evil and the spiritual is good, and angels should be worshiped. In very little time, the Gnostics became compiled of several different schools of thought, being mixed of Christianity, Judaism, Greek philosophy, and assorted pagan religions, colored with a lot of wild fantasizing.

The Gnostics brought to bear a weighty influence upon the church by swamping it with uninspired writings, making it very difficult to distinguish between them and the genuine inspired writings. In turn, this caused an appeal to the “bishops” to determine true doctrine from that of the Gnostics. Based on the reasoning that Jesus revealed the true doctrine to the apostles, and the apostles revealed it to the elders, the church very quickly came to a greater reliance on the “bishops” for its survival.

Gnosticism gained its greatest strength around 150 A.D., introducing numerous and quite disastrous theories and doctrines into the church. Some of the Gnostic groups thought to satisfy all desires of the flesh in order to defeat the fleshly lusts; meanwhile, others thought to avoid all satisfaction of bodily needs in order to accomplish the same. Some thought there were two Gods of the Bible, and that the one who created the material world was evil; and since He favored the Jews, many Gnostics became anti-Semitic. With this extreme point of view, they soon began to deny that Jesus ever actually took on flesh, or even that He suffered on the cross. This physical neglect and disdain for the physical body eventually lead to the celibacy doctrine and the use of monasteries. Indeed, many of the modern doctrines of error can be traced back to the Gnostic movement in the second century.

(To be continued next week.)

[1] Eternal Kingdom, The; F.W. Mattox; Gospel Light Publishing Co., Delight AK – (Much of the information from this point in time unto the seventeenth century is obtained from this historically accurate book.)