Diversity Of The Early Christian Community: A Critical Analysis

I believe this is one of the reasons Christianity thrived because people needed some shrivel of hope.

The early church faced many struggles as it grew in the Roman Empire. Christianity had roots in the Jewish faith, but also included aspects that more devout Jews dissented. Although the Gentiles were familiar with the Jewish culture, Christianity was a whole new sect that allowed them to join. Diversification in reactions towards those proclaiming the gospel depended city, not background or ethnicity. There was not a single group in particular that completely opposed Christianity; both Jews and Gentiles rejected, and accepted, the gospel. Early Christians faced various challenges as they went about their mission. On one hand they encountered plots of death or imprisonment whereas in other areas some believed they were

Chapter four examines the methods Jesus used to teach and spread his messages about the Kingdom of God. Jesus’s primary audience was the common people of first-century Galilee, so he had to adopt creative techniques to teach uneducated people about an unknown “fantastic” topic, the Kingdom of God. His strategy was successful; amassing a great amount of followers and started the foundation of modern Christianity. The methods he utilized, includes teaching through parables, debates and including examples with miracles and enacted parables.

In his recent article for the October 7th issue of Commonweal magazine, David Bentley Hart highlighted how different the Christians of the New Testament are from modern day Christians. Hart’s article, titled “Christ’s Rabble; The first Christians were not like us”, argues that the first Christians were so different than present day Christians that we would have a very hard time getting along with one another if we meet today. Hart, a fellow at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Studies, came to this conclusion after in-depth study of the text of the New Testament in its original koine Greek. His work translating the New Testament for Yale University painted a clear picture of the character of the first Christians and underscored how far from the original meanings of the text we have come.

The juxtaposition of any two writings is a formidable task. The content of each, even if they seem alike, is a small part in determining similarities and differences. One must also look at the styles, authors, themes, supposed audiences and authorial intent. This front becomes even more difficult while exegeting and deciphering ancient texts because of how far removed the writings are from modern understanding and scholarship. It is also further complicated when one lacks the factual knowledge of which piece was written first and/or if both texts were using a third source at the time of their creation. These difficulties find their apex at the study of Christian history and all of its subsequent writings. In particular, the gospels according to Thomas and Luke, while they have similarities and at times identical phraseology are vastly different when one considers their theological understandings, themes, format and style.

The Historical Jesus: Five Views edited by J.K Beilby and P.R Eddy is a most interesting book to say the least. This is a great book to be introduced into the world of the historical Jesus. Along with the editors we have five contributors hence the name “Five Views”. This includes Robert M. Price, J.D Crossan, Luke Timothy Johnson, D.G Dunn and Darrel L. Bock. Each contributor presents their own views of the historical Jesus presented in the gospels and what they believe.

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members

The controversial figure of St Paul is credited with writing thirteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament; thus making him one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age and in the development of the early Christian faith. Paul’s letters are some of the earliest Christian documents discovered dating to approximately 50 AD, whereas the scholarly consensus for the dating of the gospels is between 70 AD and 90 AD. Therefore, Paul’s thirteen letters reveal the earliest teachings about Jesus and the Christian faith; in particular Paul’s letter to the Romans expresses the fullest statement of how salvation in Christ is achieved (Wansbrough, 2011, P247). Thus, this essay will primarily focus on Romans and the extent it concurs with the Gospel according to Luke. In doing this, the essay will also analyse whether Paul’s letters rely on the narrative of Luke’s gospel. The overall message Paul preaches in his thirteen letters is we can be saved through Jesus’ actions, but only if we follow his teachings. However, the argument is can this message be fully understood by Christians without Luke’s gospel? Additionally, this paper will attempt to show how Paul’s preaching has altered or remained the same throughout time.

After close examination of the historical article provided, this document appears to be a letter containing a firsthand account relating the procedures of the interrogation and persecution of Christians during the spread of early Christianity. The author addresses the recipient of the letter by proclaiming, “my lord” and further referring to his lord as his authority throughout the remaining four paragraphs through the use of second person such as “you,” “your name,” and “your instructions” (1, 3-5).

Between 1000- 1750, Christianity maintained authority over the people due to religious and political power, thereby greatly influencing art and education, however exposure to new knowledge from the Islamic world led to changes in the way the church was perceived and depicted in Western Europe.

Throughout the recorded history of the Christian religion, countless writings, both canonical and non-canonical, have been discovered and translated. As is the issue with most religious texts, scholars fiercely engage each other’s interpretations and opinions regarding these texts. The Gospel of Thomas is no different. Considered Gnostic by some and canon by others, the Gospel of Thomas is a collection of sayings that were spoken by the living Jesus, and recorded by Didymos Judas Thomas. Throughout the length of the text, there are a number of common themes; the most notable being the idea that the people look to Jesus

Throughout history, Christianity always had a reputation, or a “name” following it. Different perspectives approached the reputation that was attached to Christianity in different manners. Justin Martyr and Porphyry had objectives when defining whether this “name” really defined Christianity and the past. They wondered whether the past really represented Christianity. Additionally they honed in on the question of was the past that people represented as Christianity really the roots of Christianity? All around Porphyry and Justin was perceptions of what Christianity rooted from and stood for.

The part of Christianity I personally thought was the most intriguing/interesting is how the religion has split into many different denominations. It evolved from a single official Church into three major branches––Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism, with subdivisions among each one of those branches. Every branch and subdivision of Christianity started out with the same book, the Bible, however, each one of those groups have interpreted the teachings different ways. In general, I believe that the diversity of Christianity is a strength and weakness at the same time. It’s a strength because many different people can find communities that share their own particular beliefs, however the different interpretations of the Bible’s

While there is much diversity in the New Testament a repetitive theme that continues throughout it and that is the Christology of Christ. From the four Gospels through Revelations we are reminded that it Jesus Christ is the one that was prophesied to come by the Old Testament Prophets and long awaited by the Jewish civilization as the Messiah. Within each book of the New Testament, from the historical books and especially in the Pauline Epistles, the importance of faith, obedience and knowledge of who Jesus Christ is, His purpose and the legacy of salvation that His death and resurrection is consistently repeated.

The word "gospel" is a translation of the Greek word "euangelion" which means "good news. The first three books in the New Testament (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) are often referred to as the Synoptic Gospels (from Greek synoptikos, "seen together") They bear greater similarity to each other than any of the other gospels in the New Testament. Along with these similarities come some differences among the gospels, suggesting that each gospel was written for a specific audience and for a specific purpose. This paper will examine the resurrection of Jesus, while identifying the significant differences between Mark, Matthew and Luke. This paper will also analyze the differences to suggest the prominent theological perspective each gospel author