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Early Christianity
Most casual Christians or even those who rely on their understanding of scripture from the pulpit remain in the dark about Christianity's conflict-ridden pre-history.
Christianity has changed over the years. This change has not taken place in Christianity's core beliefs, which are substantially the same as they were at the beginning. The change has happened in its outward expressions. The soul of the faith is little altered; its body has changed.
Many religions teach that God loves us as children, that He acts as a Father to us, and that He is hopeful for our growth and development. But Mormons teach that God's fatherhood is rather more literal than a metaphor.
Jesus didn't go to church. Scholars of early Christianity have long known this. The earliest gospels that recount his life never describe him attending church.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
WHAT'S HAPPENING
It is difficult in particular to treat Greek religion as comparable to modern religious communities. Yet we should not discount Pausanias' own fascination with what he observes.
All the documentary evidence from the entire history of Christianity shows us a religion in a state of Argument. Church councils beginning in the 4th century sought to end argument by authoritatively standardizing scripture, worship, and belief.
"The Christians" weren't the standoffish clique historians frequently make them out to be. Many Christians, in fact, were perfectly good Roman citizens. Shockingly, though, very few people have ever gone back to listen to the stories of the quieter ones who lived their lives without any hint of drama.
Few Christians today have even heard of the Didache, but this text allows us a glimpse into a largely forgotten form of early Christianity, one that stands in rather stark contrast to the Christianity developed by the Apostle Paul some decades after the death of Jesus.
