Hey, hey…more controversy

Early Church’s Beliefs

by: chris kazun

Theist – believes in God

Atheist – denies God exists

Agnostic – Doesn’t know

Basics about Belief

Easy to understand who was leading while Jesus was on earth

What about after he ascended?Immediate leadership fell to the apostles

Peter being the leader of them as the first PopeBelief and information passed down from

them to the next generation, to the nextHow it has come down to us

The Church has lasted almost 2000 years

Passing down of belief

Who was Jesus?Asked by early

ChristiansWere not really sure

what Jesus' relationship to God really was

St. Justin Martyr is the first to develop an idea of the Trinity (in the 2nd century)

God: The Father The Son The Holy Spirit

Compares the relationship to a flameJust like a second flame can be lit from the first;

so Jesus (the Son) was begotten by the FatherThe first flame is not changed or dimmed; both

shine as brightly as the otherThe third flame formed from the first two; it is

just as bright as the first two flamesThree individual flames; but they are the same

substance; all three are fire.

St. Justin’s Concept of the Trinity

3 expressions of 1 Unity

The mainstream beliefs of Christianity were not the only ones to exist in the early ChurchEventually loose out to mainstream orthodoxy

“Orthodoxy” – from the Greek orthodoxialiterally translates to right

belief/opinion/thought“Heresy” – any belief at odds with orthodox

opinion or beliefheretic – anyone holding those heretical beliefs

Controversy over the Nature of God and Jesus

Gnosticism Gnostic means: learned or special knowledge

secret knowledge or truth or God given to a select group of people

Predates ChristianitySaw material world as

inferior to the spiritual (Plato)

Material is evil; corruption of spirit – world is corrupt

Spirit is goodBelieved there were 2

gods

1) the Creator – Yahweh- seen as lesser, as he works with materials

2) Godhead – Jesus- spiritual

Denied humanity of Jesusif human he would be material and inferior

Jesus’ body was only an apparition; he never died, only appeared to

Gnostic idea of God

Gnostic SalvationHumanity split into two

groups1)Those understanding

the struggle b/w material and spiritual

2) Those tied to the material world

Only certain people can be saved; those with the secret knowledge

Only these people can partake in special rituals

Orthodox Belief in contrast1 GodMaterial is not evil

or lessermaterial and

spiritual coexist together in one body

Jesus died and rose from the dead

Salvation if for anyone who believes

All people can partake of sacraments

Made up from the statements of a number of Church FathersChiefly: St. Irenaeus, Tertullian, St. Hippolytus

Wrote it to settle the Gnostic controversy – guard against Gnostic teachings

Creed was a concrete profession of beliefMade clear the beliefs that mainstream

Christianity would hold

Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Apostle’s Creed

Survival possible as result of councilsWhen there is a crisis that is faith or belief

based, the church meetsAll the bishops come togetherCome up with a solution that all can agree onThose who held beliefs that were denied by

councils become known as heretics

Church and Crisis

In the textbook, read about other non-mainstream Christian beliefs that come to be known as heresies, found in the early church

Pg. 134-136