Since its origin, Christianity has been an all-encompassing term for many different branches of similar thought. Today the term Christianity describes a myriad of denominations: Catholicism, Baptist, Protestants, and Lutherans. In the second and third centuries there were as many, if not more, branches of Christianity. The most prominent form was Catholic Christianity, while all other branches from this era are referred to as Gnostic Christianity. The branches of Christianity have intermingled and influenced each other significantly over time, especially in the earliest iterations of Christianity. Gnostic Christianity has had a lasting influence on Catholic Christianity. Understanding gnostic beliefs and practices is an integral part, when
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For Gnostic Christians “the idea that God became flesh was a repulsive thought” (Lynch, 58). They reasoned, “if he had a real body, he would have been imprisoned in flesh like everyone else” (Lynch, 58). Therefor, Gnostic Christian christologies “tended to separate Jesus from matter and to regard him as a pure spirit rather than a real human being” (Lynch, 58). This view of Jesus was called Docetism, which held that because Jesus was a spirit there was “no reason to believe that he actually suffered, died, or had any need to rise from the dead” (Lynch, …show more content…
In the first few centuries of Christianity there was no book equivalent to the modern Bible. The earliest Christians adopted the Septuagint as their scripture and this later became what is known today as the Old Testament. A few decades after Jesus’ death the early Christians began “composing gospels, letters, sermons, apocalypses, and other text, which were attributed to apostles or early Christian figures” (Lynch, 71). From this myriad of texts the early Christians sought a catalog that held the same authority as the Old Testament. However, the process was not as quick as the adoption of the Old Testament, “the agreement on the canon of the New Testament was not a single event but rather a process carried out by mostly anonymous Christians who came to a consensus about which writings were authoritative for them” (Lynch, 72). There appear to be three criterion for what texts would eventually be admitted into the New Testament canon. The first criterion for the Christian New Testament was the expectation that “their sacred documents would be linked somehow to the apostles” (Lynch, 72). The second criterion was that “an acceptable document would agree more or less with what they [Catholic Christians] already believed” (Lynch, 72). The final criterion for inclusion was whether “the document had been citied approvingly by reliable ‘fathers’ or had been read publicly in the
For Gnostic Christians “the idea that God became flesh was a repulsive thought” (Lynch, 58). They reasoned, “if he had a real body, he would have been imprisoned in flesh like everyone else” (Lynch, 58). Therefor, Gnostic Christian christologies “tended to separate Jesus from matter and to regard him as a pure spirit rather than a real human being” (Lynch, 58). This view of Jesus was called Docetism, which held that because Jesus was a spirit there was “no reason to believe that he actually suffered, died, or had any need to rise from the dead” (Lynch, …show more content…
In the first few centuries of Christianity there was no book equivalent to the modern Bible. The earliest Christians adopted the Septuagint as their scripture and this later became what is known today as the Old Testament. A few decades after Jesus’ death the early Christians began “composing gospels, letters, sermons, apocalypses, and other text, which were attributed to apostles or early Christian figures” (Lynch, 71). From this myriad of texts the early Christians sought a catalog that held the same authority as the Old Testament. However, the process was not as quick as the adoption of the Old Testament, “the agreement on the canon of the New Testament was not a single event but rather a process carried out by mostly anonymous Christians who came to a consensus about which writings were authoritative for them” (Lynch, 72). There appear to be three criterion for what texts would eventually be admitted into the New Testament canon. The first criterion for the Christian New Testament was the expectation that “their sacred documents would be linked somehow to the apostles” (Lynch, 72). The second criterion was that “an acceptable document would agree more or less with what they [Catholic Christians] already believed” (Lynch, 72). The final criterion for inclusion was whether “the document had been citied approvingly by reliable ‘fathers’ or had been read publicly in the