Frequently Asked Questions

This site was created to disseminate information about the beliefs of the early Christians which have been largely forgotten by the modern church.

They think that they have already found the truth. Christians have simply gotten lazy and are willing to accept whatever someone in leadership tells them. It isn’t important enough to discuss at length, since everyone in the church thinks that they will end up in heaven anyway.

There are many Bible verses that appear to teach conditional security, and to be fair there are Bible verses that appear to teach eternal security. However, in a church where eternal security is part of the doctrine, those verses that teach conditional security must be explained away, ignoring the fact that the early Christians didn’t believe in eternal security either. So, pastors sometimes preface their comments with phrases like, “The Bible teaches eternal security. In light of that, here is how to interpret this verse.” It is clear that a doctrinal lens is being used to twist Scripture into agreement with our doctrine rather than using Scripture to inform our doctrine.

Christians have become complacent about their faith, believing that what they hear from the pulpit is the truth. They rarely question whether what they are hearing is actually true or not. And if you dare to question what is being taught, you are quickly viewed as divisive and asked to leave. In their view, the search for truth, if it differs from the current doctrine, must be stopped quickly!

We hear many reasons, but the most common thread underlying all of them is that some of the beliefs of the early Christians conflict with current doctrine, which makes them unscriptural in the view of those in authority. (In essence, this elevates current doctrine above the views of the early Christians who relied on the same Scriptures and had the benefit of the oral teachings.) There is tremendous resistance to considering a view that is different from our own doctrine, even if the early Christians were unified in their view and used Scripture to support that view.

The beliefs of the early Christians are important because they were the closest link to Jesus and the Apostles. They received the oral teachings and traditions that we do not have access to today.

No, not at all. We are simply using the writings of the early Christians to help us better understand what was actually meant by the people who wrote the Bible, since it seems likely that they knew more about what was meant by their writings than any 19th or 20th century theologian could possibly know. Because of the benefit of oral tradition, knowledge was passed from Jesus to the Apostles to their disciples, and ultimately became the basis for the writings of the early Christians.

In general, we place far greater significance on the writings of the early Christians who lived prior to AD 325. Their beliefs and practices were more consistent with each other and with Scripture than those of later writers. It appears as if significant corruption crept into the church following the Council of Nicea in AD 325 through writers such as Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory.

According to Irenaeus, John wrote his gospel specifically to combat the teachings of Cerinthus, an influential heretic (Gnostic) of John’s day. Read more about the Gnostics here.

According to Epiphanius, Paul wrote the epistle to the Galatians in order to refute the heresies of Cerinthus, an influential heretic (Gnostic) of Paul’s day. Read more about the Gnostics here.

No, the early Christians universally opposed eternal security as unscriptural and warned against those who held to the teaching. Read more about their views on eternal security here.

The translation of the Septuagint was begun in Alexandria, Egypt, in the third century BC. It included the Old Testament Apocrypha.

No, the early Christians believed that salvation is a result of faith in Christ and continued obedience to His commandments. Read more about their teachings on salvation here.

The current canon of the New Testament was first proposed by Athanasius the Great, a Greek Orthodox bishop from Alexandria, in the 300s.

According to Papias, Clement of Alexandria, and Irenaeus, after Peter and Paul founded the church at Rome, the Romans wanted a written record of the doctrine they had preached and asked Mark, who had accompanied Peter, to write his gospel. According to Tertullian and Origen, Peter dictated the Gospel of Mark.

Origen indicates that Luke, the companion of Paul, wrote his gospel for Gentile converts.

According to Clement of Alexandria, Paul wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews in the Hebrew language. Luke, who traveled with Paul on his missionary journeys, translated it into Greek – thus explaining the writing style similar to that of Acts and the Gospel of Luke. Eusebius writes, “Clement says that, writing to the Hebrews (who were prejudiced against Paul and suspicious), he with great wisdom did not repel them in the beginning by putting down his name. . . . And now, as the blessed presbyter [Clement] used to say, the Lord, as the Apostle of the Almighty, was sent to the Hebrews. However, Paul was sent to the Gentiles. Therefore, Paul did not subscribe himself as apostle to the Hebrews, out of modesty and reverence for the Lord.” Origen also believed that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews, although Tertullian ascribed it to Barnabas.

Yes, the 1611 Authorized King James version of the Bible included the Apocrypha.

The writings of the early Christians (up to AD 325) are collected in a 10-volume set called the Ante-Nicene Fathers, published in 1885. It is also available in PDF or via the internet.

Yes, Clement of Rome likely learned from Peter and Paul; and Ignatius, Polycarp, and Papias were disciples of John. Read more about their lives here.

Yes, 1 Clement was read alongside Paul’s writings at the church of Corinth, and it was considered inspired Scripture for several centuries.

Yes, according to Eusebius, the Shepherd of Hermas was read and revered in the churches, and many early Christian writers considered it divinely inspired.

Irenaeus’ most important work was Against Heresies, consisting of five volumes written to combat the teachings of the Gnostics. Read more about Gnostic heresies here.

The first apology is unique because Justin framed it as a legal document, petitioning the authorities to charge Christians based on any wrongdoing they could find rather than simply because they were Christians. At the same time, he strongly and clearly presented the salvation message.

According to Ignatius, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Dionysius, Peter and Paul together founded the church at Rome. According to Clement of Rome, Tertullian, and Eusebius, both apostles were martyred together in Rome.

The Great Fire of Rome burned two-thirds of the city of Rome in AD 64. Nero blamed the Christians for the disaster, beginning 250 years of persecution.

According to the Apostolic Constitutions, Zacchaeus, the tax collector mentioned in Luke, became the first bishop of the church at Caesarea.

Alexandria, Egypt, was founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC and quickly became the third largest city of the Roman Empire. For over a thousand years, Alexandria was known as a key historical, literary, and religious center of the ancient world. In the third century BC, the translation of the Septuagint from Hebrew and Aramaic into the Greek language was begun in this city. Mark the Evangelist (author of the Gospel of Mark) was the first bishop of the church at Alexandria and founded the city’s famous catechetical school, where Clement of Alexandria taught and was later succeeded by Origen, one of his pupils. In the fourth century, Athanasius the Great, the twentieth bishop of the church, was the first to list the 27 books of the New Testament canon that would later become part of the Bible we use today. Alexandria was also the hometown of the Gnostic teachers Basilides, Carpocrates, and Valentinus, prompting Clement of Alexandria and other area Christians to write extensively against their teachings.

The Nicolaitans were followers of Nicolas, one of the seven deacons appointed in Acts 6:5 who later departed from the faith. His followers lived for pleasure, pursuing luxury, living in immorality, and eating food offered to idols. According to the early Christians, the Nicolaitans were an early Gnostic sect, later influencing other false teachers. In Revelation 2:6 (also verses 15-16), Jesus specifically condemned this group and praised the early church for their opposition to these heresies: “You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” Read more about Gnosticism here.

Early Christians considered Simon Magus the founder of Gnosticism. Born in Samaria, Simon Magus was baptized by Phillip but later offered the apostles money to receive the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:9-24). Following this account in Acts, he began to deceive his own people, teaching that he was God in the flesh. Emperor Claudius Caesar eventually built a statue in his honor, and many people worshipped him as a god. Although Simon Magus’ sphere of influence was limited and faded quickly, the early Christian writers considered him the founder of Gnosticism. Read more about Gnosticism here.

The false teachers warned against in Scripture were the Gnostics. Read more about the Gnostics here.

According to Tertullian, Paul was referring to the Gnostic heretic Marcion. Read more about the Gnostics here.

According to fourth-century writer Epiphanius, the heretic Cerinthus sent false teachers to area churches to teach that Gentile believers were bound by the Mosaic Law. As a result, the Jerusalem Council convened in AD 50 to address this issue, as recounted in Acts 15. Read more about Cerinthus and other Gnostic heretics here.

Mark the Evangelist was the first bishop at Alexandria. He also founded the city’s famous catechetical school, where Clement and Origen later taught.