Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew by Bart D. Ehrman

Author:Bart D. Ehrman [Ehrman, Bart D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2003-10-02T05:00:00+00:00

Proto-orthodoxy and the Jewish Traditions

Some proto-orthodox writings try to resolve church conflict by pressing for the authority of church officials (“Obey the bishop!”) without going into the content of the disputes, on the assumption that if the right people are in charge, they will know what to do. That is the tack taken, for example, by the Pastoral epistles, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, far more concerned with getting the right kind of leaders in office than in explaining why the erroneous views that need to be overthrown are a problem. Ignatius is different, though. Ignatius deals with problems head on and argues a case.

Apart from his letter to the Christians in Rome, in which he urges them not to intervene with his bloody ordeal soon to come, Ignatius’s letters are all addressed to churches (and one individual, Polycarp) that he has encountered on his way to martyrdom either personally, by passing through town, or indirectly, by meeting representatives sent to greet him and provide moral support. In these encounters he has learned of various problems in the churches. Some of these could be resolved simply by unleashing the authority of the bishop and insisting that everyone follow his lead. But others needed to be addressed. One of the most interesting involved the relationship of true Christianity to Judaism. This was a problem the proto-orthodox dealt with in a way quite different from the Ebionite Christians (who continued to embrace Judaism more or less wholesale), the Marcionites (who rejected all things Jewish), and various groups of Gnostics (who rejected historical Judaism but read the sacred Jewish texts through the lenses of their own complicated mythologies). Even among the proto-orthodox there were various attitudes and approaches to Jews and their Scripture, within broad parameters. Ignatius clearly understands those parameters, here already at the outset of the proto-orthodox movement.

One of the final letters Ignatius wrote was addressed to the Christians in the Asia Minor city of Philadelphia, which he had passed through on his journey to Rome. As is typical, he speaks highly of the bishop of Philadelphia and is eager that the church be united behind him. It appears that when he was there, Ignatius had seen divisions in the church and recognized a simple solution for them: “I cried out while among you, speaking in a great voice, the voice of God, ‘Pay attention to the bishop and the presbytery and the deacons!’” (7:1). He urged the community to “do nothing apart from the bishop; keep your flesh as the temple of God; love unity; flee divisions” (7:2).

The divisions were evidently rooted in different theological and practical perspectives advanced by some members of the congregation. Among the Philadelphians were Gentile believers who had come to think that Christians needed to follow the practices of Judaism. It is difficult to know whether these people were spiritual descendants of Paul’s opponents in nearby Galatia,9 converts to Ebionite Christianity, or just Jewish sympathizers with an agenda of their own. In any event,

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