YoursTrue said : “You know it's interesting that many of the things quoted or summarized are not in the holy scriptures as put together in the early part of the centuries after Christ, including the books written by Paul, Peter, John, James and Jude, as well as the gospel accounts. (post #408)
Hi
@YoursTrue
Just as your Jehovahs Witness religion produces literature in addition to the scriptures that explains their doctrines and interpretations of scriptures, the early Christians also produced a great deal of similar types of literature that explained their different doctrines and their interpretations of scriptures.
In the case of historical research regarding how early Judeo-Christians saw themselves and what their doctrines were and how they interpreted the scriptures of the apostolic age, one can view their own writings that describe their own beliefs and their own interpretations of their own scriptures in their own words.
Keep in mind, their religion of the peri c.e. era is not the same as your own religion of the 1800s (approx.) and there are many questions about their beliefs and their interpretations that are not in the texts of the modern, western bible which most of us grew up with.
Keep in mind that history is not done by limiting historical data streams but by widening and increasing the historical data as much as possible. To limit the stream of historical data regarding early, everyday historical “normative” Christianity and what it was like will cause you to have less historical knowledge about early, everyday historical “normative” Christians. You cannot do history that way.
YoursTrue asked : "The "older Jewish religion"? What's that? (post #410)
Just as the original “Jesus movement” evolved, and doctrines and practices changed, and schisms formed with different beliefs, Judaism had already undergone this same process before.
Original Religion having prophets was, for example, a “vertically” oriented religion that was characterized by
revelation from God to prophets while the Judaisms of later centuries evolved into “horizontally” oriented religions that looked to
inspired books and traditions created by the earlier vertical Judaism.
For example, when Justin Martyr had his debate with the Jew Trypho, Justin pointed out that the charismatic and revelatory and prophetic gifts had passed from Judaism of his age and to the Christian movement which still received revelations and still had prophets.
It was in this way that early Christianity was also a “vertically” oriented religion characterized by prophets and apostles who were receiving revelations.
However, just as the Jewish religions no longer had prophets (and ongoing revelation that accompanied them) and had passed into a “horizontal” phase (i.e. looking to books and traditions created by an earlier Christianity), the many Christianies underwent the same sort of evolution.
I hope is makes sense that good history requires more historical data rather than less data and the difference between original religion with it's revelation from God to prophets versus later religion with it's tendency to rely on earlier books and earlier traditions.
I hope your journey is good YoursTrue.
Clear
φυειφισιω
About me not being 'sir.' Thank you.