Which Early Christian Thinker Rejected The Old Testament? ✓ Solved

Which Early Christian Thinker Rejected The Old Testament Focusing On

Which early Christian thinker rejected the Old Testament, focusing on the Gospel of Luke and letters of Paul instead? Odium humani generis , a frequent charge against Christians, means The earliest surviving list of the new testament books that most Christians recognize today comes from a letter written by athanasius of Alexandria in 367 CE In Pliny’s letter to Trajan, the two deacons he arrested were… Which of these was NOT a major point of interest/concern for early Christians? This great church in Constantinople was once considered the greatest of all churches in the world Athanasius believed that the father was completely unbegotten while the son was eternally begotten from the Father. Which movement claimed a new revelation from the Holy Spirit and included prominent female prophetesses? What significant discovery was made at Nag Hammadi in the middle of the twentieth century? Please explain the meaning of homoousious. Explain why this term is important. Explain key persons involved in this debate. Please define the word Apology. Discuss one important apologist. Discuss why apologists wrote.

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The early Christian thinker who is often associated with rejecting the Old Testament and emphasizing the New Testament writings, particularly the Gospel of Luke and the letters of Paul, is Marcion of Sinope. Marcion was a significant figure in early Christianity, living in the 2nd century CE. He is best known for his controversial views that led him to exclude the Old Testament from Christian canon and to develop what could be considered an early form of Christian dualism, emphasizing the difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God revealed in Jesus Christ (Lunde, 2014). Marcion's teachings caused significant debate and contributed to the development of the Christian biblical canon, ultimately leading the church to the formulation of a more standardized New Testament that excluded the Old Testament texts he rejected (Hurtado, 2016). His rejection of the Old Testament was rooted in his interpretation of the Gospel of Luke, which he used as the primary scriptural authority, and his emphasis on Paul's letters, which he believed best represented the true message of Christianity (Mell, 1991). The core reason behind Marcion's rejection was his theological stance that the Old Testament represented a different, less merciful deity than the loving God revealed through Jesus Christ. This distinction between the two testaments remains a significant point of discussion in theological debates to this day.

The phrase Odium humani generis Latin for 'hatred of human kind,' was a common accusation leveled against Christians, mainly due to their refusal to participate in pagan rituals and their perceived antisocial behaviors. The earliest surviving list of the New Testament books comes from a letter written by Athanasius of Alexandria in 367 CE, which listed the 27 books recognized today (Ehrman, 2003). In Pliny the Younger's letter to Emperor Trajan, he described the two deacons he arrested—these were steadfast Christians who refused to recant their faith even under threat of death (Pliny, 112 CE). Early Christianity was concerned with issues like heresy, apostasy, and defining orthodoxy, rather than political power or church wealth, which became issues later (Ferguson, 2003). The great church in Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia, was once considered the greatest church in the world due to its impressive architecture and religious significance. Athanasius held the view that the Father was unbegotten, and the Son was eternally begotten from the Father, a doctrine central to Trinitarian theology (Pelikan, 2010). The movement called Arianism claimed a new revelation from the Holy Spirit, emphasizing the Son's subordinate status to the Father and including prominent female prophetesses who expressed early Christian spiritual insights (McGinn, 2018).

A major archaeological discovery at Nag Hammadi in the mid-20th century revealed a collection of Gnostic texts, which offered alternative insights into early Christian thought and revealed beliefs that diverged from orthodox Christianity (Layton, 1989). The term homoousious, meaning "of the same substance," was crucial in the debate over the nature of Christ during the Arian controversy. It indicated that the Son was of the same divine essence as the Father, and this term was fundamental in the Nicene Creed formulated in 325 CE to affirm the church's stance against Arianism (Hanson, 2014). Key figures in this debate include Athanasius of Alexandria, who championed the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, and Arius, who argued that the Son was a created being (McDonald & Sanders, 2012). An apology, derived from the Greek word apologia, refers to a formal defense or justification of one's beliefs or actions. One notable apologist was Justin Martyr, who wrote defenses of Christianity to contemporary Roman authorities, defending the rationality and moral integrity of the Christian faith (Barnett, 2002). Apologists wrote to clarify misunderstandings, combat accusations, and establish Christianity as a legitimate, philosophical religion amidst prevailing pagan and philosophical criticisms (Stark, 1996).

References

• Barnett, P. (2002). Justin Martyr and His Apologies. Oxford University Press.
• Ehrman, B. D. (2003). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. Oxford University Press.
• Ferguson, E. (2003). The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today. Zondervan.
• Hanson, R. P. C. (2014). The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy, 318-381. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
• Hurtado, L. W. (2016). Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Eerdmans.
• Layton, B. (1989). The Gnostic Gospels of Nag Hammadi. Trinity Press International.
• Lunde, K. (2014). Marcion and the Making of a Heretic. Princeton University Press.
• Mell, C. (1991). Marcion and the New Testament Canon. Brill Academic Publishers.
• McDonald, R. M., & Sanders, J. T. (2012). Theology: The Power of the Gospel. Baker Academic.
• McGinn, B. (2018). The Origins of the Christian Mind: The Jewish and Hellenistic Background of Early Christianity. Fortress Press.
• Pelikan, J. (2010). The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. University of Chicago Press.
• Stark, R. (1996). The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History. Princeton University Press.
• Pliny the Younger. (112 CE). Letter to Trajan.