Major Players in the History of the Christian Church
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In reviewing my last post, I thought I was finished with the apostolic fathers, only to discover I’d left out Clement of Rome, which I will correct with this entry. However, I am a bit confused in that I noticed Got Questions lists Ignatius as an ante-Nicene father, even though he was a contemporary of Polycarp—whom they list as an apostolic father—and was even apparently a disciple of John the Apostle.
Wikipedia lists Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna, and Papias of Hierapolis as the Apostolic Fathers, which is what one would expect. So again...
- Clement of Rome is known for the letter he wrote from Rome to the church at Corinth.
- Ignatius of Antioch is known for seven letters he wrote that warned churches about heresies that threatened their peace and unity and that addressed points of ecclesiastical order.
- Polycarp of Smyrna is known for his letter to the Philippians in which he warns against false teaching in the church and quotes or paraphrases from many books that would later be recognized as part of the New Testament canon.
- And Papias of Hierapolis is known for writing five books in which he recorded details regarding Jesus and the apostles, though the books are now lost (except for some excerpts found in second- and third-century writings).
A mere repeat of the church's line on these characters. Omission of the back story has the effect of being utterly misleading so that in the style of historical religious deceit and misinformation, they declare certain things as true when they really aren't.
The actual historical record confirms the way in which Polycarp and Clement, wrote so called "letters" in the form of religious propaganda concocted for self-promotion. Undated and unsigned, they contain the same fraudulent nonsense provided by Irenaeus, who became bishop of Lyon only by rubbing elbows with the pope and after a rather convenient murder of his predecessor.
Papias of Hierapolis may well be "known for writing five books in which he recorded details regarding Jesus and the apostles", but so is JK Rowling known for writing five books in which she recorded details regarding Harry Potter and the Muggles.
It requires more comprehensive historical evidence to properly expand on the apostolic claims being made. Then the reasons how and why they all deal in misdirection and sheer fiction, soon becomes clear.
The men GotQuestions.com refers to as the ante-Nicene fathers are called Greek Fathers by wikipedia. I've already read about Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, and Origen of Alexandria, but the others mentioned by wikipedia have names I cannot remember having ever heard, so I will skip them and move on to the post-Nicene fathers. They include:
- Augustine, bishop of Hippo, who is often called the father of the [Roman Catholic] Church because of his great work in Church doctrine
- Chrysostom, called the “golden-mouthed” for his excellent oratorical skills
- Eusebius, who who wrote a history of the church from the birth of Jesus to A.D. 324, one year before the Council of Nicea. (He is included in the post-Nicene era since he did not write his history until after the Council of Nicea was held.)
- Jerome, a name I've heard mentioned quite often, who translated the Greek New Testament into the Latin Vulgate
- Ambrose, who was largely responsible for Augustine’s conversion to Christianity
What is the Septuagint and where did it come from?
The Septuagint is a Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) including the Apocrypha. It was written for Greek-speaking Jews in Egypt in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC and adopted by the early Christian Churches. This Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible is called "Septuagint" because 70 or 72 Jewish scholars reportedly took part in the translation process. The scholars worked in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-247 B.C.) according to the Letter of Aristeas to his brother Philocrates.
Who was Aristeas?
Aristeas was an official of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, a Greek monarch of Egypt in the 3rd century BCE. The letter addressed to his brother gives an account of the translation of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) into Greek, by order of Ptolemy. According to the legend reflected in the letter, the translation was made by 72 elders, brought from Jerusalem, in 72 days. The letter was actually written by an Alexandrian Jew about 100 BCE, and attempts to show the superiority of Judaism both as religion and philosophy. It also contains interesting descriptions of Palestine, of Jerusalem with its Temple, and of the royal gifts to the Temple.
Again, the Letter of Aristeas (or Letter to Philocrates) is a Hellenistic work of the 2nd century BC, assigned by Biblical scholars to the Pseudepigrapha, which deals primarily with the reason the Greek translation of the Hebrew Law, called the Septuagint, was created, as well as the people and processes involved.
So what is the Pseudepigrapha?
Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works—texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. They are spurious or pseudonymous writings (especially Jewish writings) ascribed to various biblical patriarchs and prophets, but composed within approximately 200 years of the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Septuagint is a Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) including the Apocrypha. It was written for Greek-speaking Jews in Egypt in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC and adopted by the early Christian Churches. This Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible is called "Septuagint" because 70 or 72 Jewish scholars reportedly took part in the translation process. The scholars worked in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-247 B.C.) according to the Letter of Aristeas to his brother Philocrates.
Who was Aristeas?
Aristeas was an official of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, a Greek monarch of Egypt in the 3rd century BCE. The letter addressed to his brother gives an account of the translation of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) into Greek, by order of Ptolemy. According to the legend reflected in the letter, the translation was made by 72 elders, brought from Jerusalem, in 72 days. The letter was actually written by an Alexandrian Jew about 100 BCE, and attempts to show the superiority of Judaism both as religion and philosophy. It also contains interesting descriptions of Palestine, of Jerusalem with its Temple, and of the royal gifts to the Temple.
Again, the Letter of Aristeas (or Letter to Philocrates) is a Hellenistic work of the 2nd century BC, assigned by Biblical scholars to the Pseudepigrapha, which deals primarily with the reason the Greek translation of the Hebrew Law, called the Septuagint, was created, as well as the people and processes involved.
So what is the Pseudepigrapha?
Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works—texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. They are spurious or pseudonymous writings (especially Jewish writings) ascribed to various biblical patriarchs and prophets, but composed within approximately 200 years of the birth of Jesus Christ.
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If by "your God" you mean the Creator of the universe, then your question is predicated on a categorical error. While it is true that material things must be created, Yahweh is not material—God is spirit—and as such, is not bound or limited by the laws of physics. Rather than come up with an explanation of my own, let me just copy and paste what has already been written...
God is not in the category of things that are created or caused. God is uncaused and uncreated. He simply exists. How do we know this? Well, we know that from nothing, nothing comes. So, if there were ever a time when there was absolutely nothing in existence, then there would be nothing still. But things do exist. Therefore, since there could never have been absolutely nothing, something had to have always been in existence. That ever-existing thing is what we call God. God is the uncaused Being that caused everything else to come into existence. God is the uncreated Creator who created the universe and everything in it.
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Your stalker never posts anything original, after reading his post on Eusebious I knew he was somebody who does not have a degree in history or he would have fact checked his sources instead it was cut and paste debating like bots do on StockTwits. Your getting trolled, now I know why you ignore bots!