Peg writes:
you can learn alot about the early church from the writings of tertulian, Origen, Jerome...basically the nicean fathers.
As christianity got further down the track, you see the result is that the teachings and the organization of the church slowly changed. But the best place to start for church history (besides the NT) is the writings of these early men.
Things hadnt changed much in the 2nd century...the bigger changes came around the 3rd century and onward.
It's the sentence that I bolded that I have a problem with. Out of the three men that you mentioned, the earliest,
Tertullian, wasn't born until about 160 CE, which would place him about a century after Jesus's death and well after the first or even the second generation of Christians. The latest,
Jerome was born in 347 CE. Is your assertion that information about the first hundred years of Christianity was transmitted faithfully and accurately, possibly without written records, or at least written records other that what's in the New Testament? I'm not saying that this isn't possible, but neither do I have any reason to assume that the writers of the second century would know much at all about the first Christians were doing. One hundred plus years went by with no centralized leadership, and no generally accepted authoritative texts. I believe that the early church also functioned largely in secret. The very period that you want to assert as the model for the "true" church is the one that's the least documented. What's your basis for believing that Origen had accurate information to base his own writings on?
ABE: I see that you added links to your post and a reference to Clement. From what I can see at first glance, I'd agree that 1 Clement is probably a pretty good source about the early church.
Edited by ZenMonkey, : No reason given.
I have no time for lies and fantasy, and neither should you. Enjoy or die.
-John Lydon
What's the difference between a conspiracy theorist and a new puppy? The puppy eventually grows up and quits whining.
-Steven Dutch