When did apostasy set in?

by My Struggle 18 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Rapunzel

  The Levant [the Middle East] was always a "hotbead" of competing religions and sects. There were literally scores, if not hundreds, of sects within Judaism alone. There were always many competing groups and factions. From early days, the ancient trade routes brought in a plethora of doctrines and beliefs. It is extremely naive to long for a return to "pure Christianity" or "original Christianity," for the simple reason that no such thing ever existed. What we now call "Palastine" was the great "cauldron" into which many doctrines and creeds - Judaic and "pagan" - flowed. To even speak of "original Christianity" betrays a lack of awareness of both religion and history.

  It's really ironic how people nowadays bemoan the fact that the "original unity" of Christianity has been lost. It's nonsense to think this. In fact, despite all of the schisms and splits that have occurred within Christianity over the last 1500 years or so, there is now probably even more unity, conformity, and standardization of thought and doctrine within Christendom than there existed within the first two centuries of Christianity. There was more diversity, more heterodoxy, within Christianity during its first two centuries than any period since. This is due to the fact there were great efforts made during the third, fourth, and fifth centuries to ensure homogeneity and conformity in doctrine.

  Christianity arose in a time and place marked by extreme doctrinal diversity. It maintained this heterodoxy and diversity well into its third century. There was a never any one "pure" Christinty. Such a thing has never been lost for the simple reason that it never existed to begin with.
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  WTWizard

  The first apostate was, in fact, Plato. He was the one that insisted that society needed masses of rules and unnecessary moral codes to live by. Socrates and Aristotle, on the other hand, believed that the masses would do best if left alone to work with science and the free market.

  Paul was, in fact, errant in mistaking Christ's message. He took it literally and put that in the Bible, messing up the whole message and making it more confusing than it needed to be. Every single one of the rules put in the Bible from that point on is done in error. And the early Catholic church adopted those rules (and many others) to exploit the masses. The First Dark Ages resulted.
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  blondie

  If you want the WTS position on this, here is something that may illustrate their position.

  *** w03 9/1 One True Christian Faith—A Reality ***

  The Christian Congregation Corrupted

  Soon after the death of the apostles, apostate teachers from within the congregation began to take control of it. They spoke "twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves." (Acts 20:29, 30) As a result, many Christians ‘fell away from the faith.’ They were "turned aside to false stories."—1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 4:3, 4.

  By the fourth century C.E., says TheNewDictionaryofTheology, "Catholic Christianity had become the official . . . religion of the Roman Empire." There was a "coalescence of ecclesial and civil society"—a merging of Church and State that was diametrically opposed to the beliefs of the early Christians. (John 17:16; James 4:4) The same source states that in time, the whole structure and nature of the church, as well as many of its fundamental beliefs, was changed radically "under the influence of a curious and thoroughly unhealthy combination of O[ld] T[estament] and neoplatonic models." As predicted by Jesus Christ, his genuine disciples were hidden from sight as counterfeit Christians flourished.

  Jesus’ listeners knew how difficult it was to tell genuine wheat from weeds, such as poisonous bearded darnel, which during the growing season has an appearance much like that of wheat. So Jesus was illustrating that for a while, it would be difficult to distinguish true Christians from the counterfeit variety. This does not mean that the Christian congregation ceased to exist, for Jesus promised to continue to guide his spiritual brothers "all the days until the conclusion of the system of things." (Matthew 28:20) Jesus said that the wheat would continue to grow. Even so, through the ages, genuine Christians—individually or in groups—no doubt did their best to adhere to Christ’s teachings. But they no longer made up a clearly identifiable, visible body, or organization. They were certainly not identical with the visible apostate religious system that throughout history brought nothing but disgrace and dishonor to the name of Jesus Christ.—2 Peter 2:1, 2.

  "The Man of Lawlessness Gets Revealed"

  The apostle Paul foretold something else that would mark this counterfeit religious system. He wrote: "Let no one seduce you in any manner, because [Jehovah’s day] will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed." (2 Thessalonians 2:2-4) This "man of lawlessness" is none other than the clergy class that exalted itself into a ruling position over the "Christian" congregation.

  The apostasy started in the apostle Paul’s day. It accelerated once the apostles died and their restraining influence disappeared. It would be marked, said Paul, by "the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents and with every unrighteous deception." (2 Thessalonians 2:6-12) How accurately that describes the activities of so many religious leaders throughout history!

  In support of their claim that Roman Catholicism is the one true church, Catholic leaders say that their bishops have "a life-giving contact with the original apostles by a current of succession which goes back to the beginning." In truth, this claim of apostolic succession has no historical or Scriptural basis. There is no credible evidence that the church system that arose following the death of Jesus’ apostles was ever directed by God’s holy spirit.—Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:19-21.

  And what of the other churches that sprang up following the so-called Reformation? Did they return to the model of the early Christian congregation? Did they restore the purity of the original Christian congregation? It is true that following the Reformation, the Bible became available to many of the common people in their own language. Yet, history shows that these churches continued to teach erroneous doctrines.—Matthew 15:7-9.

  Note this, however. Jesus Christ definitely foretold that his one true congregation would be restored during what he called a conclusion of a system of things. (Matthew 13:30, 39) The fulfillment of Bible prophecies shows that we are now living in that time. (Matthew 24:3-35) That being true, each of us needs to ask, ‘Where is that one true church?’ It ought to become more and more clearly identifiable.

  Maybe you feel that you have already found that church, or congregation. It is important that you make sure. Why? Because as in the first century, there can be only one true church. Have you taken the time to make sure that your church closely conforms to the pattern set by the first-century Christian congregation and that it loyally adheres to the teachings of Jesus Christ? Why not examine this now? Jehovah’s Witnesses will be happy to help you to do just that.—Acts 17:11.

  [Footnotes]

  Further information regarding the identity of "the man of lawlessness" can be found in TheWatchtower, February 1, 1990, pages 10-14.

  See the chapter "The Reformation—The Search Took a New Turn" in the book Mankind’sSearchforGod, pages 306-28, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
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  marsal

  jwfacts -- Thank you for posting those WT quotes.
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  Awakened at Gilead

  JWFacts: Great quotes... more fuel to the fire under the WTS...

  Top (and 1st) Apostate: Satan (he started before the Garden of Eatin)

  Top Apostate website: JWD
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  james_woods

  Witnesses want the apostacy as quickly as possible after the death of the apostles for two very basic & simple reasons:

  This makes it easier to manipulate their way past many of the embarrasing early Christian writings (as they were of course apostate). It does not seem, however, to bother them much to include the accepted Bible Canon or various writings of the Nicean Fathers whenever this would seem to suit their needs.

  Secondly, it makes it easier to explain that only a very few of the precious 144,000 lived as true early christians. This helps to explain how so many ended up in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries after all these years.

  Remember that it has been posted by several others that one of the original GB members always privately believed that the 144,000 was symbolic for the basic reason that there had to have been more than this number of primitave early day christians.
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  hamsterbait

  Barbara Anderson, when she was still at Beth Hell, recounts her experience of how she was assigned to research early Christianity, and prove they believed what the JDubyas believe now.

  After months of research she says the project was dropped because the team had been completely and utterly unable to find proof of the Witchtower's assertions.

  HB
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  Narkissos

  There is not the slightest hint in the NT that "apostasy" would, or even might, "set in" in the sense of swaying the church institution as JWs and other sectarians (e.g. Darbyists) imply. All the NT texts referring to "false teachers" in the Church (especially Acts, the Pastorals, Jude and 2 Peter) were written from the perspective of the emerging "church institution" (and its accompanying "orthodoxy" in the making) to justify an authoritarian and repressive policy against dissenters (although those were perfectly licit representatives, or heirs, of the earlier Christian diversity as Rapunzel excellently describes). Those who didn't suscribe to the emerging orthodoxy were to be painted as fake Christians and susbsequently driven out of the church or otherwise silenced. But of course those texts never suggest that the authoritarian policy they promote would ultimately fail and that the church leaders themselves would become "heretics" or "apostates".

  Whence the problem for the WT inasmuch as it has to deal with the Church Fathers: on the one hand it has to acknowledge that they did the "right thing" when they were fighting the heretics (Gnostics, Docetes, Marcionites, Judeo-Christians etc.) as recommended in the Pastorals; on the other hand it must maintain that the doctrine they defended and developed through this "good" fight was itself "heretic" or "apostate". They must be "good" and "bad" at the same time...
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  justhuman

  When you don't have a Theological backround, or history to support your existence the magic word is "blame it to the apostates". Perhaps the greatest apostates EVER existed is the WT(along with Mormons)

  They have Occult origins(pyramids, numerology, spiritism)

  They have adopted ALL the apostatic ideas(Arianism, 2 class Christians, rejection of the Soul) for the last 1700 years and developed their own theology

  They are guilty for false prophecy

  Indeed apostasy did appeared in the days of the apostles and continued until now. That is why we have so many Christian dominations and cults claiming that they "found"the origins of the Christianity. The most bizare of all is that Protestands(WT is an extreme Protestand group)accept a Bible that was given to them by the Orthodox Apostolic Church(before the schisma of the Catholics it was one Church the East(Orthodox)and West(Latin)

  1.Is the Holy Bible the only basis for the Christian faith?

  2. Were in the Bible indicates that only the Bible is our basis for our Christian Faith?

  3. Who set the Biblical Canon?

  4.What is the Protestand basis to accept the 66 books of the Bible instead of 77 that Orthodox and Catholic Church accepts?

  5. Were in the Bible is telling us the Books that we should accept as the Biblical Canon are part of the Holy Scriptures?

  6. Can you indicate a verse in the Bible that claims to be infalible?

  7. Were in the Bible is showing us that the faith of the Church is being set according to the Bible and not the opposite?

  8. In the Early Christian Church we had the Apostoles and the Prophets and they were appointed by the Holy Spirit Elders (Episkopoi in Greek)and this succesion is being carried for over 2000 years in the Apostolic Church, starting from James the first Bishop of Jerusalim.Do JW's or any Protestand has any Apostolic Succesion?

  9. Has the Apostolic Church ever Apostasized?

  10.Why do Protestands accept a Bible that was set by the Apostolic Church with Saint Athanasius(Greek Orthodox) at the 3th century who defined the Biblical canon?Is it correct on their behalf to accept a Bible that came out from the "apostate" Christians?

  11. What do the writtings of the first 2 centuries of Christianity indicate to us regarding the Christian faith since we have letters from the immediate succesors of the Apostles like The letter to the Church of Magnisis from Saint Ignatios the Bishop of Antioch? It was written between 97 AD - 107AD.

  12. Would Jesus allow Satan to turn the Church that He set with His Blood an "apostate"Church, and Satan would truimph over Jesus Church for hundreds of years?

  Those are questions that need an answer....can any Protestand Domination give answers to the questions above...

  The following link examines if the Church ever Apsotasized

  http://www.oodegr.com/english/ekklisia/ekkl2.htm