Quote from a book I am reading regarding first century Christianity.

by David Graham 4 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  David Graham

  I am reading a very informative book on Jehovah's Witnesses and their beliefs on first century Christianity. The writer goes on to say that there was no such thing as first century Christianity and it only started to take off in the second century onwards. This book and the writer is very well informed. This is a quote that really stood out to me and serves as a guideline for us all today in my opinion.

  The Acts of Paul and Thecla (or Thekla) contains the history of a female convert and associate of Paul. [23] She eventually became a cult hero, with devotees flocking to her shrines, including the pilgrim Egeria, who wrote an account of her journey in AD 384, of which only a fragment survives. Thecla was revered for centuries, almost as much as Mary, the Mother of God, despite the condemnation of Tertullian, a prominent early Christian authority who exposed the work as a forgery.

  Reference - Rachel Walsh The Day Of Jehovah's Witnesses.
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  Crazyguy

  Very interesting I'll check it out.Is this woman mentioned in the bible?
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  sir82

  The writer goes on to say that there was no such thing as first century Christianity

  That's an odd statement - there must certainly was.

  A more accurate statement would, there were a variety of types of Christianity in the first century.

  A good readable source to learn more would be "Lost Christianities" by Bart Ehrman.

  That said, the picture painted by JWs of first century Christianity absolutely, positively, never existed. Their version is full of anachronisms and things that quite simply could never have been.

  My favorite absurdities of the JW picture of 1st century Christianity are, in no particular order:

  -- Christians engaged in a "door to door ministry", literally knocking on doorposts

  -- Christians in this door to door ministry carrying around scrolls, and reading from them at the doorway of someone

  -- Christians deferring to a central "governing body" in Jerusalem

  -- There was a drama a few years back, depicting 1st century Christians living in Jerusalem. They had a character portrayed as the equivalent of a modern day congregation secretary, tabulating "field service reports" on a piece of papyrus (I kid you not).

  -- Just the idea that every single member of the 1st century congregation was literate. They were Palestinian fishermen & farmers, ffs! Who would have taught them to read, & why? I'm sure the first couple generations of Christians had a literacy rate of far less than 50%. There is a reason they were called illiterate by the Pharisees ("unlettered" in the NWT obfuscation of the term).
  
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  Vidiot

  The way I see it, "First-Century Christianity" - as practiced by its founder - was... well... Judaism.
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  David Graham

  Vidiot
  

  The way I see it, "First-Century Christianity" - as practiced by its founder - was... well... Judaism.

  
  

  And top marks go to you. Well done that man :) Yes this is what the book says :)