Has the WT ever published anything in regards to proofs that "early Christians" believed as they do. I see it claimed countless times in the publications that "true christians" have existed from day one up to the current WT society but I've never seen any examples offered up. To what do they refer to back up their claim? Do they claim an unbroken chain of succession from the early days or do "true Christians" spontaneously sprout up from nothing in each successive generation without having had the mantle passed on to them from a previous generation?
Early Church Proofs?
by shiloh 9 Replies latest watchtower bible
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peacefulpete
They often selectively cite examples of antitrinitarianism, and rebellion against various Roman Church doctrine yet all these examples are of course late. The facts are that the Roman Church invented Christianity from piecemeal fables and Greek philosophy, so the fragmentary documents prior to their influence more resemble Judaism or Gnosticism.
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DJ
Hi Shiloh,
I know what you mean. Here is a site that has the writings of all of the early church fathers that the jw's have misquoted and twisted... www.ccel.org/fathers/2
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shiloh
Thanks guys!
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DJ
Sorry about that link. I added an extra slash... here it is : www.ccel.org/fathers2 This site does not incluse those writings which are considered heretical by most Christians, even the jw's... There are some spurious writings by otherwise accepted writers but it is labeled as spurious. The site that Pete gave you has just about everything ever written by anyone whether it is spurious or not...phew...that is a lot....
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metatron
In particular, if early Christians didn't get hellfire torment from the Bible ( Rev.20, for example)
they must have gotten it in a New York minute after the death of the apostles. The Martyrdom of Polycarp
suggests it, for example. If you lived in a time when Christians were commonly nailed to crosses to slowly
die of torture, it is difficult to see how they could have avoided thoughts about eternal torment.
metatron
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hooberus
The Watchtowers "Should You believe in the Trinity Brochure" quotes from several ante-nicene fathers in order to try to show that they believed the same about Jesus as the Watchtower teaches. If one reads the fathers in context, one sees that they believed that Jesus was Jehovah and that the Holy Spirit was a person.
Justin Martyr:
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-01/anf01-48.htm#P4321_884875
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heathen
It seems like another confusing mess that the WTBTS was eager to go beyond what is written again . There is no question that there were many people who questioned the controling influence of organized religion and wanted to practice religion on their own terms and were persectuted but to say that there were people praticing the true christianity that is mentioned in the bible is without merit . There is a call in revelation for those who wanted worship in spirit and truth to get out of babylon the great or share in her plaques and it also says that satan misleads the entire inhabited earth in revelation 12.
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A Paduan
As jws, was this particular topic ever presented for consideration ?
"All the ancient records of the Roman bishops which have been handed down to us by St. Irenaeus, Julius Africanus, St. Hippolytus, Eusebius, also the Liberian catalogue of 354, place the name of Linus directly after that of the Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter. These records are traced back to a list of the Roman bishops which existed in the time of Pope Eleutherus (about 174-189), when Irenaeus wrote his book "Adversus haereses"."
A passage by Irenaeus (Adv. haereses, III, iii, 3) reads:
After the Holy Apostles (Peter and Paul) had founded and set the Church in order (in Rome) they gave over the exercise of the episcopal office to Linus. The same Linus is mentioned by St.Paul in his Epistle to Timothy. His successor was Anacletus.