Unity Church of Tucson

by Mary Ellen Swartz

If anyone thinks diversity within Christianity is a recent thing then they may want to take a closer look at Church history, or perhaps better put, Church histories. The early developing church wasn’t just one group of people or one set of beliefs about Jesus, his life and teachings. Some were at polar ends of the spectrum from others but all claimed to be representing the view of Jesus himself. For example, Peter and the Jerusalem based followers seemed to see him as someone who was special and unique with regard to his thoughts and teachings but was basically a human being like they were. The Petrine position also emphasized the importance of all followers practicing Jewish laws concerning food, the Sabbath and circumcision because in the beginning they regarded themselves as a sect within Judaism, thus the importance of keeping Jewish laws.

The Paulinists, those who based their beliefs on Paul’s teachings, seemed to see Jesus as a divine being and his death and resurrection as the way through which God’s kingdom would come forth. They emphasized the lack of need for converts having to keep Jewish laws, meaning that one’s coming to Christianity through Judaism was not a requirement.
Some have suggested that the difference between the Petrine and Pauline approaches was not so much about the divinity of Jesus but more about whether the practices of Judaism were essential to the Christian experience. However, it would appear that there were other differences, such as Paul’s addition of the concept of Jesus as the Word and putting an emphasis on him as the savior of humanity. His teachings, in effect, took the approach that after Jesus’ birth and death, the covenant between God and the Jews was transferred to those who became Christians. Paul’s writings indicate he experienced continual theological conflict with the Jewish Christian movement centered in Jerusalem, which isn’t all that surprising.

Another group within early Christianity was the Gnostics. Apparently Gnosticism existed in pre-Christian times as a philosophical combination of the elements of several religions including Judaism. However, the Gnostic Christian communities referenced were led by John, Thomas and other later disciples of Jesus. Their emphasis was more on the mystical or inner aspect of Jesus’ life and teachings. They were known for their novel interpretations of scripture, the world and the universe, as well as their lack of discrimination against women. Later they would be considered heretics by the Catholic Church and this would lead some of them to form separate congregations under different names while others would join the larger Paulinist Christians. (I suspect there may have been others who would live their philosophy in a quiet way not attached to any group.)

There were many other groups or types of Christianity in the early centuries, in addition to the Petrinists and Paulinists, there were Matthean Christians, Johannine Christians, as well as the Ebionites and Marcionites.

In the next issue of Expanding Horizons we will look more closely at some of these groups.
Mary Ellen’s Disclaimer: What is written in this column is not from a scholar, because I am not one. I am putting bits and pieces of information together and coming up with a picture of what I think might have happened. Of course, no one knows for sure except those who lived the experiences.

Note from Mary Ellen:
Occasionally readers indicate they would like to know where to begin gathering their own information on Christianity. The Bible is a good place to begin, not only the New Testament but also the Old Testament because Jesus and the early followers came from within Judaism. I suggest when reading the New Testament that one remembers that the books are not in chronological order and the books that we have are but a few of those that were written after Jesus’ life by people who did not know him. The books we have in the New Testament are only those which were approved by the Church years later.

There are some contemporary writers that I have enjoyed reading. For instance, books from the Jesus Seminar and its founder, Robert Funk, as well as books by Bishop John Shelby Spong, John Dominic Crossan, and Marcus Borg, to name a few. Fortunately we have several books of this genre in our bookstore at Unity of Tucson.