Earliest Christian values-Plus Study PatriotismPlus.htm Click On the orange print in the box to open each one-BibleTexts.com

The quotations below are representative of all known pre-313 A.D. writers on each particular topic. The purpose here is to present unedited, genuine Christianity as understood and practiced by the earliest Christians.

 

To view and print only this table, without the quotations, click here.

What earliest Christians did & encouraged

What earliest Christians did not do & discouraged

 Active non-violence*

Adultery*

Almsgiving*

Anger*

Benevolence to strangers & enemies*

Astrology

Christian healing*

Bearing/using weapons against others*

Christian perfection*

Capital punishment

Compassion*

Charging interest on loans*

Correction of others, supportively*

Divorce* (with a few exceptions)

Financial and/or other support of church -- but not tithing

Greed*

Forgiveness to all, including enemies*

Hatred*

Generosity to all, including enemies*

Hypocrisy*

Honesty*

Idolatry*

Humaneness*

Immorality*

Humililty*

Intoxication

Inclusiveness & equality*

Judging others*

Justice*

Lustful looking*

Marriage sanctity*

Materialism*

Mercy*

Nationalism

Modesty*

Pederasty (sexual relations between a man and a boy)

Morality and ethics*

Polygamy*

Overcoming evil with good*

Pornography

Peace-making*

Possessiveness*

Prayer for all, including enemies*

Prejudice*

Purity*

Promiscuity*

Repentance*

Religious talk without compassionate life*

Unconditional love for all, including enemies*

Revenge*

Wisdom*

Self-righteousness*

Women & men: both in leadership roles*

Spiritualism

Suits against others*

What earliest Christians did & encouraged

What earliest Christians did not do & discouraged

DIVIDED OR UNCERTAIN VIEWS: Abortion ? | Same-sex orientation ?

Ignatius of Antioch (probably died AD 107) Ignatius_of_Antioch was the third patriarch of Antioch,

 after Saint Peter and Euodius, who died around AD 68. Eusebius, Check out Church Fathers

Ignatius, who also called himself Theophorus ("vessel of God"),

 was most likely a disciple of both Apostles Peter and John.

First-century The Ecclesiology of St. Ignatius of  Antioch 

(http://www.romanity.org/htm/rom.11.en.the_ecclesiology_of_st._ignatius_of_antioch.01.htm) by Fr. John S. Romanides

 

 

Study. First-centuryIgnatius_of_Antioch

First-century The Ecclesiology of St. Ignatius of  Antioch 

(http://www.romanity.org/htm/rom.11.en.the_ecclesiology_of_st._ignatius_of_antioch.01.htm) by Fr. John S. Romanides

1.1  Early_times Ignatius_of_Antioch

1.2  #Medieval_times

1.3     #Modern_times

Christianity

 

1.1 Early times
1.2 Medieval times
1.3 Modern times

* Those taught by Jesus are marked with an asterisk.

CHRISTIAN STANDARDS & HOW THEY WERE APPLIED -- Beginning in 313 A.D., Christian teachings and practices began to dramatically change, but prior to 313 A.D. the Christian attitudes and practices listed above were standards advocated by most Christians within their own Christian communities. Christians did not attempt to force those attitudes or practices on non-Christians. Christians did feel free to include them as part of the gospel, the Good News, they preached to non-Christians -- not as a judgmental rebuke but as joyful witness to the freedom of their own life in Christ. As Christians today, if we try to force our moral standards on the entire population of our nations or on the world, we are abandoning primitive Christianity, and we are participating in the reenactment of the Constantine's cooption and corruption of Christianity that began in 313 A.D. (See http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/313ad.htm.) On the other hand, we, like our earliest Christian brothers and sisters, are free to include our moral values as part of the gospel, the Good News, we live and preach to others -- not as a judgmental rebuke but as a joyful witness to the freedom of our own life in Christ.

OTHER RESOURCES YOU CAN EXPLORE -- In additional to the representative quootations below, the following are a few resources to further explore the attitudes and practices of Jesus and earliest Christians prior to 313 A.D.:

  • Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
  • Jesus' Sermon on thePlain.
  • Jesus' Parables.
  • The letters of Paul, the 7 undisputedly authentic letters of Paul being: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Philemon, and 1 Thessalonians.
  • The Letter of James.
  • The First Letter of John.
  • The Didache.
  • All of the following books are excellent resources:
    • After The New Testament: A Reader in Early Christianity, by Bart D. Ehrman (NY: Oxford University Press, 1999)
    • A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More Than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers, edited by David W. Bercot (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998).
    • Early Christians Speak: Faith and Life in the First Three Centuries, Revised Edition, by Everett Ferguson (Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press, 1987)
    • Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, Second Edition, edited by Everett Ferguson (NY: Garland Publishing, 1998).
    • Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up: A New Look at Today's Evangelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity, by David W. Bercot (Scroll Pub, 1999)
  • Other works on biblical/Christian ethics listed at:

From http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/genuine-christianity.htm

and Study PatriotismPlus.htm

 

Jehovah's Witnesses are an international Christian denomination whose members

believe that their faith is the restoration of first-century Christianity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses

 

 

Restorationism refers to unaffiliated religious movements that attempted to transcend Protestant denominationalism and orthodox Christian creeds to restore Christianity to its original form.