26 replies to this topic

[Fortigurn]

In another thread, Grace asked 'Which doctrines are vital for salvation'? I'd like to address that question here, in a separate thread.

The doctrines vital for salvation are contained in the message known as 'the gospel'. The gospel is defined as 'the good news concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ'. The gospel is called by Paul 'the power of God unto salvation'. Both of these statements indicate that the gospel contains those doctrines which are vital for salvation.

What is the simplest method of determining the content and scope of the gospel message? Brother George Booker brilliantly identified the fact that one of the surest methods is to examine the preaching speeches of the apostles in the Acts. When we read these speeches, we are reading what the apostles taught as the gospel.

Let's have a look at where these speeches are in the Acts:

Apostolic Statements of Faith


Peter in Jerusalem - Acts 2:22-42 (Psa. 16:8-11; 110:1-7)

Peter in Jerusalem again - Acts 3:12-26 (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:16-18; Deut. 18:15,19)

Stephen in Jerusalem - Acts 7:2-56 (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; Deut. 18:15,19)

Philip to the Ethiopian - Acts 8:30-39 (Isa. 53:1-12)

Peter to Cornelius - Acts 10:34-48

Paul in Antioch - Acts 13:15-39 (Psa. 2:1-12; Isa. 55:1-13)

Paul in Athens - Acts 17:22-31 (Isa. 45:5-25)

Paul to Felix - Acts 24:14-21

Paul to Festus and Agrippa - Acts 26:2-27

[Fortigurn]

As we can see, the apostles preached in various different places, to all kinds of different people. They preached in Jewish cities, in Greek cities, in Roman cities. They preached to Jews, they preached to Greeks, they preached to Romans.

What we find is that they always preached the same message to all people, wherever they were. That message was the gospel. Let's examine their speeches now and see what they preached.

Details of Apostolic Statements of Faith


Peter's Statement of Essential Doctrines

Acts 2:22-42 (Psa. 16:8-11; 110:1-7)

1. The Bible: the word of God, inspired -
2. One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power - Acts 2:22,23.
3. Jesus, the Son of God -
4. Jesus, a mortal man - Acts 2:22
5. Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice - Acts 2:23
6. Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension - Acts 2:24-33,36 (Psa. 110:1; 16:10,11)
7. Christ as the mediator - Acts 2:42 (Psa. 110:4)
8. The second coming - (Psa. 110:1,2)
9. Resurrection and judgment - (Psa. 110:3)
10. Promises to Abraham: land inheritance -
11. Promises to David: kingdom restored - Acts 2:30,35 (Psa. 110:2,5,6)
12. Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism - Acts 2:38
13. One body: fellowship and breaking of bread - Acts 2:42.

[Fortigurn]

Peter's Second Statement of Essential Doctrines

Acts 3:12-16 (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:16-18; Deut. 18:15,19)

1. The Bible: the word of God, inspired - Acts 3:18-21
2. One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power -
3. Jesus, the Son of God - Acts 3:26
4. Jesus, a mortal man - Acts 3:22 (Deut. 18:15)
5. Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice - Acts 3:13,18
6. Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension - Acts 3:15,21,26 (Gen. 22:17)
7. Christ as the mediator -
8. The second coming - Acts 3:19-21
9. Resurrection and judgment - Acts 3:23 (Deut. 18:19)
10. Promises to Abraham: land inheritance - Acts 3:25 (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:16-18)
11. Promises to David: kingdom restored - Acts 3:19-21
12. Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism - Acts 3:19,26
13. One body: fellowship and breaking of bread - (Gen. 12:3; 22:18)

[Fortigurn]

Steven's Statement of Essential Doctrines

Acts 7:2-56 (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; Deut. 18:15,19)

1. The Bible: the word of God, inspired - Acts 7:38
2. One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power -
3. Jesus, the Son of God -
4. Jesus, a mortal man - Acts 7:37 (Deut. 18:15)
5. Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice - Acts 7:52
6. Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension - Acts 7:55,56
7. Christ as the mediator -
8. The second coming -
9. Resurrection and judgment - Acts 7:37 (Deut. 18:19)
10. Promises to Abraham: land inheritance - Acts 7:2-5 (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17)
11. Promises to David: kingdom restored -
12. Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism -
13. One body: fellowship and breaking of bread - (Gen. 12:3)

[Fortigurn]

Philip's statement of Essential Doctrines

Acts 8:30-39 (Isa. 53:1-12)

1. The Bible: the word of God, inspired - Acts 8:35
2. One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power -
3. Jesus, the Son of God - Acts 8:37
4. Jesus, a mortal man - Acts 8:34 (Isa. 53:3)
5. Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice - (Isa. 53:3-7,10,11)
6. Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension - (Isa. 53:10-12)
7. Christ as the mediator - (Isa. 53:12)
8. The second coming - (Isa. 53:10,11)
9. Resurrection and judgment - (Isa. 53:10,11)
10. Promises to Abraham: land inheritance - (Isa. 53:12)
11. Promises to David: kingdom restored - (Isa. 53:12)
12. Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism - Acts 8:36-38 (Isa. 53:10)
13. One body: fellowship and breaking of bread -

[Fortigurn]

Peter's Third Statement of Essential Doctrines

Acts 10:34-48

1. The Bible: the word of God, inspired - Acts 10:43
2. One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power - Acts 10:38
3. Jesus, the Son of God -
4. Jesus, a mortal man -
5. Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice - Acts 10:38,39
6. Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension - Acts 10:36,40,41
7. Christ as the mediator -
8. The second coming -
9. Resurrection and judgment - Acts 10:42
10. Promises to Abraham: land inheritance -
11. Promises to David: kingdom restored -
12. Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism - Acts 10:36,37,43,47,48
13. One body: fellowship and breaking of bread - Acts 10:34-36,43

[Fortigurn]

Paul's Statement of Essential Doctrines

Acts 13:15-39 (Psa. 2:1-12; Isa. 55:1-13)

1. The Bible: the word of God, inspired - Acts 13:26,27 (Isa. 55:8-11)
2. One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power - (Isa. 55:8,9)
3. Jesus, the Son of God - Acts 13:23 (Psa. 2:7)
4. Jesus, a mortal man - Acts 13:23
5. Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice - Acts 13:27-29
6. Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension - Acts 13:30,31,34 (Isa. 55:3)
7. Christ as the mediator -
8. The second coming -
9. Resurrection and judgment -
10. Promises to Abraham: land inheritance - Acts 13:32,33
11. Promises to David: kingdom restored - Acts 13:23,34 (Psa. 2:6-10; Isa. 55:3,4)
12. Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism - Acts 13:24,38,39 (Psa. 2:12; Isa. 55:6,7)
13. One body: fellowship and breaking of bread -

[Fortigurn]

Paul's Second Statement of Essential Doctrines

Acts 17:22-31 (Isa. 45:5-25)

1. The Bible: the word of God, inspired -
2. One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power - Acts 17:24-29 (Isa. 45:5-8,12,21,22)
3. Jesus, the Son of God -
4. Jesus, a mortal man - Acts 17:31
5. Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice -
6. Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension - Acts 17:31
7. Christ as the mediator -
8. The second coming - Acts 17:31
9. Resurrection and judgment - Acts 17:31
10. Promises to Abraham: land inheritance - (Isa. 45:18)
11. Promises to David: kingdom restored - (Isa. 45:14)
12. Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism - Acts 17:30
13. One body: fellowship and breaking of bread -

[Fortigurn]

Paul's Third Statement of Essential Doctrines

Acts 24:14-21

1. The Bible: the word of God, inspired - Acts 24:14
2. One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power -
3. Jesus, the Son of God -
4. Jesus, a mortal man -
5. Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice -
6. Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension -
7. Christ as the mediator -
8. The second coming -
9. Resurrection and judgment - Acts 24:15,21
10. Promises to Abraham: land inheritance -
11. Promises to David: kingdom restored -
12. Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism -
13. One body: fellowship and breaking of bread -

[Fortigurn]

Paul's Fourth Statement of Essential Doctrines

Acts 26:2-27

1. The Bible: the word of God, inspired - Acts 26:22
2. One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power -
3. Jesus, the Son of God -
4. Jesus, a mortal man -
5. Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice - Acts 26:23
6. Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension - Acts 26:23
7. Christ as the mediator -
8. The second coming -
9. Resurrection and judgment - Acts 26:8
10. Promises to Abraham: land inheritance - Acts 26:6,7,18
11. Promises to David: kingdom restored -
12. Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism - Acts 26:18,20
13. One body: fellowship and breaking of bread - Acts 26:17,18,20,23

[Fortigurn]

It is immediately apparent that:

- The apostles were aware of the critical elements of the gospel, those fundamental truths which summarized the Divine message of salvation

- The apostles preached the same gospel, in the same terms, to everyone - to Jews, to Greeks to Romans

- The apostles did not include every teaching in every speech they made, but they never included any teaching other than those in this list

- The apostles emphasized those teachings of the gospel which were most appropriate to their audience and to the situation

- The apostles knew what the gospel message was, and they were able to preach it consistently

- The apostles identified a collection of teachings which were essential saving truths, and they preached these teachings as the gospel

The speeches of the apostles demonstrate that they had a definite understanding of what was truth, and what was not. Their speeches are nothing other than a statement of their faith.

[Matthew Hawkins]

Pretty good outline Fort, the pattern of repeating itself from scripture is pretty evident enough.

Good stuff.

[echad]

What - nothing about Jesus being "God" in these sermons?

I guess the Lord should have known better than to send an Apostle to handle a Theologian's job


Chris

[echad]

Possible reasons for Apostle's neglect to mention the deity of Christ in the gospel presentations of Acts...

1) They forgot

2) They excluded it because they wanted to make their presentations as brief as possible, so none of their audience would fall asleep before the "altar call"

3) They DID explain it fully, only Luke edited those parts out, as Acts was already running into a "lot of chapters"

4) The Apostles didn't have the "revelation" ( of Christ being God) themselves, until LATER ON when they wrote the epistles...follow-up notices were later sent to all Jews that were present at Pentecost, and to the household of Cornelius, informing them of this important "ammendment" to the gospel. (The "post script" at the bottom of these notices also instructed these first hearer's of the gospel, that if any of them DECLINED to believe this subsequent theological addition, they would be expected to return the Holy Spirit that they had received under "false pretenses")

5) It's THERE...you just have to "read between the lines" <_<


Chris

[Fortigurn]

Fine words Echad! Let's look a little more at early Christian history, shall we? Let's move on to the post-apostolic era and see what we can find...

The earliest Creedal formula could be attributed to Ignatius (Epistle to the Trallians), but for the fact that this is considered one of the spurious epistles wrongly attributed to him, and written later.
Let's examine instead the earliest 'statements of faith' we can find in the post-apostolic writings. We'll deal with Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Hippolytus, all of the second century.

The statement of faith by Irenaeus:

Quote

Chapter X.-Unity of the Faith of the Church Throughout the Whole World.

1. The Church, though dispersed through our the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith:

in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them;

and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation;

and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the dispensations of God,

and the advents, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, {the suffering of Christ}

and the resurrection from the dead,

and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord,

and His manifestation from heaven in the glory of the Father "to gather all things in one,"

and to raise up anew all flesh of the whole human race,

in order that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Saviour, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, "every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess" to Him,

and that He should execute just judgment towards all;

that He may send "spiritual wickednesses," and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, together with the ungodly, and unrighteous, and wicked, and profane among men, into everlasting fire; but may, in the exercise of His grace, confer immortality on the righteous, and holy, and those who have kept His commandments, and have persevered in His love, some from the beginning, and others from their repentance, and may surround them with everlasting glory.

Irenaeus, 'Adversus Haeres', book 1, chapter 10, 185 AD.

[Fortigurn]

The statment of faith by Tertullian:

Quote

The rule of faith, indeed, is altogether one, alone immoveable and irreformable; the rule, to wit,

of believing in one only God omnipotent, the Creator of the universe,

and His Son Jesus Christ,

born of the Virgin Mary,

crucified under Pontius Pilate,

raised again the third day from the dead,

received in the heavens, sitting now at the right (hand) of the Father,

destined to come

to judge quick and dead

through the resurrection of the flesh as well.

Tertullian, 'De Virginibus Velandis', chapter 1, 190 AD.

[Fortigurn]

The statement of faith by Hippolytus:

Quote

12When each of them to be baptized has gone down into the water, the one baptizing shall lay hands on each of them, asking,

"Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?"

13And the one being baptized shall answer, "I believe." 14He shall then baptize each of them once, laying his hand upon each of their heads.

15Then he shall ask, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,

who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died,

and rose on the third day living from the dead,

and ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Father,

the one coming

to judge the living and the dead?"

16When each has answered, "I believe," he shall baptize a second time.

17Then he shall ask, "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit

and the Holy Church

and the resurrection of the flesh?"

18Then each being baptized shall answer, "I believe." And thus let him baptize the third time.

Hippolytus, 'Apostolic Tradition', chapter 21, sections 12-17, 215 AD.

[Fortigurn]

In each creed, I have deliberately laid out each element so that the similarities become obvious.

Let's review the key elements of each statement:


Key Creedal Element: There Is One God, the Father Almighty

Irenaeus: in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them;

Tertullian: in one only God omnipotent, the Creator of the universe,

Hippolytus: "Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?"


Key Creedal Element: Jesus Christ Is the Son of God

Irenaeus: and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God,

Tertullian: and His Son Jesus Christ,

Hippolytus: 15Then he shall ask, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God,


Key Creedal Element: Jesus Christ Was Born of Mary

Irenaeus: and the birth from a virgin,

Tertullian: born of the Virgin Mary,

Hippolytus: {Do you believe in Jesus Christ} ...who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,


Key Creedal Element: Belief In the Holy Spirit

Irenaeus: and in the Holy Spirit,

Tertullian: [not explicit]

Hippolytus: 17Then he shall ask, "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit


Key Creedal Element: The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

Irenaeus: and the passion, {the suffering of Christ}

Tertullian: crucified under Pontius Pilate,

Hippolytus: who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died,


Key Creedal Element: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Irenaeus: and the resurrection from the dead,

Tertullian: raised again the third day from the dead,

Hippolytus: and rose on the third day living from the dead,


Key Creedal Element: The Exaltation of Jesus Christ

Irenaeus: and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord,

Tertullian: received in the heavens, sitting now at the right of the Father,

Hippolytus: and ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Father,


Key Creedal Element: The Return of Jesus Christ

Irenaeus: and His manifestation from heaven in the glory of the Father "to gather all things in one,"

Tertullian: destined to come

Hippolytus: the one coming


Key Creedal Element: The Future Judgment by Jesus Christ

Irenaeus: and that He should execute just judgment towards all;

Tertullian: to judge quick and dead

Hippolytus: to judge the living and the dead?"


Key Creedal Element: The Future Resurection

Irenaeus: and to raise up anew all flesh of the whole human race,

Tertullian: through the resurrection of the flesh as well.

Hippolytus: {Do you believe in} ...the resurrection of the flesh?"

[Fortigurn]

To this witness we can add the statement known as 'The Profession of the Elders at Smyrna', which has this form:

Quote

We also know in truth one God,

we know Christ, we know the Son,

suffering as he suffered,

dying as he died,

and risen on the third day,

and abiding at the right hand of the Father,

and coming

to judge

the living and the dead.

And in saying this we say what has been handed down to us.

'The Profession of the Elders at Smyrna', 180 AD.

The agreement with the earlier statements is obvious.

[Fortigurn]

The slight variations aside, let's put together every agreed on creedal element:

1) There is One God, the Father Almighty.

2) Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

3) Jesus Christ was born of the virgin mary

4) Belief in the Holy Spirit.

5) The crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

6) The resurrection of Jesus Christ.

7) The exaltation of Jesus Christ.

8) The return of Jesus Christ.

9) The future judgment by Jesus Christ.

10) The future resurection.

We have there a very strong level of agreement. Now let's move on.

[Fortigurn]

The first general, external creedal statement (that is, a Christian confessional statement of faith which is not contained in an individual's letter, as these are, but is a general statement to which Christians are to confess), is referred to as 'The Apostles' Creed'. Various forms of this faith statement exist, the earliest of which is in Greek, recorded by Marcellus of Ancyra (341 AD), the next form given in Latin by Rufinus of Aquileia (390 AD), and later forms thereafter.

Marcellus gives us the following form, in Greek:

Quote

I believe in God the Father Almighty.

And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord,

who was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary;

crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried;

the third day He rose from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,

and sitteth at the right hand of the Father,

from thence He shall come

to judge

the quick and the dead.

And in the Holy Spirit;

the holy ecclesia;

the forgiveness of sins;

the resurrection of the body;

the life everlasting.

Marcellus of Ancyra, 341 AD.

Again, the agreement with the ealier creedal statements is manifest. This, however, is a general Christian statement of faith, which Marcellus records as having preceded him, and as being confessed by Christians as a statement of their faith. It is not simply a creation of Marcellus - this is the communal Christian statement of faith known to him.

[Fortigurn]

Rufinus gives us the following form, in Latin:

Quote

I believe in God the Father Almighty.

And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord,

who was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary;

crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried;

the third day He rose from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,

and sitteth at the right hand of the Father,

from thence He shall come

to judge

the quick and the dead.

And in the Holy Spirit;

the holy ecclesia;

the forgiveness of sins;

the resurrection of the body.

Rufinus of Aquileia, 390 AD

As you can see, it is identical to that of Marcellus, with the exception of the last clause.

It is therefore apparent that there existed from an early date a creedal statement, a general Chrisian statement of faith, which was confessed by those who held to the Christian faith.

Both Marcellus and Rufinus attest that they are quoting an earlier document, known both to them and to Christians everywhere, and it is clear that this creedal statement recorded by them has very early roots.

[Fortigurn]

I quote here from the International Standard Encyclopaedia of the Bible, which provides a good commentary on the issue:

Quote

The legend was that the creed took shape at the dictation of the Twelve Apostles, each of whom contributed a special article. Thus, Peter, it was alleged, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, commenced, "I believe in God the Father Almighty"; Andrew (or according to others, John) continued, "And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord"; James the elder went on, "Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost," etc.

This legend is not older than the 5th or 6th centuries, and is absurd on the face of it.

1. Baptismal Confession:

The real origin of the creed has now been traced with great exactness. The original germ of it is to be sought for in the baptismal confession made by converts in the reception of that rite.

The primitive confession may have contained no more than "I believe that Jesus is the Son of God," but we have evidence within the New Testament itself that it soon became enlarged.

Paul speaks of the "form of teaching" delivered to converts (Romans 6:17), and reminds Timothy of "the good (beautiful) confession" he had made in sight of many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:12). Similar language is used of Christ's confession before Pilate (1 Timothy 6:13).

We may perhaps conjecture from the epistles that Timothy's confession contained references to God as the author of life, to Jesus Christ and His descent from David, to His witness before Pontius Pilate, to His being raised from the dead, to His coming again to judge the quick and the dead (1 Timothy 6:13; 2 Timothy 2:8; 4:1).

Early Christian writers, as Ignatius (110 AD), and Aristides the apologist (circa 125 AD), show traces of other clauses.

2. "Rule of Faith":

In any case, the fact is certain that before the middle of the 2nd century the confession at baptism had crystallized into tolerably settled shape in all the greater churches.
We have accounts given us of its contents (besides the Old Roman Form) in Irenaeus, Tertullian, Novatian, Origen, etc.; and they show substantial unity with a certain freedom of form in expression.

But the form in the Roman church came gradually to be the recognized type. After the middle of the century, the confession rose to new importance as the result of the Gnostic controversies, and assumed more of the character of a formal creed.

It came to be known as the "Rule of Truth," or "Rule of Faith," and was employed to check the license of interpretation of Scripture of these fantastic heretical speculators. The creed had originated independently of Scripture--in the early oral teaching and preaching of the apostles; hence its value as a witness to the common faith. But it was not used to supersede Scripture; it was held to corroborate Scripture, where men by their allegorical and other perversions sought to wrest Scripture from its real sense. It was employed as a check on those who sought to allegorize away the Christian faith.

III. History of the Creed.

1. The Roman Creed:

The Old Roman Form of the creed was, as said above, certainly in use by the middle of the 2nd century, in Rome; probably a considerable time before. We have it in both its Greek and Latin forms (the Greek being probably the original). The Latin form is given by Rufinus about 390 AD who compares it with the creed of his own church of Aquileia--a very old church.

The Greek form is preserved by Marcellus, of Ancyra,in the 4th century. The old shorter form of the creed long maintained itself. We find it in England, e.g. up to nearly the time of the Norman Conquest (in 8th or 9th century manuscripts in British Museum).

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, article by James Orr, 'Apostles' Creed, The', 1915.

[Fortigurn]

So when a contact asked me:

Quote

Do you have any information (or can you point me in the direction of some) concerning early church doctrine or beliefs of groups/individuals in the first few centuries AD that would be in agreement with Christadelphian teaching.

I answered:

1) The creedal confession recorded by Irenaeus (180 AD).

2) The creedal confession recorded by the 'elders of Smyrna' (180 AD).

3) The creedal confession recorded by Tertullian (190 AD).

4) The creedal confession recorded by Hippolytus (215 AD).

5) The creedal confession recorded by Marcellus (341 AD).

6) The creedal confession recorded by Rufinus (390 AD).

This confession, it is belived by many scholars, dates to well inside the 2nd century - and some would place it even within the first. It is manifestly the most common and well received Christian statement of faith, as well as the most ancient. The tenacity to which the Christian community held to it is truly remarkable, although it was later replaced as a result of various later doctrinal developments with which it was not in harmony.

[mattquarterstein]

This is really good stuff. Thanks Fort.