Traditionally in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

orthodoxy Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Church ...

and

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important relig ...

have been viewed in relation to the "orthodoxy" as an authentic lineage of tradition. Other forms of Christianity were viewed as deviant streams of thought and therefore " heterodox", or heretical. This view was challenged by the publication of Walter Bauer's ''Rechtgläubigkeit und Ketzerei im ältesten Christentum'' ("Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity") in 1934. Bauer endeavored to rethink

Early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewis ...

historically, independent from the views of the current church. He stated that the 2nd-century church was very diverse and included many "heretical" groups that had an equal claim to apostolic tradition. Bauer interpreted the struggle between the ''orthodox'' and ''heterodox'' to be the "mainstream" Church of Rome struggling to attain dominance. He presented Edessa and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

as places where the "orthodoxy" of Rome had little influence during the 2nd century. As he saw it, the theological thought of the "Orient" (in this case the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...

) at the time would later be labeled "heresy". The response by modern scholars has been mixed. Some scholars clearly support Bauer's conclusions and others express concerns about his "attacking forthodox sources with inquisitional zeal and exploiting to a nearly absurd extent the

argument from silence To make an argument from silence (Latin: ''argumentum ex silentio'') is to express a conclusion that is based on the absence of statements in historical documents, rather than their presence.John Lange, ''The Argument from Silence'', History and T ...

." However, modern scholars have critiqued and updated Bauer's model. According to Keith Hopkins, the claimed institutional unity of the Christian Church was propaganda constantly repeated by orthodox Christian writers, rather than a genuine historical reality.

Divisions

One of the discussions among scholars of early Christianity in the past century is to what extent it is appropriate to speak of "

" and "

Higher criticism Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

drastically altered the previous perception that heresy was a very rare exception to the orthodoxy. Bauer was particularly influential in the reconsideration of the historical model. During the 1970s, increasing focus on the effect of social, political and economic circumstances on the formation of early Christianity occurred as Bauer's work found a wider audience. A movement away from presuming the correctness or dominance of the orthodoxy is seen as understandable, in light of modern approaches. However, some feel that instead of an even and neutral approach to historical analysis that the heterodox sects are given an assumption of superiority over the orthodox (or proto-orthodox) movement. The current debate is vigorous and broad. While it is difficult to summarize all current views, general statements may be made, remembering that such broad strokes will have exceptions in specific cases.

Adoptionism

An early form of Adoptionism, the doctrine that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

became the son of God by adoption, held that Jesus was born human only, and that he became

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

, by adoption at his

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

, being chosen because of his sinless devotion to the will of God. The first representatives of this view were the Ebionites.The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ): ''Adoptianism'' They understood Jesus as

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

and Son of God in terms of the anointing at his baptism. While the 27 books that became the New Testament canon present Jesus as fully human, Adoptionists (who may have used non-canonical gospels) in addition excluded any miraculous origin for him, seeing him as simply the child of Joseph and Mary, born of them in the normal way. Some scholars regard a non-canonical gospel used by the Ebionites, now lost except for fragments quoted in the '' Panarion'' of

Epiphanius of Salamis Epiphanius of Salamis ( grc-gre, Ἐπιφάνιος; c. 310–320 – 403) was the bishop of Salamis, Cyprus, at the end of the 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He ...

, as the first to be written, and believe Adoptionist theology may predate the New Testament. Others, on the contrary, consider that this work "clearly presupposes the canonical Gospels." This gospel's account of the

baptism of Jesus The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bet ...

, as quoted by Epiphanius, says that the voice from heaven declared: "This day have I begotten thee", a phrase echoing , and some see this phrase as supporting the doctrine that it was at his baptism ("this day") that Jesus became God's (adopted) son. These words from Psalm 2 are also used twice in the canonical '' Epistle to the Hebrews'', which on the contrary presents Jesus as the

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some curren ...

"through whom (God) made the universe." The Adoptionist view was later developed by adherents of the form of

Monarchianism Monarchianism is a Christian theology that emphasizes God as one indivisible being,
at Catholic Encyclopedia, newadvent.org

that is represented by

Theodotus of Byzantium Theodotus of Byzantium ( grc, Θεόδoτoς ''Theodotos''; also known as Theodotus the Tanner, Theodotus the Shoemaker, Theodotus the Cobbler, and Theodotus the Fuller; flourished late 2nd century) was an Adoptionist theologian from Byzantium, o ...

and Paul of Samosata. Adoptionism clearly conflicted with the claim, as in the ''Gospel of John'' (see

Alogi The Alogi (ἄλογοι), also called Alogoi or Alogians, were a group of heterodox Christians in Asia Minor that flourished c. 200 CE, and taught that the Gospel of John and the Apocalypse of John (Book of Revelation) were not the work of the Ap ...

for those who rejected the Gospel of John), that Jesus is the eternal

Word A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...

, and it was declared a heresy by

Pope Victor I Pope Victor I (died 199) was the bishop of Rome in the late second century (189–199 A.D.). The dates of his tenure are uncertain, but one source states he became pope in 189 and gives the year of his death as 199.Kirsch, Johann Peter (1912). "Po ...

at the end of the 2nd century. It was formally rejected by the First Council of Nicaea (325), which wrote the orthodox doctrine of the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son (the co-eminence of the Holy Spirit, and thus the Trinity, did not come about until the Fourth Ecumenical ouncil of Chalcedonin AD 451) and identified Jesus as eternally begotten.

Arianism

Arianism, declared by the ''Council of Nicaea'' to be

, denied the full divinity of Jesus Christ, and is so called after its leader

Arius Arius (; grc-koi, Ἄρειος, ; 250 or 256 – 336) was a Cyrenaic presbyter, ascetic, and priest best known for the doctrine of Arianism. His teachings about the nature of the Godhead in Christianity, which emphasized God the Father's ...

.Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ): article ''Arianism'' It has been called the most challenging heresy in the history of the Church.Durant, Will. Caesar and Christ. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1972 Arius, born probably in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

between c. 260 and 280, was ordained a priest in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

in 312–313. Under Bishop Alexander (313-326), probably in about 319, he came forward as a champion of

subordinationist Subordinationalism is a Trinitarian doctrine, where the Son (and sometimes the Holy Spirit included) are subordinate to the Father. Not only in submission and role, but with actual ontological subordination to varying degrees. Subordinationism is ...

teaching about the person of Christ.Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ): article ''Arius'' Arius appears to have held that the ''" Son of God"'' was not eternal but created by the Father as an instrument for creating the world and therefore not God by nature, different from other creatures in being the one direct creation of God. The controversy quickly spread, with Arius seeking support from other disciples of his teacher Lucian of Antioch, notably

Eusebius of Nicomedia Eusebius of Nicomedia (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος; died 341) was an Arian priest who baptized Constantine the Great on his deathbed in 337. A fifth-century legend evolved that Pope Saint Sylvester I was the one to baptize Constantine, but thi ...

, while a local synod under Alexander excommunicated Arius. Because of the agitation aroused by the dispute, Emperor

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

sent Hosius of Córdoba to Alexandria to attempt a settlement; but the mission failed. Accordingly, in 325, Constantine convened the ''First Council of Nicaea'', which, largely through the influence of

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

, then a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

but destined to be Alexander's successor, defined the co-eternity and coequality of the Father and the

, using the now famous term ''"

homoousios Homoousion ( ; grc, ὁμοούσιον, lit=same in being, same in essence, from , , "same" and , , "being" or "essence") is a Christian theological term, most notably used in the Nicene Creed for describing Jesus ( God the Son) as "same in ...

"'' to express the oneness of their being, while Arius and some bishops who supported him, including Eusebius, were banished. This council marks the end of the ''Early Christian'' period and the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils.

Docetism

Docetism (from the Greek ''dokeō'', "to seem") is the belief that

' physical body was an illusion, as was his

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

; that is, Jesus only ''seemed'' to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. This belief treats the sentence "the Word was made Flesh" ('' John 1:14'') as merely figurative. Docetic theology was a prominent feature of dualistic gnostics.

Ebionites

The Ebionites ("poor ones") were a sect of Jewish Christians who flourished in the early centuries of Christianity, especially east of the

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. They emphasized the binding character of the Mosaic Law and believed Jesus was the human son of Mary and Joseph. They seem to have been

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

s, and are said to have rejected Paul's epistles and to have used only one

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

Gnosticism

Several distinct religious sects, some of them Christian, adhered to an array of beliefs that would later be termed

Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized p ...

. One such sect, that of the Simonians, was said to have been founded by Simon Magus, the Samaritan who is mentioned in the 1st-century and who figures prominently in several apocryphal and heresiological accounts by Early Christian writers, who regarded him as the source of all heresies. The most successful Christian Gnostic was the priest Valentinus (c. 100 - c. 160), who founded a Gnostic church in Rome and developed an elaborate cosmology. Gnostics considered the material world to be a prison created by a fallen or evil spirit, the god of the material world (called the

demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge'' ...

). Gnostics identified the God of the Hebrew Bible as this demiurge. Secret knowledge (gnosis) was said to liberate one's soul to return to the true God in the realm of light. Valentinus and other Christian gnostics identified Jesus as the Savior, a spirit sent from the true God into the material world to liberate the souls trapped there. While there appear to be Gnostic elements in some early Christian writing,

Irenaeus Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the de ...

and others condemned Gnosticism as a heresy, rejecting its dualistic cosmology and vilification of the material world and the creator of that world. Gnostics thought the God of the Old Testament was not the true God. It was considered to be the

and either fallen, as taught by Valentinus (c. 100 - c. 160), or evil, as taught by the Sethians and Ophites. The

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

, according to Stephen L Harris, both includes Gnostic elements and refutes Gnostic beliefs, presenting a dualistic universe of light and dark, spirit and matter, good and evil, much like the Gnostic accounts, but instead of escaping the material world, Jesus bridges the spiritual and physical worlds. Raymond E. Brown wrote that even though gnostics interpreted John to support their doctrines, the author didn't intend that. The Johannine epistles were written (whether by the author of the Gospel or someone in his circle) to argue against gnostic doctrines. The Gospel of Thomas, it is often claimed, has some Gnostic elements but lacks the full Gnostic cosmology. However, even the description of these elements as "gnostic" is based mainly upon the presupposition that the text as a whole is a "gnostic" gospel, and this idea itself is based upon little other than the fact that it was found along with gnostic texts at Nag Hammadi. The scene in John in which "

doubting Thomas A doubting Thomas is a skeptic who refuses to believe without direct personal experience — a reference to the Gospel of John's depiction of the Apostle Thomas, who, in John's account, refused to believe the resurrected Jesus had appeared t ...

" ascertains that the resurrected Jesus is physical refutes the Gnostic idea that Jesus returned to spirit form after death. The written gospel draws on an earlier oral tradition associated with Thomas. Some scholars argue that the Gospel of John was meant to oppose the beliefs of that community. Some believe that Gnostic Christianity was a later development, some time around the middle or late 2nd century, around the time of Valentinus. Gnosticism was in turn made up of many smaller groups, some of which did not claim any connection to Jesus Christ. In Mandaeist Gnosticism, Mandaeans maintain that

was a mšiha kdaba or " false messiah" who perverted the teachings entrusted to him by John the Baptist. The word k(a)daba, however, derives from two roots in Mandaic: the first root, meaning "to lie", is the one traditionally ascribed to Jesus; the second, meaning "to write", might provide a second meaning, that of "book"; hence some Mandaeans, motivated perhaps by an ecumenical spirit, maintain that Jesus was not a "lying Messiah" but a "Book Messiah", the "book" in question presumably being the Christian Gospels. This however seems to be a folk etymology without support in the Mandaean texts. A modern view has argued that

Marcionism Marcionism was an early Christian dualistic belief system that originated with the teachings of Marcion of Sinope in Rome around the year 144. Marcion was an early Christian theologian, evangelist, and an important figure in early Christiani ...

is mistakenly reckoned among the Gnostics, and really represents a fourth interpretation of the significance of Jesus. Gnostics freely exchanged concepts and texts. It is considered likely that Valentinius was influenced by previous concepts such as Sophia, or by Simon Magus, as much as he influenced others.

Marcionism

In 144, the Church in Rome expelled

Marcion of Sinope Marcion of Sinope (; grc, Μαρκίων ; ) was an early Christian theologian in early Christianity. Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ who was an entirely new, alien god, distinct from the vengeful God of Israel who had created ...

. He thereupon set up his own separate ecclesiastical organization, later called Marcionism. Like the Gnostics, he promoted dualism. Unlike the Gnostics, however, he founded his beliefs not on secret knowledge (gnosis) but on the vast difference between what he saw as the "evil" deity of the ''Old Testament'' and the God of love of the ''New Testament'', on which he expounded in his ''Antithesis''. Consequently, Marcionists were vehemently anti-Judaist in their beliefs. They rejected the Jewish-Christian Gospel according to the Hebrews (see also Jewish-Christian Gospels) and all the other Gospels with the single exception of the Gospel of Marcion, which appears to be a redacted version of the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascensi ...

. From the perspectives of Tertullian and Epiphanius it appeared that Marcion rejected the non-Lukan gospels; however, in Marcion's time, it may be that the only gospel he was familiar with from Pontus was the gospel of Luke. Although it has been suggested by some that Marcion's gospel pre-dated canonical Luke, the dominant scholarly view is that the Marcionite Gospel was a redaction of canonical Luke in order to conform to Marcion's anti-Jewish stance. Marcion argued that Christianity should be solely based on

Christian Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love ...

. He went so far as to say that Jesus' mission was to overthrow

Demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge'' ...

—the fickle, cruel, despotic God of the Old Testament—and replace Him with the Supreme God of Love whom Jesus came to reveal. Marcion was labeled a gnostic by

. Irenaeus labeled Marcion this because of Marcion expressing this core gnostic belief, that the creator God of the Jews and the Old Testament was the

. This position, he said, was supported by the ten Epistles of Paul that Marcion also accepted. His writing had a profound effect upon the development of Christianity and the canon.

Montanism

About 156, Montanus launched a ministry of prophecy, criticizing Christians as increasingly worldly and bishops as increasingly autocratic. Traveling in his native

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, he and two women preached a return to primitive Christian simplicity, prophecy, celibacy, and asceticism. Tertullian, "having grown

puritanical The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

with age", embraced Montanism as a more outright application of Christ's teaching. Montanus's followers revered him as the Paraclete that Christ had promised, and he led his sect out into a field to meet the New Jerusalem. His sect spread across the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

, survived persecution, and relished martyrdom. The Church banned them as a heresy, and in the 6th century

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renova ...

ordered the sect's extinction. The sect's ecstasy,

speaking in tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

, and other details are similar to those found in modern

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Trinitarianism

According to

Bart Ehrman Bart Denton Ehrman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, includin ...

, trinitarianism was not taught by the historical Jesus and his apostles. In his view, trinitarinism was a response to various creeds which have been labeled as heresies; it was a result of theological disputes that took centuries. On the other hand, according to the "New ''Religionsgeschichtliche Schule''", c.q. "Early High Christology Club", which includes

Martin Hengel Martin Hengel (14 December 1926 – 2 July 2009) was a German historian of religion, focusing on the " Second Temple Period" or "Hellenistic Period" of early Judaism and Christianity. Biography Hengel was born in Reutlingen, south of Stuttgart, ...

Larry Hurtado Larry Weir Hurtado, (December 29, 1943 – November 25, 2019), was an American New Testament scholar, historian of early Christianity, and Emeritus Professor of New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology at the University of Edinburgh ( ...

, N. T. Wright, and Richard Bauckham, the "incarnation Christology" or "high Christology" did not evolve over a longer time, but was a "big bang" of ideas which were already present at the start of Christianity, and took further shape in the first few decades of the church, as witnessed in the writings of Paul. Some 'Early High Christology' proponents scholars argue that this "high Christology" may go back to Jesus himself.

References

Bibliography

* Walter Bauer, ''Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity'', Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971, (original German edition: 1934). * Berard, Wayne Daniel. ''When Christians Were Jews (That Is, Now)''. Cowley Publications (2006). . * Boatwright, Mary Taliaferro & Gargola, Daniel J & Talbert, Richard John Alexander. ''The Romans: From Village to Empire''. Oxford University Press (2004). . * Dauphin, C. "De l'Église de la circoncision à l'Église de la gentilité – sur une nouvelle voie hors de l'impasse"
''Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. Liber Annuus XLIII''
(1993). * James D. G. Dunn, ''Unity and Diversity in the New Testament: An Inquiry into the Character of Earliest Christianity'', Londra, SCM Press, 1990. * Dunn, James D.G. ''Jews and Christians: The Parting of the Ways'', A.D. 70 to 135. Pp 33–34. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing (1999). . * * * Ehrman, Bart D. ''Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why''. HarperCollins (2005). . * * Esler, Philip F. ''The Early Christian World''. Routledge (2004). . * Harris, Stephen L. ''Understanding the Bible''. Mayfield (1985). . * Hartog, Paul A., ed., ''Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christian Contexts: Reconsidering the Bauer Thesis'', Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock (2015). * * Hunt, Emily Jane. ''Christianity in the Second Century: The Case of Tatian''. Routledge (2003). . * Keck, Leander E. ''Paul and His Letters''. Fortress Press (1988). . * * Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan. ''The Christian Tradition: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600)''. University of Chicago Press (1975). . * Pritz, Ray A., ''Nazarene Jewish Christianity From the End of the New Testament Period Until Its Disappearance in the Fourth Century''. Magnes Press - E.J. Brill, Jerusalem - Leiden (1988). * Richardson, Cyril Charles. ''Early Christian Fathers''. Westminster John Knox Press (1953). . * Stark, Rodney.''The Rise of Christianity''. Harper Collins Pbk. Ed edition 1997. * Stambaugh, John E. & Balch, David L. ''The New Testament in Its Social Environment''. John Knox Press (1986). . * Tabor, James D
"Ancient Judaism: Nazarenes and Ebionites"
''The Jewish Roman World of Jesus''. Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (1998). * Taylor, Joan E. ''Christians and the Holy Places: The Myth of Jewish-Christian Origins''. Oxford University Press (1993). . * Thiede, Carsten Peter. ''The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish Origins of Christianity''. Palgrabe Macmillan (2003). . * Turner, H. E. W., ''The Pattern of Christian Truth: A Study in the Relations Between Orthodoxy and Heresy in the Early Church'', London, Mowbray (1954). Reprint: Eugene, OR, Wipf & Stock (2004). * Valantasis, Richard. ''The Making of the Self: Ancient and Modern Asceticism''. James Clarke & Co (2008)

* White, L. Michael. ''From Jesus to Christianity''. HarperCollins (2004). . * Wright, N.T. ''The New Testament and the People of God''. Fortress Press (1992). . * Wylen, Stephen M. ''The Jews in the Time of Jesus: An Introduction''. Paulist Press (1995). .

External links

Early ChristiansEbionitesEarly Christian WritingsChristian Classics Ethereal LibraryEarly Church Texts
(free Ebook - English or Arabic)
Catholic Encyclopedia: The Fathers of the ChurchPBS Frontline: The First Christians
* ttp://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/JDTABOR/indexb.html The Jewish Roman World of Jesus {{DEFAULTSORT:Diversity In Early Christian Theology Heresy in ancient Christianity History of Christian theology