Ebionites as first Christians?

[DictatorCzar]

I was debating some random Muslim and he was saying ebionism was the first Christianity? Anythijg about this?

 

[GioG12]

Well Islam and Ebionism share some similarities when it comes to beliefs (Jesus not being divine etc.). Muhammad might have been exposed to ebionism during his life and might have influenced Islam in a way. And from what I have read and heard, Islam, just like ebionism is a christian heresy not a post-christian religion. Just say Catholicism is the original form of Christianity which is both a biblical and historical fact.

 

[Niblo]

I was debating some random Muslim and he was saying ebionism was the first Christianity? Anythijg about this?

According to the Encyclopedia Britanica, the Ebionites were: ‘An early sect of Jewish Christians… one of several such sects that originated in and around Palestine in the first centuries AD and included the Nazarenes and Elkasites. The name of the sect is from the Hebrew ebyonim, or ebionim (“the poor”); it was not founded, as later Christian writers stated, by a certain Ebion.’

Yeshua (peace and blessings be upon him) was, of course, a Jew…as were his earliest followers.

 

[Wesrock]

The Ebionites were similar to the Judaizing sects St. Paul is often disputing with in his letters and which the Council of Jerusalem in the Book of Acts rejected the teachings of.

 

[BartholomewB]

So little is known about the Ebionites that almost anything you can say about them is little more than a guess. However, at least two things can be said about them with a reasonable degree of certainty.

First, the Ebionites were a sect within Judaism who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. However, they denied his divinity, which means, in today’s terms, that we would probably describe them as only borderline Christians, in the same way, for example, that the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are borderline Christians.

Second, even if you concede that the Ebionites were truly Christians, they were far from being the first Christians. They are first heard of at a later date than Paul’s churches in Ephesus, Philippi and elsewhere, which in turn were later than the first churches in Jerusalem and Antioch, described in the Acts of the Apostles.

 

[Niblo]

However, they denied his divinity, which means, in today’s terms, that we would probably describe them as only borderline Christians, in the same way, for example, that the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are borderline Christians.

Would you apply this description to Biblical Unitarians, who - as you know - also deny Yeshua’s divinity? About fifty years ago I knew a BU very well, and had many a discussion on the Trinity. One day, I became so frustrated I thrust my Bible under his nose and hissed ‘This is my Book…what’s yours?’ (I was rather fiery in those days!). To my amazement he smiled, and gently took the Bible from my hand. ‘This’, he replied. I was stunned. How could this guy - no fool, by the way - read the very same verses as I, and yet come to quite different conclusions?

 

[RolandThompsonGunner]

Would you apply this description to Biblical Unitarians, who - as you know - also deny Yeshua’s divinity?

I certainly would. Jesus’ divinity is like Christianity 101. I assume if someone claimed to be a Muslim, and then proceeded to reject every core tenet of orthodox Islam, you’d say “well, no, you’re not.”

Doesn’t imply any animosity or anything. I’m married to a non-Christian. But words have meaning and we can’t just butcher the language.

 

[BartholomewB]

There are one or two questions I’d like to ask a Unitarian, if I ever meet one. So far I have never had that pleasure, either face to face or online. If you don’t mind, @Niblo, I’ll defer my answer to your question until I feel more confident about it.

 

[Niblo]

Why would I mind. On the contrary, I think your answer is excellent. Only a fool passes judgement on a notion he knows little or nothing about.

 

[CRM_Brother]

To say that Ebionism was the first true form of Christianity is somewhat ironic. The term ‘Ebionism’ was first recorded by St. Irenaeus (c. 180) as a heretical sect which was distinct from orthodox Christianity. St Justin Martyr (c. 140), although he does not mention Ebionism by name, was the first to describe Ebionism’s doctrine and subsequently argues against it.

The fact that Ebionism rejects all Gospels but Matthew (and even then, they reject the first three chapters) denote that Ebionism began as a local sect which which sprang up a time after the Apostle’s death. St. Matthew wrote an original Gospel in Hebrew which circulated for a short time before he wrote the Gospel we have today in Greek for universal circulation. If the Ebionites were truly the first Christian group, then they would have used his first Gospel to the Hebrews as their basic religious text, not Matthew’s latter Greek one. While it’s existence was historically noted, it disappeared circa by 100 AD.

What is also telling as to their later existence is that the Ebionites revered James the Just (brother of Jesus) above all other Saints. This fact denotes a foundation which is somewhat removed from the early days of the Church. They revere him as the head of the Church since they say that he was the first bishop of Jerusalem. This is a distortion of historical fact. James the Just was actually the second bishop of Jerusalem. He only became bishop after the beheading of the Apostle, James the Greater. Their devotional legend of St. James the Just blends the two Saints together, also speaking of a historical distance from those events.

 

[Hodos]

I was debating some random Muslim and he was saying ebionism was the first Christianity? Anythijg about this?

The Ebionites were never Christian. They rejected the divinity of Jesus Christ. Even in the earliest writings, provided by the apostles, Christ’s divinity was always affirmed by the apostles. Paul speaks of this in places such as in Philippians and Titus. John speaks of it in his gospel. Luke affirms the divinity of Christ throughout Luke and Acts. The author of Hebrews likewise affirms the divinity of Christ. Early Christians such as Epiphanius always considered the Ebionites as heretical in their beliefs about Jesus Christ.

 

[Niblo]

I assume if someone claimed to be a Muslim, and then proceeded to reject every core tenet of orthodox Islam, you’d say “well, no, you’re not.” Doesn’t imply any animosity or anything

Thank you for your comments.

I don’t sense animosity in what you say, so please be at peace.

There are five articles of faith in Islam: Belief in the Exalted; and belief in the angels, the scriptures, the prophets, and Judgement Day. However, Imam Malik – founder of the school of Islamic Jurisprudence that bears his name – said: ‘Whoever commits an act that carries 99 aspects of disbelief and one aspect of faith, he is still a believer.’ (Quoted in a fatwa – a legal opinion – in the site ‘Dar al-Ifta al Masrriyah’).

In short, declaring another Muslim - or any individual - to be a non-believer is something to be avoided. Only the Exalted can perceive what is in the heart; can know with certainty what a person truly believes, and why.

On the other hand, a person who openly ‘reject(s) every core tenet of orthodox Islam’ is declaring themselves to be a non-Muslim. Even then, it is a matter between the person and the Exalted.