why if christianity reflected god s word through both the old and new testaments were there so many competing christianities with clearly different beliefs compare for example the jewish christianity of jesus brother james and the disciples in jerusa
Why, if Christianity reflected God’s word through both the Old and New Testaments, were there so many competing Christianities with clearly different beliefs? Compare for example the Jewish Christianity of Jesus’ brother James and the disciples in Jerusalem, the gentile based Christianity of Paul in the Roman empire (especially the northeastern Mediterranean region), and the Gnostic Christians of Egypt and Syria? What were the differences and similarities among the three? Which became more socially powerful and why? Did the ultimate dominance of Roman Catholicism reflect power or Truth?
Compare the Christian multiplicity with the Islamic situation. Do you see any similarities or differences in the evolution of the two religious complexes?
When giving your comments make sure that you cite your sources. You may only use the assigned sources, i.e. Holloway, Nadeau, Wright, primary documents that are provided, and lectures.
To cite texts, use this format (author pg#), e.g. (Holloway 17). To cite primary documents cite the author of the document and page number, if available, or if no author is available the first significant word of the documents, e.g. (Psalms 7:5). For the lecture, give the instructor along with the lecture number and slide number: (Colling lecture/slide #) e.g. (Colling 2/47).
Respond to at least one other student’s posting. Do not just agree with someone. Say why you agree with them and cite sources. The intent of the discussions is to exchange ideas with each other and debate where your ideas conflict. Feel free to disagree and, of course, you must detail why you disagree. Just be kind about it.
For insights into the differences between Gnostics and Catholics, compare views on Judas:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/judastxt.pdf (Links to an external site.)
