Jesus's Church, as depicted in the Acts of the Apostles, is often perceived as a simple and authentic community of believers dedicated to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Through breaking bread and communal prayer, they demonstrated unity and devotion to faith. However, the later development of Christian denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and various Protestant communities, was marked by significant influences from Judaism, Greek and Roman culture, politics, power, violence, and wealth. This essay explores the claim that the originality of Jesus's Church from the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles has been lost through these influences and that it no longer exists today.
Authenticity of the Early Church
The Acts of the Apostles describe the early Christian community as a group of believers devoted to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers (Acts 2:42). This description provides a glimpse of what the first Church looked like. The elements listed in this verse were later theologically and doctrinally interpreted in various ways.
Nonetheless, these early Christians shared everything they had and cared for one another, representing the essential simplicity and purity of their faith. In such an environment, we can see the reflection of Jesus's original message of love, fellowship, and service to others.
Influences of Judaism
After Jesus's death, his followers, who were mostly Jews, continued to practice many aspects of Judaism. Early Christians attended synagogues, celebrated Jewish holidays, and followed the Mosaic Law (Acts 21:20-26). Over time, however, Christianity began to separate more and more from Judaism, which is evident in the New Testament texts that testify to the theological differences between Jews and Christians.
Yet, Jewish elements remained present. The Orthodox Church, for example, aligned its liturgical organization and space with patterns from the Jewish temple, raising questions about whether this was Jesus's original intention. This influence of Judaism in the Orthodox Church can be seen in the structure of church buildings, the arrangement of liturgical space, and the symbolism used in rituals, similar to the layout of the Jewish temple.
Hellenistic and Roman Influences
As Christianity grew and spread beyond the Jewish community, it became increasingly influenced by Hellenistic culture. Philosophical ideas from Plato and Aristotle began to shape Christian theology. The Roman imperial structure also influenced church hierarchy and organization. Constantine's acceptance of Christianity in the 4th century and the subsequent declaration of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire led to a syncretism of faith and politics.
This process of synthesis with Hellenistic and Roman culture resulted in the introduction of elements that were not present in the original Christian community, such as ceremonial splendor and a hierarchical structure similar to Roman administration.
Politics, Power, and Authority
The Roman Catholic Church, which developed from these early Christian communities, became a powerful institution. The Pope assumed the role of not only a spiritual but also a political leader, often forming alliances and conflicts with kings and emperors. This mixing of faith and politics led to many conflicts, including the Crusades and the Inquisition, where the church used violence to maintain its power and influence.
Reformation and the Protestant Movement
In the 16th century, Martin Luther initiated the Reformation, criticizing corruption and abuse of power within the Catholic Church. The Reformation led to the creation of numerous Protestant denominations, each with its interpretation of the Bible, that is, Christian teachings. Although the reformers claimed to strive for a return to original Christian values, their teachings were formulated in line with the circumstances and context of their conflict with Rome in the 16th century.
The new denominations were also subject to power, political influences, and conflicts, or they turned into cults. In any case, claiming that in certain Protestant or neo-Protestant denominations, communities, and cults, the original church of Jesus lives is mere self-deception. They are also only products of their time.
Question of Jesus's Intentions and the Reliability of the New Testament
One of the key questions is how certain we can be about what Jesus truly wanted and taught. The New Testament, as the primary source of Jesus's teachings, was composed decades after his death, canonized centuries later, underwent numerous edits, and is subject to various interpretations. Historians and theologians often disagree about the authenticity of certain texts and their interpretations. Later church councils, such as the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), formulated doctrines often influenced by political and cultural factors, perhaps more than by the original teachings of Jesus.
This raises the question of whether the Church, shortly after its foundation, became precisely what Jesus criticized in the Jewish religion. Jesus often criticized the Pharisees and Sadducees for their legalism, corruption, and hypocrisy (Matthew 23). Similarly, as the later Church became more institutionalized and powerful, it displayed characteristics similar to the institutions Jesus criticized. Church hierarchy, ceremonialism, wealth, and political power often contrasted with the simplicity and modesty of the original community of Jesus's followers.
Conclusion
Studying the history of Christianity, we can see how various influences, from Judaism to Greco-Roman culture, politics, and power, shaped the development of the Church. The original simplicity and fellowship of the early Church, as depicted in the Acts of the Apostles, are hard to recognize in today's Christian denominations. Each of these denominations bears traces of its history, culture, and social conditions in which it developed. It is also difficult to determine how much later church teachings and structures were in line with the original teachings of Jesus. At the very least, we can question how much today's Christian spirituality fundamentally resembles that of the early years of the Church. Thus, we can conclude that today's Christianity is the result of complex and inevitable processes of mixing various influences, which makes it challenging to identify the Church of Jesus as it existed in its original form, perhaps only in the first few years.
Prepared by Jasmin Koso
Sources:
1. Acts of the Apostles. New Testament.
2. Brown, Raymond E. *An Introduction to the New Testament*. Anchor Bible Reference Library, 1997.
3. Pelikan, Jaroslav. *The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Vol. 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600)*. University of Chicago Press, 1971.
4. Gonzalez, Justo L. *The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation*. HarperOne, 2010.
5. MacCulloch, Diarmaid. *Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years*. Viking, 2010.
6. Frend, W.H.C. *The Rise of Christianity*. Fortress Press, 1984.
7. Johnson, Paul. *A History of Christianity*. Simon & Schuster, 1976.
