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The doctrine of Trinity, which is one of the fundamental
constituents of Christian dogma, was absent from Christianity during the
lifetime of Jesus Christ. The maximum one can grant is that this doctrine
started taking shape after the Crucifixion. It took many centuries for it
to reach its final well-defined but inexplicable form. It went through a
long process of extremely bitter and controversial debates between
Christian theologians and philosophers representing different religious,
cultural and traditional backgrounds.
It was greatly influenced by the myths and the traditions of various lands which hosted "Christianity" in its early period. The main stem of Christianity, however, which took care of and nurtured the development of "Christian beliefs" and philosophy in its early formative part was of Jewish stock. Jewish influence remained predominant throughout the early part of Christian history. The disciples of Jesus who learned and understood Christianity directly from Jesus and witnessed it in the form of his life, belonged to this stock. They were the primary custodians of Christianity with deeply embedded roots in the holy soil of Jesus' instructions and way of life. It was they who witnessed the Crucifixion and had seen Jesus after the crucifixion.
THE FIRST FOLLOWERS OF JESUS
Early Christians (Jew and Gentile) appear to have been fundamentally divided over both the nature of Jesus and whether to adhere to the Mosaic Law or not. In the second phase of Christian development (after 50 C.E.), St. Paul became the most pivotal character in giving Christianity a new philosophy and ideology. There were fundamental differences of opinion between Paul and James the Righteous. While James looked after the Jerusalem Church, Paul was preaching in the West, particularly to the Gentiles. The Western Church evolved along Pauline doctrinal lines, whereas the Church in Jerusalem developed along monotheistic teachings.
One offshoot of James' ministry were the Ebionites, a sect whose
name derives from the Hebrew "ebionim" meaning 'the meek' or
'the poor'. They were the Jewish Christians, for whom Jesus took on the
mantle of Messiah and not that of the 'Son of God'. They followed the
Mosaic law with great zeal, and had their own "Gospel" known in
various contexts as the 'Gospel of the Hebrews', 'Gospel of the Ebionites'
or the 'Gospel of the Nazarenes'. Here is a description of the Ebionites
drawn from various sources.
In his book The History of the Church written in the 4th century AD in Caesarea, Eusebius mentions the Ebionites in the book Vespasian to Trajan. Eusebius, the most renowned church historian, mocks the Ebionite views (remember he is a Gentile in the Western Church), saying that their name comes from their poor and mean opinion of Jesus. According to Eusebius, the Ebionites regarded Jesus as mortal (human and not divine) and esteemed him as righteous through the growth of his character. As Jews, the Ebionites observed the Sabbath; every detail of the Law, and did not accept the Pauline idea of salvation through faith alone. Eusebius also talks of another group of Ebionites who accepted the virgin birth and the Holy Spirit, but refused to accept Jesus' pre-existence as "God the Word and Wisdom". They followed a 'Gospel of the Hebrews' which could possibly have been St Matthew's Gospel (written in Hebrew but lost to us today). They observed the Sabbath and the Jewish system, but celebrated the resurrection.
In his book describing the background of the Ebionites, R Eisenman in The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered writes that James (the 'Zaddik' or 'Zadok', meaning Righteous) was the leader of the Jerusalem Church in the middle of the first century (40-60 AD approx.) The branch which was retrospectively called Jewish Christianity in Palestine. The Ebionites developed from this branch.
The Community who followed James were known as 'the Poor', (Galatians 2:10, James 2:3-5) a designation mentioned both in the Sermon on the Mount and in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In many ways, Eisenman feels that the Ebionites were similar to the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They honored James the Righteous, and believed Jesus to be their mortal Messiah, while Paul had become an "Apostate from the Law". They observed the Law and the Sabbath with great zeal.
They held James in the highest regard, while Paul was considered
'The Enemy' as spoken and warned of by Yeshua (Matt 13:24-43):
Matt 13:24 (KJV) Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his
field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought
forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the
householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in
thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy
hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and
gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye
root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the
harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye
together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but
gather the wheat into my barn. 31 Another parable put he forth unto them,
saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a
man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all
seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh
a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches
thereof. 33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is
like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal,
till the whole was leavened. {measures: the word in the Greek is a measure
containing about a peck and a half, wanting a little more than a pint} 34
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a
parable spake he not unto them: 35 That it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will
utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his
disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares
of the field. 37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good
seed is the Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the
children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked
[one]; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end
of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares
are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this
world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do
iniquity; {things...: or, scandals} 42 And shall cast them into a furnace
of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the
righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath
ears to hear, let him hear.
This idea of Paul is definitely different from the light of the
redactionist history we find in the New Testament but ample evidence
exists which throws a completely different light upon Paul and history. If
you would like to see this for yourself it is detailed at our website:
http://faithofyeshua.faithweb.com.
Thus according to the Jewish Christians, or Yeshua's church, Paul was one
who deviated from the Mosaic Laws and Commandments and was as far as they
were concerned the "adversary" (devil). This may be hard for
Christians to understand, yet believe considering what you have heard
taught from pulpits Sunday through Sunday your whole life, but what you
have heard does not change the facts that have surfaced from both
archeology and in-depth Bible study as well as a detailed examination of
the extra-biblical documents that exist today for your inspection.
Somewhere you have to come to terms with James and the early church's view
of Paul as handed down to us for those who wish to inquire. One cannot
discount their extra-Biblical writings that have come down to us that
severely impugn the "Gospel" Paul preached to Gentiles, and this
explains his resentment to the apostles in Jerusalem as recorded in the
epistles (reputed pillars...note the sarcasm in his tone when addressing
the leadership of Jesus' church).
According to Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln in The Messianic Legacy,
the source of the original teachings of the Ebionites, Gnostics,
Manicheans, Sabians, Mandeans, Nestorians and Elkasites has been described
as the Nazarene philosophy. They refer to Nazarene thought as: `An
orientation towards Jesus and his teachings which derives ultimately from
the original Nazarene position, as articulated by Jesus himself, then
propagated by James, Jude or Judas Thomas and their immediate entourage.'
Their beliefs were:
There is a collection of Arabic manuscripts kept in a library in
Istanbul which contains quotes from a 5th or 6th Century text ascribed to
the `al-nasara', written in Syriac and found in a monastery in Khuzistan
in south-west Iran near the Iraq border. It reflects the views of the
Nazarene hierarchy escaping from Jerusalem after the destruction in 66 AD.
It refers to Jesus as a human being and stresses the Judaic Law
(notice that this is the belief of the first century church and those
closest to the historical Jesus).
The inescapable conclusion of the scrupulous student of history,
language, and Scripture is that Paul's followers "abandoned the
religion of Christ and turned towards the religious doctrines of the
Romans."
Of all the various doctrines which evolved during the formative stages of Christianity, only those who believed in the Nazarene philosophy can justifiably be given preference. These early Christians were taught the meaning of Christianity by Jesus himself.
From the time of St Paul onwards, as Christianity spread to alien lands and pagan faiths within the Roman Empire, it began to be powerfully influenced and bent by the cultures and mythologies prevalent in those lands and went further away from its nascent purity. St Paul did his bit in influencing the deterioration of the "original Christian thought" by introducing his own brand of mysticism. He was neither of Jewish stock nor did he have any direct contact with Jesus, except through his claimed vision. He was already, it seems, under the powerful influence of the alien cultures.
Apparently there were two options available to St Paul, either to fight the strenuous battles against a world of superstitions, myths and legends prevalent in the lands of the Roman Empire from times immemorial or to give in to them and let Christianity change to suit their requirements and ambitions. This gave the Gentiles the message that Christianity was not essentially different from their legends and myths. Paul only recast Judaism in terminology which was already familiar to the Gentile to whom he preached. Thus Paul found the adoption of the second option far more profitable and convenient and let Christianity change to suit the ambitions and philosophies popular in the gentile world.
This strategy worked well in as much as it gained a great number of
converts to the new faith which otherwise would not have been easily
available. But at what cost. Unfortunately, it ended up only in an unholy
competition between noble Christian values and pagan myths. What St Paul
changed was only the names of the pagan gods and replaced them with Jesus,
God the Father and the Holy Ghost. It was not him in fact who invented the
myth of Trinity and introduced it to the pagan world in the name of
Christianity, on the contrary he borrowed the myth of the Trinity from
pagan mythology and bonded it to Christianity. From then on it was the
same old paganism but with new names and new faces.
Pauline Christianity, therefore, did not succeed in changing the doctrines, myths and superstitions of the pagan world but only ended in changing "original Christianity" (Messianic Judaism) in accordance with them. If the mountain did not respond to his call, he decided to go to the mountain.
Of course it is anybody's prerogative to choose between Pauline Christianity and that of James the Righteous and other early leaders of Christianity who were the disciples of Jesus Christ himself. But here we want to establish the point that the main stock of Christianity continued to develop along Jewish lines and kept itself aloof from the later innovations which generated the rigmarole and complexities of Christian dogmas we see today for Gentile imaginations such as the godhead of Jesus as the Son, the Trinity, Inherited Sin, Redemption, the rejection and replacement of Israel by the church, etc. The views of the early leaders of the original Church, among whom James the Righteous is prominent, were simple and honest and had no internal contradictions or paradoxes hiding behind a smoke screen of mystery as we confront today in the Pauline churches of our land. A study of the history of Judaism in Christianity establishes beyond question the fact that the Unity of God, uncomplicated by the slogan of Trinity, remained the official doctrine of the true Church of Christ in its pristine purity. The faith of Yeshua was Jewish, is Jewish, and will always remain Jewish. It is us who need to reevaluate what we have been taught and believe in light of fact and reason.
Please remember that this short treatise is not an attempt to
convert Christians to any faith other than that of the faith both held and
practiced by Yeshua (Jesus). It is simply a genuine effort to invite the
Christians back to the pure unadulterated faith and practice of Jesus
himself. It is a sincere attempt to revert the fiction back to the facts
of Christianity. Facts that are certainly as beautiful as they are
realistic and satisfy both the head and the heart.
For almost two thousand years, it is not the legends woven around
the reality of Jesus Christ that has kept Christianity together and has
helped it to survive the challenges of reason and ever growing
enlightenment borne out of scientific progress, nor is its survival due to
the mystic belief of Trinity. What has held the truth and essence of
Christianity together is the beauty of the person and the teachings of
Jesus Christ. It is the divine conduct and not the divine person of Jesus
that has been so beautiful to adhere to. It was the suffering, patience
and perseverance for the sake of noble ideals and his bold upright
rejection of all despotic attempts to make him change his principles that
is the real backbone of Christianity. It is still as beautiful and as
lovable today as it was ever before. It has influenced so powerfully the
Christian minds and hearts that they remain bonded to Jesus.
His real greatness lies in the fact that he transcended and
conquered the forces of darkness that had conspired to vanquish him
despite being a frail human being and no more than a human being. That
victory of Jesus is something to be shared with pride by the children of
Adam. As we see it from the vantage point of in-depth scholarship, he is
one of the most noble progeny of Adam who taught humanity by his example
of perseverance in the face of extreme suffering and pain. Not to
surrender but to remain steadfast in the teeth of extreme trial was the
noblest achievement of Jesus. It was his life of suffering and pain that
redeemed humanity and made him conquer death.
To share suffering in life is far better than to escape suffering through death. Hence the concept of the supreme sacrifice of Jesus is magnified not only by his death, but by his life lived in total obedience to his Father. Today, we Christians share in his grace.
The greatness of Jesus, we again insist, lay in his supreme
sacrifice during his lifetime. All his life, he defied the temptations to
compromise, give in and exchange a life of suffering with that of ease and
comfort. The same cannot be said for Paul, when in-depth analysis of his
teachings as paralleled with those of Jesus and Judaism often diverge. Day
in, day out Yeshua confronted death but refused to give in and lived for
the sake of the sinful to bring them to life. He conquered death not by
surrendering himself to death, but by refusing to bow down to it. He
defeated it roundly and emerged from its clutches where a lesser man would
have perished. Thus he proved his truth and the truth of his word and
message beyond a shadow of doubt. That is how we see Jesus and that is why
we love him so. His voice was the voice of God and not the voice of his
own ambitions. He said what he was commissioned to say, neither more nor
less than what God had told him to say. He worshipped God throughout his
life and worshipped Him alone and never did he require any mortal to
worship or bow before himself or before his mother. This is the reality of
Jesus to which we at Bet Emet Ministries invite the Christians of all
denomination and faiths to return.