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History of
Christianity

History of Religion
• Timeline

Birth of Christianity
• Paul the Apostle
• Spreading the Story
• The Gospels
• Early Christianities

Constantine & Modern Christianity
• Constantine
• The Canon
• The Trinity
• Spreading Modern Christianity

Changes & Lost Gospels
• Lost Gospels
• Changes to Scriptures

Birth of Christianity

Setting the stage

By the 1st century there were an abundance of religions in the Greco-Roman world known as "mystery religions". There were hundreds of these different mystery religions, which were like cults that worshiped specific heroes or gods, such as Adonis, Dionysus, Mithras, and Osiris. Many of these gods were savior type gods, who were said to take on various problems of individuals or the world, and people were initiated into these religions often through secret ceremonies that included various rituals such as sacrifices, special meals, anointing and washings.

We don't know a whole lot about many of these mystery religions, both because most of them did not have written doctrines and their views were kept somewhat secret, and also because what little original information there was about them was not preserved or has been destroyed by Christians once they came to power. We do however know a little bit about them from some comments made by early Christians. Both Justin Martyr and Tertullian made comments that compare the Christian rites to the "mysteries" of other religions.


	Not Unique Claims of divine inspiration or visions from a god are not unique of Christianity to say the very least. All around the world, long before and long after the Christian texts, people have claimed to be inspired by their god to share some sort of story, vision or message. These gods communicating with others around the world obviously were not Yahweh, the god of the Bible, or Jesus Christ. They were one of the other 2,800+ man made gods. The visions were commonly from a god currently worshiped in the immediate area at the time and in some cases the visions were of brand new gods. Even in the area where Paul, Mark, Matthew, Luke, John and later Christian scribes have claimed to be inspired by Jesus, others were claiming to have visions and inspirations from different local gods.

Within the Jewish community there was also a large amount of new saviour gods popping up around the area. A slew of Jewish followers who thought the end times were near began searching for the messiah who was predicted in Hebrew scriptures. During this search many new savior gods and messiahs were created. Some were real people that others thought were the christ or messiah and others were mythical figures. The figure Jesus was just one of many once believed to be the supposed christ or messiah from Hebrew scriptures.

Paul's Jesus

PAUL
(the man who created Jesus Christ)

Paul the apostle, formally Saul of Tarsus, was the world's very first Christian. Prior to Paul and his vision (between 40 & 50 CE) no one knew of or heard of a savior named Jesus Christ. All mentioning and stories of Jesus Christ derive from Paul's stories.

The Invention of Jesus

Although most aspects of Jesus are not unique, the character Jesus Christ was first invented by Paul. During a time when claims of a savior god and divine revelations were a dime a dozen and while many followers of the Jewish faith were looking for the savior foretold by scriptures; Paul conjured up his own savior god. This new savior, later to be known as "Jesus Christ," was not originally based on a historical figure but rather derived from Paul's interpretation of Hebrew scriptures. Paul believed Jesus lived on earth in the not too distant past but claims no one outside of the few with divinely given exclusive knowledge knew of Jesus' significance until Paul shared such knowledge with the public after it was revealed to him through a heavenly guided interpretation of Hebrew scriptures.


	Did Paul Persecute Jesus? Wasn't Paul known for persecuting early Christians and Jesus? Paul only persecuted the rapidly spreading belief of a Jewish messiah being revealed. He was not persecuting the belief in the specific messiah Jesus Christ as no one was even mentioning such a savior. It is also important to keep in mind that the book of Acts and its story of Paul's journey to Damascus are not written by Paul. Paul also makes no mention of ever having an encounter with Jesus, he clear states that his knowledge of was revealed through scripture, no through Jesus.

Jesus Was Based On Scriptures

AND NOT ON A HISTORICAL FIGURE

Paul makes it quite clear that his story and knowledge of Jesus is not based on a historical figure or a vision while on the road as Acts claims and that he did not hear it from another person nor from Jesus but rather strictly from a heavenly guided interpretation of Hebrew scriptures.

In Galatians 1:11-12 Paul makes it clear that his news about Jesus was also not received from any other person. It is also important to note that it was a revelation OF Jesus Christ and not FROM Jesus Christ as some modern Bibles like the NIV falsely translate it.

Galatians 1:11-12 "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."

What about James?

Yes, Paul says he knew a man who claimed to be the brother of the messiah Paul was preaching about but not even Jesus' supposed brother shared such knowledge. Paul says that his knowledge of Jesus came from a divinely guided interpretation of scriptures and not from another man.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,"

1 Corinthians 15:3-4
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"

Romans 16:25-26
"Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him"

Romans 10:11
"For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."
_{Note that Paul did not say "Jesus saith" but rather "scripture saith."}

Where did the idea of a son come from?

The idea of God having a son was also derived by Paul from scriptures. Proverbs 30:4 mention's God having a son while asking "and what is his son's name?" Probably more influencial is the book of Psalms chapter 2 where God has a conversation with his "begotten son." Although this is a reference to King David (God's other begotten son, yes John 3:16 was wrong when it said Jesus was his only begotten son) Paul clearly interpreted it to be referring to the savior he was looking for.

Psalms 2:7-12 "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."

Proverbs 30:4
"Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?"

Where did Jesus' name come from?

If Jesus was merely revealed through Hebrew scriptures like Paul claims then where did his name derive from? First off, Jesus' actual and original name is not Jesus, it is Yahu'shuah. This is the name which Paul and all the other earliest Christians knew him by. The name Yahu'shuah simply means "god saves" or "salvation." The Hebrew word yahu'shuah is often used in the Tanach (Old Testament) as well as in the official Jewish daily and festival Prayer Books where it is generally translated as "salvation".

English = Jesus
Latin = Iesus
Greek = lesous
Arabic = Yeshuah
Hebrew = Yahu'shuah


	Was Jesus a Mythical Figure? No, or at least Paul did not think so. Although several savior figures were believed to only exist in a mythical realm Paul did state that Jesus Christ was born of flesh and blood. Paul believed Jesus existed on earth but knowledge of him being the messiah, the son of god and being killed for the sins of the world was only revealed divinely to a chosen few and not publicly known to any other human until it was revealed to Paul and after he shared the story with others.

The Story of Jesus was a Mystery

NO ONE KNEW OF JESUS PRIOR TO PAUL

Gnosticism is associated with particular groups of early Christians but the name itself refers to having exclusive knowledge related to the divine. According to the writings of Paul he himself along with the others mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 were all gnostics. Only they received the exclusive knowledge of Jesus Christ, after Jesus' supposed death, when Jesus appeared to them just as he finally appeared to Paul which was through a divine interpretation of Hebrew Scriptures as previously noted.

This exclusive knowledge was not made publicly known to man through non-gnostic means until Paul, he was the first to share this knowledge with others. Paul makes it very clear that no one in human history heard of the figure Jesus being the messiah who supposedly died for our sins. Besides mentioning that all of his knowledge about Jesus is based on Hebrew scriptures instead of a historic event just 20 years earlier, Paul also says several times that his gospel (the news of God having a son whose name was Jesus which died on a cross and rose from the dead) was a mystery that was kept a secret from man since the world began. This is why Ephesians 1:9 & 6:19 and Colossians 2:2 & 4:3 refer to the knowledge of Christ and his message as a mystery.

Colossians 4:3
"..the mystery of Christ.."
Colossians 2:2
"...the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;"
Ephesians 1:9
"...made known unto us the mystery.."
Ephesians 6:19"
"...to make known the mystery of the gospel"

Ephesians 3:1-5
"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;"

Romans 16:25-26
"Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:"

Second First Coming of Jesus

All references of the coming of Jesus in the Epistles refer to Jesus' coming as a first coming, not a "second coming" as modern Christians call it. In the 40 plus references to Jesus' coming in the Epistles it is referred to as a "coming" or an "appearance" ignoring and dismissing any returning aspect. Several versus ever go as far as to referring to the coming of Jesus as a revelation, or something that was previously unknown but will become known. By definition something can only be revealed once, if Jesus was revealed previously to man then his future coming would not be called a revelation.


	Jesus' coming referred to as a "COMING" 1 Corinthians 4:5, 11:26, 15:23, 16:22, 2 Peter 1:16, 3:3, 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23, James 5:7, 5:8, 2 Thessalonians 1:10, 2:1-2, 2:8, Hebrews 10:37, Revelation 1:4, 2:16, 2:25, 3:3, 22:20, 1 John 2:28 Jesus' coming referred to as a "APPERANCE" 1 John 2:28, Colossians 3:4, 1 Peter 5:4, 1 Timothy 6:14-16, 2 Timothy 4:1, Titus 2:13 Jesus' coming referred to as a "REVELATION" 1 Peter 4:13, 1 Peter 5:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 2:6, 1 Peter 1:13, 1 Corinthians 1:7 NOTE:Hebrews 9:28 says Jesus will appear a second time but this passage does not say he will appear before his followers a second time, just simply appear back on earth where is first appearance was unknown to humans. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 Jesus does not appear in flesh and blood but only in the same manner he appeared to Paul, by being revealed by the Spirt as mentioned in Ephesians 3:1-5.

Jesus was NOT crucified by humans

Did you know the earlier Christians believed Jesus was crucified on a tree and not a cross? This is why Acts 5:30, Acts 10:39, Acts 13:29, 1 Peter 2:24 and Galatians 3:13 all mention Jesus being hung on a tree and not a crucifix.

If Jesus dying for our sins was not known to man publicly prior to Paul then he could not have been killed by the Jews or Romans like later Christians believed. Paul tells us that the "Rulers of this Age" crucified Jesus but makes it very clear that these rulers were NOT HUMANS. Ephesians 6:12 tells that "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Secondly in 1 Corinthians 2 it states that the Rulers of this Age would not have killed Jesus if they knew it was part of God's plan for glory and salvation for mankind. Obviously that excludes the possibility of the Jews, Romans or any human being the executioners in question since they would all eagerly take part in aiding their own salvation.

So who or what where the Rulers of this Age that Paul referred to? There is one group of rulers from Biblical scriptures who would not want to see God's plan of glory and salvation for mankind set into motion. Ephesians 3:9-10 clearly states that there are rulers and authorities in heaven that are unaware of God's wisdom and Smyrneans 6:1 says these rulers in heaven do not believe in the blood of Jesus. Have you guessed who the rulers are yet that Paul believes crucified Jesus? The answer is in Ephesians 6:11-12 where evil wicked demons in heaven are referred to as the rulers of this age.

Spreading the Story of Jesus

If you don't put much thought into it the concept of many different people writing related stories of Jesus Christ during the 1st & 2nd centuries AD it does sound miraculous. How could they all write similar stories without some sort of divine intervention guiding them?

Take a closer look to where the Christian scriptures were written. The Apostle Paul was the first person to start sharing stories of this new savior god, Jesus Christ. Starting about 50 CE Paul devoted much of his life traveling all around the Mediterranean Sea sharing his stories of which continued to be spread by word of mouth throughout the surrounding areas.

Over 30 years later some more people claim to be inspired by God to write about Jesus Christ. First came Mark then Matthew, Luke, John and several others followed. Where were these new scriptures written? All of them were writing by people in the immediate area where Paul''s stories were already circulating by word of mouth and were well known. There is no need at all for divine inspiration.

No Divine Guidance

Not only does the location of where the scriptures were written show no need for divine guidance, the shown limitations are evidence for the complete opposite. Since none of the writers were able to write or know about Jesus outside of the immediate area where the story of Jesus was already known clearly shows that divine guidance was not an option.

If someone in any part of the world outside of the Mediterranean area during the 1st or 2nd century CE was "inspired by God" to write about Jesus'' supposed life that would be far more impressive. No such luck. Not a single person anywhere else on the planet had any clue of who Jesus was until much later, sometimes several centuries later, when the tales of Jesus were personally shared by those who have already heard the stories. If the New Testament stories were shared by God then why would God's ability to share it with the world be subject to the exact same limitations of man's ability to share a story at the time?

The Jesuses of the Gospels

The Gospel of Mark (c 65-70) was the first canonical gospel to be written, then came Matthew, Luke then John. Just as Mark based his version of Jesus on earlier Christian writings such as that of Paul's we also find the other gospel authors continue to modify the story and add to the story making their own slightly different version of Jesus Christ. Essentially each gospel writer is sharing their own message of Jesus and are each proponents of different religious sects. All of them took various aspects from Paul's stories, previous writings, various locally known religions and even possibly legends based on actual figures (read more) to form their own story of Jesus Christ. Mixing all the gospels into one book and one religion is like mixing the teachings of modern Christianity, Catholicism, Mormonism, Judaism and Islam all into one single religion, ultimately you lose the meaning of their individual messages and are simply creating your own religion.

Below are just a couple examples of the different messages and interpretations of Jesus presented by the canonical gospels.

	Mark	Matthew	Luke	John

Family views		Matthew 19:17-19 HONOR your family	Luke 14:26 HATE your family

Jesus' Death on the Cross	Unsure of reason - Agony - Silent on cross Mark's Jesus is unaware of the reason for his death. He is mocked by everyone, dies in agony and is silent with the exception of saying, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"		Knows reason - Calm - Talks a lot on cross Luke's Jesus knows very well what is happening to him as he even tells one of the robbers that today he will be in paradise. Unlike Mark's Jesus, Luke's stays calm and carries on full conversations while on the cross.

Reason for Jesus' death	Atonement Jesus' death was atonement for sin so humans can have a right standing with god. He gave his life as a "ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)		To turn sinners to God. The reason for the death of Luke's Jesus was not to atone for sin but to fulfill scripture so people realize he is the true messiah and that they, who are all sinful, need to turn to God for forgiveness. (Luke 13:3-5, 24:47)

Who Jesus Is	Jewish Teach & the Christ Mark mentions Jesus as the son of God but puts far more emphasis on him as a teacher and the christ.	Son of God Matthew puts more emphasis on Jesus being the son of God by taking what Mark says and changing the wording to fit his message of Jesus.		Jesus becomes equal to God John's Jesus is no longer a separate deity from God but has now become one with God. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. John 10:30-31 I and my Father are one. John 14:9 He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.
	Mark 8:29 But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ.	Matthew 16:15-16 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
	Mark 9:5 Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."	Matthew 17:4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
	Mark 4:38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"	Matthew 8:25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
	Mark 3:35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother	Matthew 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
	Mark 12:29 The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.	Matthew is trying to take away the emphasis that Jesus stressed there is one lord. Matthew does not even say that verse what so ever. Read Matthew 22:34-40 and see yourself.
	Mark 16:8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.	Matthew 28:8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
	Matthew's gospel contains the 'filled with joy' part to show that they were expecting the resurrection but in Mark they were afraid maybe because they never knew about it. Also in Mark it says that they said nothing to anyone.

Year of Birth		Before 4 BCE Learn more	AFTER 6 CE Learn more

Jesuses of Early Christianities

Since Paul's missionary trips many different scribes have written various stories of a Jesus and many different groups of followers were formed. Early Christianity was extremely diverse and there were in fact many different competing sects of Christianity in the first few centuries CE. There were countless different versions of both Christianity and Jesus Christ in the early years of Christianity but four major groups stood out the most. Christianity started with the Gnostics and Ebionites. Later down the line came the Marcionites and Paulines (named after Paul the Apostle). Several versions of Christianity predate Pauline Christianity but that is the one which was backed by Rome and through genocide it merged into what modern Christianity has derived from.


	The Gnostics Generally their teachings involve the idea that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect spirit. In order to free oneself from the inferior material world, one needs "gnosis" which is spiritual knowledge available only to the elite. When the stories of Jesus arose many sects of the Gnostics identify Jesus of Nazareth as the Supreme Being who would bring the "gnosis" to Earth. Gnosticism was quite popular in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions in the first centuries CE and today a few isolated communities of Gnostics still exist.


	The Ebionites The Ebionites believed that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah sent from the Jewish God to the Jewish people in fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures. The Ebionites did not believe in the virgin birth. For them Jesus was born of Joseph and Mary and then later became adopted by God, thus becoming the son of God. They still insisted on following the old laws since they believed their god selected Jesus to be his adopted son because Jesus kept the Jewish Law perfectly and was the most righteous man on Earth. Since he was so righteous Jesus was assigned the special mission of sacrificing himself for the sakes of mankind.


	The Marcionites The Marcionites were the followers of Marcion and unlike the Ebionites they believed Jesus came to abolish the old laws and defeat the evil god of the Old Testament. The God of the Old Testament is murderous, demanding and jealous. The God of the New Testament appears to be largely removed, highly spiritual, and quite a bit more peaceful. Because of this Marcion believed in 2 gods. The God of the Old Testament was actually a different god than the god of the New Testament. The Marcionites also believed that Jesus was really pretending to be a human in order to trick the Old Testament god. Only another god could obey the OT laws perfectly but only a person who followed them perfectly and then sacrificed himself could end the rule of the old god. This is why the NT god appeared on Earth pretending to be a human. After Jesus, the NT god, made himself the perfect sacrifice the OT god's power was reduced.

About Christianity

God (Yahweh)
Timeline of Religion
The Birth of Christianity
Paul the Apostle
Earlier Christian Groups
Constantine & Modern Christianity
Christian Apologists
De-Conversion Stories
Christianity's Bloody Past
Adolf Hitler
The Story of Christmas

Why Christianity is False

The Bible is false
No Soul = No Need For Its Salvation
No Jesus Christ = No Savior God
No Adam & Eve = No Original Sin

USA

The Seperation of Church & State
The Founding Fathers
Pledge of Allegiance
In God We Don't Trust

Why It's Harmful

But Isn't Christianity Good?
Christianity Comes at a Cost

It is not a matter of religion or theism vs. atheism. It is a matter of society making it socially acceptable to take the Bible as a source of absolute truth, including its falsehoods and immoral claims. Learn more