FIRST CENTURY
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CHRISTIAN FAITH
Introduction
What is First Century Christian Faith? At first, I defined it as my goal of teaching the material I learned in seminary to the average churchgoer. While this remains true, I realized my ambition was a little more radical than sharing mere concepts in Bible study. This realization came to me through learning and experience.
In August 2013, I started this ministry to write about Christian origins. I hoped to add an element of devotion to academic knowledge, seeing many believing groups that rarely discuss biblical scholarship as opposed to the academic ones that balk at the very mention of faith. I wanted to bring these opposites together. Whereas many scholars research the "historical Jesus," churchgoers venerate the "Christ of faith." So why not objectively view Jesus' historicity and belief in his divinity? I think it is possible to study and revere the "historical Jesus Christ of faith." However, this is the beginning of my definition of First Century Christian Faith. What started as zeal for biblical scholarship became my pursuit of the authentic Jesus.
Historical Jesus Christ of Faith
Christian origins is an academic field that 1) quests for the historical Jesus, 2) considers whether his followers were right to worship him as the Messiah, and 3) examines Paul of Tarsus' influence in the early church. Scholars also research biblical archaeology and ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman literature, and their studies give a three-dimensional context for the New Testament. With the addition of current discipleship, I spiritually expand the study of Christian origins. I do this so we may discover the "historical Jesus Christ of faith" instead of settling for the one-dimensional version of which many of us lifelong Christians grew up. With First Century Christian Faith, I strive to answer how Jesus can be the living God in human flesh and blood for us.
Most systematic theologies prioritize a devotional reading of scripture, while the historical-grammatical method grounds devotion to history and literature. This method was how I met the authentic Jesus, inspiring a spiritual rebirth that drastically changed my faith in him. As a pilgrim traveling among the churches of Christendom, I tried to find something of "first-century faith." I only saw it in snippets rather than a complete hermeneutic. I have since learned to cherish both Jesus' divinity and his humanity.
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First-Century Faith & Paleo-Orthodoxy
I aim to use the historical-grammatical method to teach other Christians how to be better disciples of Jesus. I pray for a return of "first-century faith" to further my ambitions. I also hope for paleo-orthodoxy, the central beliefs that unite all Christians across time and space, beginning with the early church. Vincent of Lérins (d. c. AD 450) best articulated this concept of paleo-orthodoxy:
Moreover, in the universal church, all possible care must be taken that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all. That is indeed and, in the strictest sense, "universal," which, as the name itself and the reason of the thing declare, comprehends all universally. We shall observe this rule if we follow universality, antiquity, and consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith to be accurate, which the whole church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and determinations of all, or at the least of almost all pastors and theologians (adapt. Rea).
In this introduction, I mention both matters referring to the studies of Christ Jesus and his "church" (Greek: ekklēsia; G1577—Latin: ecclesia). Because the church is Christ's body, I believe christology and ecclesiology are mutually inclusive fields of study and practice. The church is also "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15); not so much a union of conflicting beliefs and traditions, but a unity of faithful disciples seeking Jesus "in the Spirit and truth" (John 4:23). The true church strives to be unified, holy, multiethnic, and mission-oriented in line with scripture.
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First-Century Eyes in the Twenty-First Century
In our churches today, we generally view the New Testament through the lenses of Augustine of Hippo (354–430), Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), Martin Luther (1483–1546), Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), John Calvin (1509–1564), Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609), John Wesley (1703–1791), et cetera. While these men made many valuable contributions to systematic theology, they were not close enough to the apostolic era to have firsthand knowledge of Jesus. The Anglican scholar N. T. Wright (b. 1948) insists, "For too long, we have read scripture with nineteenth-century eyes and sixteenth-century questions. It's time to get back to reading with first-century eyes and twenty-first-century questions" (Justification, p. 37). To do this, we must return to a biblical theology of Jesus' lessons to his apostles and rethink how we understand Christianity today. Therefore, First Century Christian Faith emphasizes a plain reading of the Bible over systematic interpretation. Consequently, Jesus' teaching shows its sociopolitical and spiritual edges. For example, the Beatitudes (see Matt. 5:3-12) challenge us to "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (v. 6)—they are not vacuous words about some idyllic future, but actions to take in the here and now.
Paleo-Christian Ministries traces its free and independent heritage via the original Christians, desert hermits/ascetics, medieval "Modern Devotion" ascetics, Franciscans, proto-Protestants, Anabaptists, United Brethren ("Moravians"), Pietists, early Methodists, and Messianic Jews (see here for the complete succession list). These groups most often sought peace and rejected the unholy alliances of church and state. Instead, they preserved the Christian faith through compassion, piety, and discipleship—virtues that separated the Radical Reformation (1525–1632) from the better-known Magisterial Reformation (1517–1648). These free churches knew the cost of following the authentic Jesus. They always tried to reform the "cultural Christianity" that deemed individuals Christians simply because of membership or nationality. They even valued the enduring Judaic heritage of Christianity, one of the major themes of First Century Christian Faith. The Messianic Jewish theologian Daniel C. Juster (b. 1947) agrees there is no historical example of antisemitism or replacement theology (i.e., the church replaced the Jews as God's chosen people; see "Israel: Election & Identity") among the Anabaptists, the Pietists, and the Methodists—unlike the "magisterial" churches of the late-antiquity and medieval periods. N. T. Wright adds:
[The] eighteenth century saw great movements of revival, mainly through the Methodist movement led by John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield. . . . I suspect that the Wesleyan emphasis on Christian experience, both the "spiritual" experience of knowing the love of God in one's own heart and life and the "practical" experience of living a holy life for oneself and of working for God's justice in the world, might well be cited as evidence of a movement in which parts of the church did integrate several elements in the gospels, a synthesis that the majority of Western Christians have allowed to fall apart (2012, p. 37).
Although many of these same denominations have repented from their more objectionable forms of antisemitism, most still hold to softer versions of replacement theology—some of them joining the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
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Experiencing a Hebraic Wave
Paleo-Christian Ministries teaches a Messianic dual-covenant theology, that God relates to the Jews through the Law of Moses and to the church through the Law of Christ (see 1 Cor. 9:21; Gal. 3:17-25; 6:2). Paul warned us that God never abandoned the Jewish people, but anticipates the full inclusion of Gentiles into Israel's inheritance before he reconnects with them in the abundance of his grace (see Rom. 11:25-26). The rediscovery of the Didache and the Dead Sea Scrolls, the independence of the State of Israel, and the resurgence of Messianic Judaism from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century shows that God is once again revealing the Judaic heritage of Christianity. More importantly, he calls on the Jews to know Jesus as their national Messiah. Christian scholars and theologians call to mind the Jewishness of Jesus and Paul, and even the Catholic Church reassessed its position on Judaism during Vatican II. Simply put, God is recalling the Jews to their original covenant and correcting the church's replacement theology. The Reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann (b. 1926) observes, "We stand today in a remarkable period of transition . . . the Christian faith is experiencing what I would like to call a 'Hebraic wave'" (Wilson, p. 125).
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An Instrument of Peace
Paleo-Christian Ministries strives for unity between Christian Gentiles and Messianic Jews. It advocates civic responsibility and a grassroots ministry of compassion, but not through the political process that unnecessarily divides people. Instead of antisemitism, Paleo-Christian Ministries stands for philosemitism. Rather than Jew or Gentile, it stands for human. Instead of Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant, it stands for Christian. We pray these words ascribed to Francis of Assisi (1182–1226):
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is error, truth; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood, to understand, to be loved as to love. Because it is in giving that we receive, in forgiving that we are forgiven, and in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
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Conclusion
This witness by Richard C. Halverson (1916–1995), the sixtieth chaplain to the United States Senate, also highlights the ecclesiology of Paleo-Christian Ministries:
In the beginning, the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. They had a personal and vital relationship with the Lord, and it transformed their lives and the world around them. Then, the church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then, it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. Then, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. Now, it has moved to America, where it has become an enterprise (Dunnam, pp. 31–32; Larson, p. 50).
The irony of a chaplain employed by the government criticizing these manifestations of nominal Christianity is bold. Whereas Halverson tried to reform the culture from the top, the Paleo-Christian Ministries approach is to distance oneself from politics and work in people's everyday lives. This way is most christological because Jesus inspired changes of heart, mind, and soul throughout the Mediterranean without corrupting himself in policymaking. He overturned all levels of Jewish, Greek, and Roman societies, not through government, but through connection and steadfast love (Greek: agapē; G26). Likewise, the Christian church endured the age commonly known as the "Enlightenment" (c. 1715–1789), not with legislation or clever apologetics, but with revivals of heart, mind, and soul. First Century Christian Faith preserves these same christological and ecclesiological goals. We ask for your support in this ministry of faith, hope, and love (see 1 Cor. 13:13).
Peace be with you,
James M. Collazo, M.T.S.
Teaching Minister
Paleo-Christian Ministries
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Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the universe; of your infinite love and goodness; you have given your only Son, Jesus, to be our Redeemer and the author of everlasting life. After he had made perfect our redemption by his death and resurrection and ascended into heaven, he sent into the whole world his apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers; by the Holy Spirit, through their labor and ministry, he gathered together a great flock to set forth the eternal praise of your holy name. Grant to us, your servants, such grace that we may ever be ready to spread abroad your gospel, the glad tidings of reconciliation with you, and to use the authority given to us, not for destruction, but salvation; not to hurt, but to help; so that, as wise and faithful stewards, we may give to your family their portion in due season, and on the last day be received into everlasting joy, through Jesus the Messiah our Lord. Amen.
Ben White
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