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What is Primitive Christianity?
“It was the Christian tradition that produced atheism as its fruit; it led to the murder of God in the consciences of men because it presented them with an unbelievable God. - Paul Valadier
The corruption of Christianity came not so much from what was taken away from it but what was added to it. - S. D. Robinson, Sr.
Primitive Christianity is the
generic name for the original teachings and practices of the first-century
congregation founded by Jesus and his early followers. These basic teachings and
practices were later corrupted by the tradition of men. (See the
above quotations.)
Primitive Christianity is easily restored today by implementing in our worship what
is plainly stated in the Scriptures.
Traditional Christianity does not want to
lead you in that direction because it exposes all of her false doctrines and
misdeeds. Therefore modern Christianity has formed a united front, along with
apostates as well as atheists, and has mounted a world-wide campaign in speaking against primitive Christianity.
Primitive Christianity in a nutshell was referred to in the instructions given
by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, when he sent out his disciples to do the
work he himself was doing. He ordered them:
Into whatever city or village you enter, search out who in it is deserving, and stay there until you leave. When you are entering into the house, greet the household and if the house is deserving, let the peace you wish it come upon it; but if it is not deserving, let the peace from you return upon you. - Matthew 10:11-13.
Non-aggressive
canvassing of territory! That is the first key in identifying the
Christianity that was practiced in the first-century of our era. Primitive Christians were
not interested in
converting people who were not interested in their message; instead,
they were to search out deserving ones who were interested in the
message of peace they were offering. If they were interested,
then they were invited into a household,
and they would stay there until they left. They would attend to the
householders' needs until it was (mutually) decided that it was time for them
to leave. They did not impose themselves on the household.
Today primitive Christians use the same tactic in visiting each and
every household, in order to search out those individuals who are deserving. If you
try to confront them or argue with them, they will politely excuse
themselves and continue their journey with a smile on their face. Their
work and persistence does not depend on popular approval, for
they are doing the work their Lord commanded them to do, regardless of
third-party acceptance.
One of the last words Jesus spoke to a group of up to 500 disciples is
found in the concluding words of the Gospel of Matthew:
Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And, look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things. - Matthew 28:19-20.
Primitive Christians were
known for their preaching activity. It is truly amazing today how so
many people belonging to traditional Christian organizations can spend
so much time reading and studying the Bible and miss out on its message
all together. Bible truths are not to be kept to ourselves, we
must share them with others; as much as our circumstances allow.
There are over 38,000 different religious organizations today that claim
to be Christian. But, How many of these practice the canvassing of
territory in search of deserving ones? How many of these organizations
emphasize the need for every member to go and make
disciples, teaching these to observe all the commandments of Jesus?
There is no getting around what the first Christians did: They preached
from house-to-house, from farm-to-farm, from village-to-village. They
searched out deserving ones and attended to their spiritual needs. They
made return visits on interested ones and studied the Scriptures with
them to the point where these also became preachers of the Word.
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“Primitive” means: “Not derived from something else; primary or basic. Of or relating to an earliest or original stage or state; primeval. Being little evolved from an early ancestral type.”
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The corruption of Christianity came not so much from what was taken away from it but what was added to it.
Early Christianities [plural] and primitive Christianity [singular] are not the same. When teachings that could not harmonize with ancient Jewish theology were mixed in with the message Christ preached, Christianity no longer remained primitive. It did not remain in its original stage or state.
The following quoted statement is from the Apostle Paul addressing some of the early Christians who had abandoned or who were in the process of abandoning primitive Christianity:
"I marvel that you are being so quickly removed from the One [Jehovah God] who called you with Christ’s undeserved kindness over to another sort of good news. But it is not another; only there are certain ones who are causing you trouble and wanting to pervert the good news about the Christ. However, even if we or an angel out of heaven were to declare to you as good news something beyond what we declared to you as good news, let him be accursed. As we have said above, I also now say again, Whoever it is that is declaring to you as good news something beyond what you accepted, let him be accursed."-- Galatians 1:6-9.
Therefore, the corruption of Christianity came not so much from what was taken away from it but what was added to it.
The original first-century Christians believed in a simple message of salvation through their spiritual leader, Jesus Christ.
Their beliefs did not involve the complex notion of a Trinitarian God nor the pagan concept of an immortal soul.
Primitive Christian theology simply involved the understanding that Jesus had been appointed by the Hebrew God [thus the title Christ] to be their leader [similar to the leader Moses], their prophet [similar to the prophet Elijah], their judge [similar to the judge Samuel], their political king [similar to King David], their priestly king [similar to the king-priest Melchizedek] and, since he was a perfect man, a unique son of God [similar to the perfect man Adam].
As Revelation 1:5; 3:14 brings out, he was the Amen, the one through which God fulfilled His prophetic purposes. Jesus was everything to these early Christians, however, he was definitely not their God. Instead his role was that of a mediator, like that of a high priest only much more important.
As followers of this man, whom the God of the Hebrews raised from the dead, these early disciples confessed the hope that someday they, too, would also become secondary leaders, prophets, judges, kings, priests and sons of God, just as their master had become, as a reward for their faithfulness through the resurrection of the dead, not through the possession of an immortal soul.
These early followers of Jesus understood that their salvation was for the purpose of their participation in judging the rest of mankind during the millennial reign of their Master, Jesus Christ. This is why the gospel of salvation is closely related to the gospel of the kingdom and is, in fact, one in the same.
By adding the doctrines of the Trinity and the Immortality of the Human Soul to Christianity, it made the basic foundation of Christian theology void and incomprehensible.
This, my friend, is primitive Christianity in a nutshell and is supported by both secular history and unbiased Scriptural evidence.
Ask those who practice primitive Christianity (e.i., who come to your house uninvited to see if you are interested or not) to show you in your own copy of the Scriptures what first-century Christians practiced and believed.
Understanding the meaning of "through"
Overview of Primitive Christianity