I. The Claim
A. Ehrman and others believe that in the first century there was no such
thing as Christianity (in the singular) as a coherent, widely agreed-upon
set of beliefs, but only Christianities in the plural.
B. All that existed were different versions of Christianity that claimed to be
true with equal legitimacy.
C. According to Ehrman, what later became the tradition of Christianity was
simply the one who won political power struggle in the 2nd -4th
centuries.
II. Ehrman's Paradigm
Claim #1: Walter Bauer's book
1. This argues that the traditional form of Christianity (orthodoxy)
was actually nothing but the view imposes by one early sect onto
the rest of Christendom.
2. Regional heresies are used to support this claim.
3. Bauer holds that Christianity as we know it today is really a by
product of Roman rule as crystallized in the fourth century.
4. Rejoinder: Many of Bauer's views have largely been discredited.
Also Bauer neglects the earliest evidences and historical writings
in his assignment of what he calls Heresy and Orthodoxy in
Earliest Christianity
B. Claim #2: Writings from equally early and Legitimate "heretical" forms of
Christianity do not currently exist because they were destroyed by the
proto-orthodox in the first century
1. Rejoinder: the problem with this claim is that it is an argument
from silence
2. If anything, the evidence suggests that the heretical groups
producing texts in the second and third centuries were either
or not widespread in the first century or, in some cases, had
not even come into existence.
C. Claim #3: Early Christianity was widely diverse, with no group having
legitimate claim to the "true" form of Christianity
1. Rejoinders: Though diversity spread in the 2nd century and
beyond, there is little to no evidence of strident variation in
the early first century church.
2. This is not to say that diversity didn't exist at all in the first
century. However, the NT stresses the significance of holding
true to doctrine and denunciating false teaching.
D. Claim #4: You can never rely on the winners to write an unbiased account
of the past. The New Testament is unified because the winning
"orthodox" party got to choose what was in its canon.
1. Rejoinders: Is it diverse or unified under the winning team?
Make up your mind Ehrman!
2. Once the assumption that one must be absolutely neutral to
write history is introduced, any historian, Ehrman included, is
placed in a no-win situation.
3. Still, there are other tests by which to judge the claims of the
Scripture.
E. Claim #5: No standards were in place during the earliest stage of
Christianity to distinguish correct from incorrect teachings concerning the
person and work of Jesus Christ.
1. Rejoinder: There is a doctrinal core from the beginning
F. Claim #6: 2nd and 3rd century orthodox leaders were innovators rather
than guardians of tradition, creating what is now known as orthodoxy.
1. Rejoinders: The actual evidence indicates that the adherents
to orthodoxy in the 2nd century were faithful stewards of
what was passed down.
2. This effort was helped along by the rule of faith and the stress
that the early church fathers placed on the root of their
message- the Jewish Scripture (i.e. the same foundation that
was affirmed by Jesus and the apostles).
G. Claim #7: Orthodoxy did not exist in concept in the first century
1. Rejoinders: This is something of a straw man. Of course the
earliest traditions of say the apostles may not use the exact
same verbiage as the Nicene creed, but who cares so long as
they demonstrate the same thing!
1. This is a bit like saying the doctrine of the trinity is not in the
Bible because the Bible does not use the word trinity
H. Claim #8: The Creation of the canon was one of the strategies used by the
proto-orthodox to diminish the authority of other early Christian
literature.
1. Rejoinders: The concept of a canon not only preceded the
production of the New Testament but also led to the
production of the books recognized as Scripture
III. Take Away
A. Ehrman's claims against the unity of the church early on are all
answerable an do not provide compelling arguments against Christianity
or the Bible.
