Thanksgiving 2024
Thanksgiving in 2024 is significant as we witness a new reactionary President arising. During this time of the year, the bonds of family and loved ones are close, and we realize what is more important than many things. What is most important is realizing that our values as human beings, our friends, our families, and our loved ones are worth more than prestige, money, or clout. Thanksgiving has been celebrated in America for multiple centuries now. It has been a modern national holiday since 1863 during the days of President Abraham Lincoln. The Pilgrims' 1621 harvest festival with Native Americans (that we talk about Thanksgiving) has many events tied to it. Thanksgiving ceremonies have existed for millennia in world human history. To use food and water to celebrate God, family, and blessings are immutable concepts that billions of human beings cherish in a powerful, pivotal fashion. The real story about Thanksgiving is complex and long. During Thanksgiving dinner, people eat turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, various pies, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, various cakes, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, and other items. Many of these foods are native to America. There are massive parades in cities like New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Boston, etc. Historian Michael Gannon claimed that there was a Thanksgiving meal on September 8, 1565, in St. Augustine, Florida. There was a Jamestown Thanksgiving in Virginia in 1610. There was another Thanksgiving on December 4, 1619, by English settlers at Berkeley Hundred, Charles City (in Virginia on the James River).
The Pilgrims and Native American Thanksgiving taking place in 1621 must be explained in detail. First, there is a distinction between the Pilgrims and Puritans of the United Kingdom. The Pilgrims came to New England first by 1620, most were working class and poor, there were Separatists from the Church of England, they settled in Plymouth, and many of their leaders were William Bradford and William Brewster. The Puritans were upper middle class and wealthy, they came to New England later by 1629, many were educated, most were dedicated to supporting the Church of England, many settled in Salem plus Boston, and their leaders were folks like John Winthrop, John Endicott, and the wicked Miles Standish. Both groups wanted to create their own government other than the UK. The Pilgrims had weapons and had more liberal ideals than the Puritans (who were more conservative wanting a union of church and state).
First, Europe was in a different era by the early 1600's. Monarchies dominated the European continent. Many people were arrested for expressing political and religious dissent with the authorities. The Reformation existed a century ago which caused a massive challenge of the Roman Catholic Church's religious power in Europe. The leadership of the Roman Catholic Church promoted superstitions that have no basis in Scripture like calling the Pope Holy Father, transubstantiation, purgatory, veneration of images, prayers threw people (who passed away which is akin to divination), the Rosary, etc. Therefore, the Pilgrims wanted religious freedom separating from the English state church. The English state church was Anglican. The Pilgrims were formed in 1605 when they were led by John Smyth, John Robinson, Richard Clyfton, etc. They wanted churches to be voluntary democratic congregations, not whole Christian nations. The Church of England forced people to attend services or face fines or imprisonment. This took place during the era of King James I. King James I was right to disagree with many of the doctrines of the Vatican, but even he was wrong to persecute dissidents like Baptists and Anabaptists (Baptists and Anabaptists refused to baptize infant babies). The Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England. Many Pilgrims escaped to the Netherlands to escape the religious persecution done by the Church of England. They lived in Leiden, Holland (a city with 30,000 people). They worked hard in trades on textile, printing, and brewing trades. Many Pilgrims were at Leiden University. William Bradford worked in Leiden and William Brewster taught English at the university. Because of the different culture and political issues in the Netherlands, the Pilgrims decided to go to America. Many were on the Speedwell to leave by July 1620 from Delfshaven. More left on the Mayflower ship.
They were in Plymouth by November 1620 in America. The Mayflower Compact was a promise to make a colony vote by majority and set up their own affairs involving governing affairs. Later, they saw the Nauset Native Americans. Native Americans visited Europeans before as British imperialist Thomas Hunt kidnapped 20 people from the Patuxet Native Americans One of the Patuxet men was Squanto, who was an ally of the Plymouth colony. Squanto could speak fluently in English. He came to America from England to see his village dead from the plague. The Pilgrims build homes and a colony by January 1621. William Bradford was the governor of the Plymouth colony in 1621 after the death of John Carver. By March 22, 1621, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony signed a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoag. When the first house was finished, it immediately became a hospital for the ill Pilgrims. Thirty-one of the company were dead by the end of February, with deaths still rising. Coles Hill became the first cemetery, on a prominence above the beach, and they allowed grass to overgrow the graves for fear that the Native Americans would discover how weakened the settlement had actually become.
The Plymouth colonists, today known as Pilgrims, had settled in a part of eastern Massachusetts formerly occupied by the Patuxet Native Americans who had died in a devastating epidemic between 1614 and 1620. After the harsh winter of 1620-1621 killed half of the Plymouth colonists, two Native intermediaries, Samoset and Tisquantum (more commonly known by the diminutive variant Squanto, and the last living member of the Patuxet) came in at the request of Massasoit, leader of the Wampanoag, to negotiate a peace treaty and establish trade relations with the colonists, as both men had some knowledge of English from previous interactions with Europeans, through both trade (Samoset) and a period of enslavement (Squanto). Massasoit had hoped to establish a mutual protection alliance between the Wampanoag, themselves greatly weakened by the same plague that extirpated the Patuxet, and the better-armed English in their long-running rivalry with the Narragansett, who had largely been spared from the epidemic. The Wampanoag reasoned that, given that the Pilgrims had brought women and children, they had not arrived to wage war against them. Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn and served as an interpreter for them until he too succumbed to disease a year later. The Wampanoag leader Massasoit also gave food to the colonists when supplies brought from England proved insufficient. Having brought in a good harvest, the Pilgrims celebrated at Plymouth for three days in the autumn of 1621. The exact time is unknown, but James Baker, a former Plimoth Plantation vice president of research, stated in 1996, "The event occurred between Sept. 21 and Nov. 11, 1621, with the most likely time being around Michaelmas (Sept. 29), the traditional time." Seventeenth-century accounts do not identify this as a day of thanksgiving, but rather as a harvest celebration.
John Two-Hawks, who runs the Native Circle web site, gives a sketch of the facts: “Thanksgiving' did not begin as a great loving relationship between the pilgrims and the Wampanoag, Pequot and Narragansett people. In fact, in October of 1621 when the pilgrim survivors of their first winter in Turtle Island sat down to share the first unofficial 'Thanksgiving' meal, the Indians who were there were not even invited! There was no turkey, squash, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie. A few days before this alleged feast took place, a company of 'pilgrims' led by Miles Standish actively sought the head of a local Indian chief, and an 11 foot high wall was erected around the entire Plymouth settlement for the very purpose of keeping Indians out!”
Dr. Apidta writes: “He [Myles Standish] went to the Indians, pretended to be a trader, then beheaded an Indian man named Wituwamat. He brought the head to Plymouth, where it was displayed on a wooden spike for many years, according to Gary B. Nash, ‘as a symbol of white power.’ Standish had the Indian man's young brother hanged from the rafters for good measure. From that time on, the whites were known to the Indians of Massachusetts by the name ‘Wotowquenange,’ which in their tongue meant cutthroats and stabbers.”
According to accounts by Wampanoag descendants, the harvest feast was originally set up for the Pilgrims alone (contrary to the common misconception that the Wampanoag were invited for their help in teaching the pilgrims their agricultural techniques). Part of the harvest celebration involved a demonstration of arms by the colonists, and the Wampanoag, having entered into a mutual protection agreement with the colonists and likely mistaking the celebratory gunfire for an attack by a common enemy, arrived fully armed. The Wampanoag were welcomed to join the celebration, as their farming and hunting techniques had produced much of the bounty for the Pilgrims and contributed their own foods to the meal. The Puritans came later to America. In 1630, the first ships of the Great Puritan Migration sailed to the New World, led by John Winthrop. From 1629 through 1643, approximately 21,000 Puritans immigrated to New England. The Puritans also believed they were in a national covenant with God. They believed they were chosen by God to help redeem the world by their total obedience to his will. If they were true to the covenant, they would be blessed; if not, they would fail. Many of the Puritans had a state religion. By the 1620s, most of the Patuxet people were wiped out before the Mayflower landed in America. The Massachusett Native Americans were being at the north of Plymouth Colony, led by Chief Massasoit, and the Pokaonet tribe being north, east, and south. Tisquantum was with the Patuxets.
The Narragansett tribe lived in Rhode Island. Massasoit has to make a decision to either form an alliance with the Plymouth colonists (to protect him from the rival Narragansetts) or form a tribal coalition to drive the colonists out. There was a temporary alliance between Massasoit and the colonists. There was Samoset, being a sachem being allied with Massasoit. Bradford and Tisquantum were friends. Bradford was taught by Tisquantum on survival skills. He taught him how to plant corn, to fish, and other actions. Later, the colonists learned that the Narrangsetts attacked the Pokanokets and took Massasoit. Many people rescued a Billington boy. Governor Bradford organized an armed task force of a dozen men under the command of Miles Standish to Corbitant. Corbitant made his peace via Massasoit. By the 1630s, more tensions existed among Native Americans and the colonists. John Winthrop was wrong to write that it was God's will for smallpox to cause the death of Native Americans. In a letter to England, Massachusetts Bay colony founder John Winthrop wrote, "But for the natives in these parts, God hath so pursued them, as for 300 miles space the greatest part of them are swept away by smallpox which still continues among them. So as God hath thereby cleared our title to this place, those who remain in these parts, being in all not 50, have put themselves under our protection." Before the Pilgrim colony, many British imperialists enslaved Native Americans. Another common practice among European explorers was to give "smallpox blankets" to the Native Americans. Since smallpox was unknown on this continent before the arrival of the Europeans, Native Americans did not have any natural immunity to the disease so smallpox would effectively wipe out entire villages with very little effort required by the Europeans. From 1615 to 1619 smallpox ran rampant among the Wampanoags and their neighbors to the north. The Wampanoag lost 70 percent of their population to the epidemic and the Massachusetts lost 90 percent.
The Pequot War started a new chapter when a further genocide of Native Americans in Massachusetts reached new heights of destruction. Bradford has an alliance with Massasoit and the nearby Pakanoket tribe. By August 14, 1621, Myles Standish led an attack in trying to kill Corbitant. When Pokanoet people tried to escape, Standish's men fired their muskets. This caused a Pokanet man and woman to be wounded. Standish stabbed Pecksuot (a member of the Massashcusett, a rival of Massasoit) with his own knife. Standish ordered two more Massachuett warriors to be killed. The Pilgrims were allied with the Wampanoag since 1621. The Pequots allied with the Dutch colonists and the Mohegans with the British colonies. Competition over the fur trade and conflicts inspired the Pequot War. The Pequot war had the deaths of colonists and massacres of Native Americans. The war ended with the Pequot's defeat. At the point where the Mystic River meets the sea, the combined force of English and allied Indians bypassed the Pequot fort to attack and set ablaze a town full of women, children, and old people.
William Bradford, the former Governor of Plymouth and one of the chroniclers of the 1621 feast, was also on hand for the great Mystic River massacre of 1637:
"Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so that they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire...horrible was the stink and scent thereof, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands, and give them so speedy a victory over so proud and insulting an enemy."
King Philip's War took place from 1675 to 1676. This war happened after Massasoit's son Metacom saw that the colonists violated the alliance between the Wampanoags and the colonists. Metacom is Massasoit's son. Many Native Americans were hung and murdered. Native Americans attacked homesteads and villages. After the Mystic Massacre, Narragansett leader Miantonomh united with Algonquian leaders in the 1640s to unite against the colonists together. Negotiations fell apart as Puritans didn't recognize women leaders among Native American people. Massasiot and Metacom of the Wampanoags were prominent. The Wampanoags and settlers had issues as the settlers had intrusion of Wampanoag farms, food stores, and this continued despite complaints. Metacom didn't want his Wampanoag people to be forced to convert to Christianity. War happened and the traitor Mammanuah signed a dead granting English colonizers the right to all the land from Pocasset Neck south to the sea. John Sassamon was a Native American convert to Christianity who wanted peace. Sassamon was later murdered. Metcomet fought the colonists but the Mohawk, who were rivals of the Algonquian people, attacked Metacomet's forces causing a defeat. After King Philip's war, more than 1000 colonists and 3000 Native Americans died. Many Native Americans were sent to slave markets in the Caribbean from Bermuda to the Azores.
Many European colonists betrayed the Wampanoags committing murder, scrapping, and genocide against them in New England. The genocide of Native Americans is completely evil and wrong. My black African ancestors were victims of slavery and genocide too by the same European imperialists centuries ago. Therefore, we must separate truth and myth. The myth is that every Pilgrim and Puritan were just holy men who sought justice. The reality is that many Pilgrims and many Puritans were stone-cold murderers of Native Americans in a colonist enterprise. Also, many sincere people did desire religious freedom (as there is nothing wrong with believing in God), but the genocide of Native Americans and black Africans is completely unjustified. During this time of the year, we are thankful for the blessings that we have in our lives. We know of the real history of Thanksgiving in the Plymouth Colony. Likewise, diverse thanksgiving ceremonies existed for millennia among the corners of the Earth. We can both condemn the genocide of Native Americans in the Americas and acknowledge the legitimate blessings that we have in our lives at the same time. These two things are true.
During this holiday season at the end of 2024, we will always remember to have our eyes on the prize. That prize is democracy and justice for all. When J.D. Vance can't even admit that Trump lost the 2020 election (during the 2024 Vice Presidential debate), you know she has a problem. We know the distinctions between Trump and Biden. When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, Trump delayed 20 billion dollars of aid, allowing Puerto Rico to be without power for 181 days. Biden and Harris have presented a powerful response to the victims of the Helene Hurricane disaster in the southeast. While CEO pay has skyrocketed since 1978 at 1,085 percent, the federal minimum wage is still $7.25 for the past 15 years. No human adult in America can fully survive on $7.25 dollars an hour. We have some MAGA cultists believing that the minimum wage should be 0 which is ludicrous and cruel. Some people care more for giant corporations than the people. Conversely, we care about the interests, lives, dignity, and humanity of the people fully. The trickle-down economics falsehood promoted by Reagan and many conservatives should be rejected from a moral and ideological perspective. Former Trump administration leader (who is now against Trump's agenda) Olivia Troye said that she was a Homeland Security advisor in the Trump White House. She saw firsthand how Donald Trump politicized disaster relief, left devastated Americans waiting for help, and leaders from across the nation were calling her office desiring action from Trump. She said that the Biden-Harris administration is stepping up in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene with decisive leadership and a swift, effective response. People have every right to fight back peacefully and constructively against the agenda of oligarchy, massive inequality, giant monopolies, and all injustices against the people. One human being named Lina Khan is doing a great job as FTC chair to enforce anti-trust laws and defend the interests of the working people. Vice President Kamala Harris has a known history of taking shady landlords to court over being accused of price-fixing schemes.
One lesson of life is that change comes from action. We all believe in justice, but standing by the sidelines does not solve the problem. We have to be active in voting, building institutions, mentoring, and taking other constructive actions to seek the real change we desire. Robert Kennedy Jr. speaking at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City (on October 27, 2024) shows him to be the ultimate sellout and hypocrite. One truth is that we must realize that Trump is a vulgar xenophobe, sexist, and racist. We don't need bad economic views. We don't need tariffs being paid by us which can increase inflation as tariffs are sales taxes. Inflation is heavily caused by corporate consolidation because when there is less competition, prices can increase on goods and services. We don't need more monopolies in our society. Even Kamala Harris' tax on unrealized capital gains will only impact people with $100 million. This is certainly fair. Many sources say that Trump praised Hitler and kept Mein Kampf close to him. We don't need any fascists like Trump in the White House again. We are in the most important political crisis in America since the American Civil War, and we can't sugarcoat the times that we live in.
The History of Christianity Part 2 (100 A.D.-313 A.D.)
It is definitely time to learn more about the history of the Christian faith. The 2nd era of the history of Christianity lasted from 100 A.D. to 313 A.D. This era saw the peak of the Ante-Nicene era or the massive spread of the early Christian church. This time saw some of the greatest persecution of Christians in human history. Back then, many Christians lost jobs, were fed to lions and tigers in the Roman Coliseum, were beaten to death, and suffered other forms of excruciating persecution. Yet, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ remained strong. Ironically, Christianity would outlast the Roman Empire. This era saw the religion of Christianity to be more sophisticated. The powers of the bishops in Alexandria, Jerusalem, Rome, Constantinople, and other cities of the world increased. The New Testament says that a bishop can be married, but heresies came about like banning certain clergy people like bishops from being married. These heresies would be found in Roman Catholicism as time went on. Christianity grew rapidly as written by the scholar Pliny. This second and third generation of Christians after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ wrote apologetics, preached the gospel, and focused on spreading spiritual views. Polycarp wrote intellectual books, and he was the disciple of the Apostle John (according to Irenaeus and Tertullian). The Bar Kokhba rebellion, the rise of Constantine, and the nearing of the time of the Nicene Creed existed back then. There were new heresies like Marcion of Sinope, who wanted to reject all of the Old Testament. Cyprian wrote that no man is a bishop of bishops. That means that no bishop (that includes the bishop of Rome) should claim total domination of the whole church. The church is headed by Jesus Christ, not any bishop. By 313 A.D., the Edict of Milan existed causing toleration of some Christians. The problem is that religious freedom from that edict benefited only certain people, not all people. True religious freedom means that all people of any faith, or no faith should not experience persecution (beyond just approved people). Therefore, we see the growth of Christianity in this 2nd era of the church.
"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
-1st Peter 1:23.
The Early Church Matures
Early Christianity from 100 to 313 of the Ante-Nicene era had tons of developments. From 150-150 A.D., apocryphal and non-canonical works spread like the Apocryphon of James, Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Gospel of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and Secret Gospel of Mark (Complete Gospels, published by Jesus Seminar). Many of these works are pro-Gnostic as Gnosticism was a heresy created very early in the world. There is the time of Papias (from 110-130 A.D.) writing the "Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord", lost, widely quoted (Apostolic Fathers). By 110 A.D., Ignatius of Antioch wrote to the Smyrnaeans that the Christian church is katholikos ("universal"). Polycarp or the bishop of Smyrna wrote the Letter to the Philippians from 110-160 A.D. By 112, Pliny reported on the rapid growth of Christianity in Bithynia. By 120 A.D., the Rabbi Tarfon advocated burning the Gospel. By 125 A.D., 2 Peter was found. It was not accepted into canon until the early 400s, drew upon the Epistle of Jude, and the epistle, Pastoral Epistles was written. By 125 A.D., there was the Rylands Library Papyrus P52, oldest extant NT fragment, p. 1935, parts of Jn18:31-33,37-38. From 130-250 A.D., the Christian Apologists were created by many people to oppose the Roman pagan religion. The authors of such works were: Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Apology of Aristides, Theophilus of Antioch, Tatian, Quadratus, Melito of Sardis, Apollinaris Claudius, Marcus Minucius Felix, Arnobius, Epistle to Diognetus. From 132 to 135 A.D., there was the Bar Kokhba revolt. That was the final major attempt by Jewish people to liberate themselves from Roman brutal occupation. Thousands of Jewish people died, and it happened in Jerusalem too. Jerusalem was renamed by the Romas as Aelia Capitolina after the revolt. From 142-145 A.D, Marcion of Sinope: bishop according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, goes to Rome, possibly to buy the bishopric of Rome, upon rejection forms his own church in Rome, later called Marcionism, rejected Old Testament, decreed canon of one Gospel, one Apostolicon (10 Letters of Paul) and one Antithesis which contrasted the Old Testament with the New Testament. Maricon was a heretic as the Old Testament is the New Testament's predecessor, and the New Testament reveals the fulfillment of the prophecies and stories from the Old Testament.
The Gospel reached Portugal and Morocco by 150 A.D., the Gnostic Valentinus narrowly lost the election for Bishop of Rome at the same time. The Shepherd of Hermas was written in Rome by 150 A.D. There were other Gnostic books written from 150-200 A.D. like Gospel of the Saviour, Gospel of Peter, Oxyrhynchus Gospels, and Dialogue of the Saviour. In 155 A.D, the heretic Montanus claimed to be the Counselor of John 14:16. The account called Marytrdom of Polycarp was created in 160 A.D. The Bishop Soter in 166 wrote that the number of Christians has surpassed the Jewish population. By 167 A.D., at the request of Lucius of Britain, missionaries Fuganus (or Phagan) and Duvianus (or Deruvian) were sent by Roman Bishop Eleuterus to convert the Britons to Christianity. In 170 A.D., Dionysius, bishop of Corinth claimed Christians were changing and faking his own letters just as [he knew] they had changed the Gospels (Eusebius' EH 4 c.23 v.12; Ante-Nicene Fathers, v.8). During the same time, Taitain produces "Diatessaron" (Harmony) by blending 4 "Western" text-type Gospels into 1. Symmachus the Ebionite writes a new Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. The first Christians reported in Austria is from 174 A.D. There was persecution in Lyon, France including the martyrdom of Blandina. In 180, the Christian scholar Hegesippus wrote against the Gnostic and Mariconism heresies. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon: combated heresies, cited "Western" Gospel text-type (Ante-Nicene Fathers); second "Primate of the Gauls." From 185-350, there was the Muratorian fragment, 1st extant canon for New Testament after Marcion?, written in Rome by Hippolytus?, excludes Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 3 John; includes Wisdom of Solomon, Apocalypse of Peter.
Saint Apollonius used the term catholic about 1 John in 186 A.D. Demetrius, bishop of Alexandria condemned Origen. Bishop of Rome Victor I (189-198) condemned the Eastern churches that continued to observe Easter on Nisan 14 Quartodeciman. Pataenus of Alexandria goes to India in response to an appeal for Christian teachers in 190 A.D. Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus in 196 A.D. Bar Daisan writes of Christians among the Parthians, Bactrians (Kushans), and other peoples in the Persian Empire. Caius, the presbyter of Rome, wrote "Dialogue against Proclus" in Ante-Nicene Fathers, rejected Revelation, said to be by Gnostic Cerinthus. Caius is wrong. The first Christians reported to be in Switzerland and Belgium were found by 200 A.D. Sextus Julius Africanus was an early Christian traveler and historian of 200 A.D. Papyrus 46 was created by 200 A.D. too.
New Issues are Abundant
By 200 A.D., there was the rival bishop of Rome named Natalius. He later submitted to Bishop Zephyrinus. Later, the persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire accelerated. In 202 A.D., Roman Emperor Severus issued an edict forbidding conversion to Christianity. Abgar, King of Edessa, embraced the Christian faith in 206 A.D. By 208 A.D., Tertullian wrote that Christ had followers on the far side of the Roman wall in Britain, where Roman legions had not yet penetrated. From 218 to 258, Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, cited "Western" NT text-type, claimed Christians were freely forging his letters to discredit him (Ante-Nicene Fathers). In ca. 220, Clement of Alexandria, cited "Alexandrian" NT text-type & Secret Gospel of Mark & Gospel of the Egyptians; wrote "Exhortations to the Greeks"; "Rich Man's Salutation"; "To the Newly Baptized"; (Ante-Nicene Fathers). The controversial and non-canonical Gospel of Judas was found in the Codex Tchacos by 220-340 A.D. Tertullian wrote about the Trinity and wrote it as Trinitas. By 225 A.D., there was the Papyrus 45: 1st Chester Beatty Papyri, Gospels (Caesarean text-type, mixed), Acts (Alexandrian text-type). From 235 to 238, Maximinus Thrax: emperor of Rome, ended Christian schism in Rome by deporting Roman bishop Pontian and Hippolytus to Sardinia, where they soon died. The heretic Mani preaches in Seleucia-Ctseiphon in Iraq. Denis forms a church in Paris by 250. Dionysius is the Patriarch of Alexandria from 248 to 264. By 250, there were the Apostolic Constitutions, Liturgy of St James, Old Roman Symbol, Clementine literature. At the same time, there was Papyrus 72: Bodmer 5-11+, pub. 1959, "Alexandrian" text-type: Nativity of Mary; 3Cor; Odes of Solomon 11; Jude 1-25; Melito's Homily on Passover; Hymn fragment; Apology of Phileas; Ps33,34; 1Pt1:1-5:14; 2Pt1:1-3:18.
Origen believed that Jesus and God is of one substance. There were the Synods of Carthage back then. The person Novatian decreed no forgiveness for sins after baptism. Bishop Stephen I saw a major schism over rebaptizing heretics and apostates. There was the Valerian Massacre in 258 A.D. This was when the Roman emperor issued an edict to execute immediately all Christian Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons, including Bishop Sixtus II, Antipope Novatian, Cyprian of Carthage (CE: Valerian, Schaff's History Vol 2 Chap 2 § 22). The time of 264–269 saw the Synods of Antioch: condemned Paul of Samosata, Bishop of Antioch, founder of Adoptionism (Jesus was human until the Holy Spirit descended at his baptism), also condemned term homoousios adopted at Nicaea. The death of Gregory Thaumaturgus, Christian leader in Pontus, took place in 270 A.D. It was said that when Gregory became "bishop" there were only 17 Christians in Pontus while at his death thirty years later there were only 17 non-Christians. Anthony started the monastic movement in 270 A.D. Mani (prophet), crucified, founder of the dualistic Manichaean sect in Persia in 276. Rural churches grow in northern Italy. Christianity is no longer exclusively in urban areas. Theonas, bishop of Alexandria lived by the end of the 200's A.D. Maurice from Egypt is killed at Agauno, Switzerland for refusing to sacrifice to pagan divinities. This was in 287 A.D. Christian monasticism was created by Pachomius in the 300's A.D. Bishop Mercellinus of Rome offered pagan sacrifices for Diocletian. He later repented.
The Event that Changed Everything (The Start of the Nicaean Era)
By the 300's A.D, Christianity had been through massive changes. By 300 A.D., the first Christians are reported in Greater Khorasan; an estimated 10% of the world's population is now Christian; parts of the Bible are available in 10 different languages. In 301 A.D, Armenia is the first kingdom in history to adopt Christianity as the state religion. From 303 to 312 A.D., there was the Diocletian Massacre of Christianity including the burning of Scriptures. Diocletian was one of the most anti-Christian Roman Emperors of all time. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding that they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutory laws were nullified by different emperors (Galerius with the Edict of Serdica in 311) at different times, but Constantine and Licinius' Edict of Milan in 313 has traditionally marked the end of the persecution. The persecution failed to check the rise of the Church. By 324, Constantine was the sole ruler of the empire, and Christianity had become his favored religion. Although the persecution resulted in death, torture, imprisonment, or dislocation for many Christians, most of the empire's Christians avoided punishment. By 303, there was the person of Saint George, bishop of Pettau Victorinus who existed in 304, and Bishop of Rome Marcellinus repented of his previous defection and had martyrdom with many companions. The 306 Synod of Elvira did the wrong thing to ban relations between Christians and Jewish people. In 310, Maxentius deported Bishop Eusebius and Heraclius to Sicily. In 312, Lucian of Antioch, or the founder of the School of Antioch was martyred. In 312, Constantine claimed to have a vision. He said that he while gazing into the sun he saw a cross with the words by this sign conquer. He was inspired by the issuing of the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. That Edict means that Constantine and Licinius end persecution and establish toleration of Christianity. After this time, the modern-day Catholic Church as we know it would be born. No words in the OT and NT support calling a grown man Holy Father, the belief in purgatory, the Rosary, the forbidden of clergy like Bishops to get married, the union of church and state, sprinkling or baptizing babies, calling Mary the Mother of God, and venerating statues in a religious setting. We know that the scriptures mention the Deity of Jesus Christ, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, baptism (which is done by immersion), communion, the priesthood of all believers, the separation of church and state (as Jesus Christ said that his Kingdom is not of this world as found in the New Testament), and salvation (being by grace through faith). Let us be clear on the truth.
Epilogue
From the passing away of the Apostle John in ca. 100 A.D. to the rise of Constantine in ca. 312 A.D., Christianity has grown and matured massively. Christians existed from a few dozen people to thousands of followers by the early 4th century. During the duration of that time, many people have changed their lives, martyrs have existed (being murdered by the Roman Empire and other anti-Christians), and heresies rose up too. Many of these heresies embraced pagan philosophies like Gnosticism, Ebionism, and other movements. Many of these heresies deny the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, embrace an extreme legalism, and bash anything physical in the Universe (when many things in the Universe being physical are good like trees, the soil, and sheep moving around in farms worldwide). From 100 A.D., the influences of Peter, James, and Paul created the powerbase of early Christianity, headed by the Lord Jesus Christ. Say what you want about Paul, but Paul wrote one of the revolutionary verses in human history stating that under Christ, there is no slave or free, no male or female, but we are all one under Jesus Christ. Nazarenes were Jewish Christians, but they weren't heretics. They followed Mosaic law. We shouldn't be required to follow Mosaic Law for salvation, but the New Testament is clear not to judge anyone who follows Mosaic Law or not as found in Colossians. The early church spread rapidly from Israel, Egypt, the areas of the Danube River, England, the Alps, Italy, and other places as far as India in a span of a few centuries. Many people were martyrs, the translation of the Bible was in different languages, and the power of the Gospel helped to expand Christianity in its infancy. By the 300s, some in the Church wanted a unitary ruler when even Cyprian said that no man shall be a bishop of bishops. Later, as part of the imperfections of humanity, superstitions, and heresies were promoted to promote the foundation of the origin of the modern-day Catholic Church. There was the rise of monastic life too. Constantine's union of church and state was a mistake because the church is an independent institution with its own power and doctrines that shouldn't be exploited to promote the whims of the state. From 312 to 606 A.D., Christianity saw many developments, but the believers remained in existence too.
I will always glorify the name of God who gave us power to repent, to believe, and to live holy lives with joy, strength, and humbleness.
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and they house."
-Acts 16:31
By Timothy
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