Eastern theology tends to Divinity;

262

Its Three Chief Primitive Forms.

tasm; to the Jewish Gnostic, Cerinthus, possessed of a twofold nature; how, after the spread of Christianity, in succeeding ages, all over the empire, the intellectual peculiarities of the East and West were visibly impressed upon it-the East filled with speculative doctrines, of which the most important were those brought forward by the Platonists of Alexandria, for the Platonists, of all philosophical sects, furnished most converts; the West, in accordance with its utilitarian genius, which esteems the practical and disparages the intellectual, singularly aided by propitious opportunity, occupying itself with material aggrandizement and territorial power. The vanishing point of all Christian sectarian ideas of the East was Humanity. in God, of those of the West in Man. Herein consists the

Western, to

Foreign modifications of Christianity.

Judaic Christianity.

essential difference between them. The one was rich in doc-
trines respecting the nature of the Divinity, the other abounded
in regulations for the improvement and consolation of Hu-
manity. For long there was a tolerance, and even liberality
toward differences of opinion. Until the Council of Nicæa, no
one was accounted a heretic if only he professed his belief in
the Apostles' Creed.

A very astute ecclesiastical historian, referring to the early
contaminations of Christianity, makes this remark: "A clear
and unpolluted fountain, fed by secret channels with the dew
of Heaven, when it grows a large river, and takes a long and
winding course, receives a tincture from the various soils
through which it passes."

Thus influenced by surrounding circumstances, the primitive modifications of Christianity were three,-Judaic Christianity, Gnostic Christianity, African Christianity.

Of these, the first consisted of contaminations from Judaism, from which true Christianity disentangled itself with extreme difficulty, at the cost of dissensions among the Apostles themselves. From the purely Hebrew point of view of the early disciples, who surrendered with reluctance their expectation that the Saviour was the long-looked-for temporal Messiah, the King of the Jews, under which name he suffered, the faith gradually expanded, including successively proselytes of the Gate, the surrounding Gentiles, and at last the whole

world, irrespective of nation, climate, or colour. With this truly imperial extension, there came into view the essential doctrines on which it was based. But Judaic Christianity, properly speaking, soon came to an untimely end. It was unable to maintain itself against the powerful apostolic influences in the bosom of the Church, and the violent pressure exerted by the unbelieving Jews, who exhibited toward it an inflexible hatred. Moreover, the rapid advance of the new doctrines through Asia Minor and Greece offered a tempting field for enthusiasm. The first preachers in the Roman empire were Jews; for the first years circumcision and conformity to the law of Moses were insisted on; but the first Council determined that point, at Jerusalem, probably about A.D. 49, in the negative. The organization of the Church, originally modelled upon that of the Synagogue, was changed. In the beginning the creed and the rites were simple; it was only necessary to profess belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, and baptism marked the admission of the convert into the community of the faithful. James, called the brother of our Lord, as might from his relationship be expected, occupied the position of headship in the Church. The names of the bishops of the Church of Jerusalem, as given by Eusebius, succeed to James, the brother of Christ, in the following order :-Simeon, Justus, Zaccheus, Tobias, Benjamin, John, Matthew, Philip, Simeon, Justus, Levi, Ephraim, Joseph, and Judas. The names are indicative of the nationality. It was the boast of this Church that it was not corrupted with any heresy until the last Jewish bishop, a boast which must be received with some limitation, for very early we find traces of two distinct parties in Jerusalem-those who received the account of the miraculous conception and those who did not. The Ebionites, who were desirous of tracing our Saviour's lineage up to David, did so according to the genealogy given in the Gospel of St. Matthew, and therefore they would not accept what was said respecting the miraculous conception, affirming that it was apocryphal, and in obvious contradiction to the genealogy in which our Saviour's line was traced up through Joseph, who, it would thus appear, was not his

Causes of the arrest of Jewish conversion.

Gnostic Christianity.

Platonic Christianity..

264

Gnostic and Platonic Christianity.

father. They are to be considered as the national or patriotic
party.

Two causes seem to have been concerned in arresting the
spread of conversion among the Jews: the first was their dis-
appointment as respects the temporal power of the Messiah;
the second, the prominence eventually given to the doctrine of
the Trinity. Their jealousy of anything that might touch the
national doctrine of the unity of God became almost a fanati-
cism. Judaic Christianity may be said to have virtually ended
with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans; its last
trace, however, was the dispute respecting Easter, which was
terminated by the Council of Nicæa. The conversion of the
Jews had ceased before the reign of Constantine.

sects.

The second form, Gnostic Christianity, had reached its full developement within a century after the death of Christ; it maintained an active influence through the first four centuries, and gave birth during that time to many different subordinate It consisted essentially in engrafting Christianity upon Magianism. It made the Saviour an emanated intelligence, derived from the eternal, self-existing mind; this intelligence, and not the Man-Jesus, was the Christ, who thus, being an impassive phantom, afforded to Gnosticism no idea of an expiatory sacrifice, none of an atonement. It was arrested by the reappearance of pure Magianism in the Persian empire under Ardeschir Babhegan; not, however, without communicating to orthodox Christianity an impression far more profound than is commonly supposed, and of which indelible traces may be perceived in our day.

The third form, African or Platonic Christianity, arose in Alexandria. Here was the focus of those fatal disputes respecting the Trinity, a word which does not occur in the Holy Scriptures, and which, it appears, had been first introduced by Theophilus, the Bishop of Antioch, the seventh from the Apostles. In the time of Hadrian, Christianity had become diffused all over Egypt, and had found among the Platonizing philosophers of the metropolis many converts. These men modified the Gnostic idea to suit their own doctrines, asserting that the principle from which the universe originated was

something emitted from the supreme mind, and capable of being drawn into it again, as they supposed was the case with a ray and the sun. This ray, they affirmed, was permanently attached to our Saviour, and hence he might be considered as God. Thus, therefore, there were in his person three parts, a body, a soul, and the logos; hence he was both God and man. But, as a ray is inferior to the sun, it seemed to follow that the Christ must be inferior to the Father.

In all this it is evident that there is something transcendental, and the Platonizing Christians, following the habit of the Greek philosophers, considered it as a mysterious doctrine; they spoke of it as "meat for strong men," but the popular current doctrine was "milk for babes." Justin Martyr, a.d. 132, who had been a Platonic philosopher, believed that the divine ray, after it was attached to Christ, was never withdrawn from him, or ever separated from its source. He offers two illustrations of his idea. As speech (logos), going forth from The Logos. one man, enters into another, conveying to him meaning, while the same meaning remains in the person who speaks, thus the logos of the Father continues unimpaired in himself, though imparted to the Christ; or, as from one lamp another may be lighted without any loss of splendour, so the divinity of the Father is transferred to the Son. This last illustration subsequently became very popular, and was adopted into the Nicene Creed. "God of God, Light of Light."

It is obvious that the intention of this reasoning was to preserve intact the doctrine of the unity of God, for the great body of Christians were at this time monarchists, the word being used in its theological acceptation.

nence of Al

ideas.

Thus the Jewish and Gnostic forms both died out, but the PermaAfrican, Platonic, or Alexandrian was destined to be perpetu- exandrian ated. The manner in which this occurred can only be understood by a study of the political history of the times. To such facts as are needful for the purpose, I shall therefore with brevity allude.

Christi

From its birthplace in Judæa, Christianity advanced to the Spread of conquest of the Roman world. In its primitive form it re- anity from ceived an urgency from the belief that the end of all things was

Syria.

tions of or

cessary.

close at hand, and that the earth was on the point of being burnt by fire. From the civil war it had waged in Judæa, it emerged to enter on a war of invasion and foreign annexation. In succession, Cyprus, Phrygia, Galatia, and all Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy, were penetrated. The persecutions of Nero, incident on the burning of Rome, did not for a moment retard its career; during his reign it rapidly spread, and in every direction Petrine and Pauline, or Judaizing and Hellenizing churches were springing up. The latter gained the superiority, Modifica and the former passed away. The constitution of the churches ganization changed, the congregations gradually losing power which bebecome ne- came concentrated in the bishop. By the end of the first century the episcopal form was predominant, and the ecclesiastical organization so imposing as to command the attention of the emperors, who now began to discover the mistake that had hitherto been made in confounding the new religion with Judaism. Their dislike to it, soon manifested in measures of repression, was in consequence of the peculiar attitude it assumed. As a body, the Christians not only kept aloof from all the amusements of the times, avoiding theatres and public rejoicings, but in every respect constituted themselves an empire within the empire. Such a state of things was altogether inconsistent with the established government, and its certain perialism. inconveniences and evils were not long in making themselves felt. The triumphant march of Christianity was singularly facilitated by free intercommunication over the Mediterranean, in consequence of that sea being in the hands of one sovereign power. The Jewish and Greek merchants afforded it a medium; their trading towns were its posts. But it is not to be supposed that its spread was without resistance; for at least the first century and a half the small farmers and land labourers entertained a hatred to it, looking upon it as a peculiarity of Persecution the trading communities, whom they ever despised. They perconsolidates suaded themselves that the earthquakes, inundations, and pestilences were attributable to it. To these incitements was added a desire to seize the property of the faithful, confiscated by the law. Of this the early Christians unceasingly and bitterly complained. But the rack, the fire, wild beasts were unavail

Becomes antagon

istic to Im

it.