What is Early Christian?Early Christianity, the period of Christianity preceding the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. This typically divides historically into the Apostolic Age and the Ante-Nicene Period (from the Apostolic Age until Nicea). The first Christians, as described in the first chapters of the Book of Acts, were all Jews either by birth or conversion and historians refer to them as Jewish Christians. The early Gospel message spread orally, probably originally in Aramaic, and later in Greek. The New Testament's Acts of the Apostles and Epistle to the Galatians record that the first Christian community centered on Jerusalem and that its leaders included Peter, James, the brother of Jesus, and John the Apostle.
Who is Bart Ehrman?Bart Ehrman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of New Testament, historical Jesus, and development of early Christianity. Ehrman has written and edited 30 books, including three college textbooks. He has also authored six New York Times bestsellers. He is currently the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
What is Ebionites?Ebionites is a patristic term referring to a Jewish Christian movement that existed during the early centuries of the Christian Era. They regarded Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah while rejecting his divinity and his virgin birth, and insisted on the necessity of following Jewish law and rites. They used only one of the Jewish-Christian gospels, the Hebrew Book of Matthew starting at chapter 3, revered James the brother of Jesus (James the Just), and rejected Paul the Apostle as an apostate from the Law.
What is Gnostic?Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: gnostikos, "having knowledge") is a modern name for a variety of ancient religious ideas and systems. Originating in Jewish-Christian milieus in the first and second century AD. These systems believed that the material world is created by an emanation of the highest God, trapping the divine spark within the human body.Gnosticism is also defined as the belief in, dualism of good and bad and special knowledge for salvation.