Christianity - A Journey from Facts to Fiction — Page 132
132 Christianity – A Journey from Facts to Fiction The First Followers of Jesus Early Christians appear to have been fundamentally divided over both the nature of Jesus as and whether to adhere to the Mosaic Law or not. In the second phase of Christian development, St Paul acquired the most pivotal character in giving Christianity a new philosophy and ideology. There were fundamental differ- ences of opinion between Paul and James the Righteous. While James looked after the Jerusalem Church, Paul was preaching in the West, particularly to the gentiles. The Western Church evolved along Pauline doctrinal lines, whereas the Church in Jerusalem developed along monotheistic teachings. One offshoot of James’ ministry was the Ebionites, a sect whose name derives from the Hebrew ebionim meaning ‘the meek’ or ‘the poor’. They were the Jewish Christians, for whom Jesus as took on the mantle of Messiah and not that of the ‘Son of God’. They followed the Mosaic law with great zeal, and had their own Gospel known in various contexts as the ‘Gospel of the Hebrews’, ‘Gospel of the Ebionites’ or the ‘Gospel of the Nazare- nes’. Here is a description of the Ebionites drawn from various sources. In his book ‘ The History of the Church ’ written in the 4th cen- tury AD in Caesarea, Eusebius mentions the Ebionites in Book 3, Vespasian to Trajan. He mocks at their views, saying that their name comes from their poor and mean opinion of Jesus as. The Ebionites regarded Jesus as as mortal and esteemed him as righteous through the growth of his character. As Jews, they observed the Sabbath, and every detail of the Law, and did not accept the