Christianity - A Journey from Facts to Fiction — Page 133
The Evolution of Christianity 133 Pauline idea of salvation through faith alone. He also talks of another group of Ebionites who accepted the virgin birth and the Holy Spirit, but refused to accept Jesus’ as pre-existence as ‘God the Word and Wisdom’. They followed a ‘Gospel of the Hebrews’ which could possibly have been St Matthew’s Gospel. They observed the Sabbath and Jewish system, but celebrated the resurrection. * R. Eisenman and M. Wise while describing the background of Ebionites in their book The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered (1992) say that James (the ‘Zaddik’ or ‘Zadok’, meaning Righteous) was the leader of the Jerusalem Church in the middle of the first century (40–60 AD approx. ). The branch was retrospectively called Jewish Christianity in Palestine. The Ebionites developed from this branch. • The Community who followed James were known as ‘the Poor’, (Galatians 2:10, James 2:3–5) a designation mentioned both in the Sermon on the Mount and in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In many ways, Eisenman feels that the Ebionites were similar to the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They honoured James the Right- eous, and believed Jesus as to be their mortal Messiah, while Paul had become an Apostate for the Law. They observed the Law and * 'The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered,' R Eisenman and M Wise, p. 186, (Element Books, 1992) • 'The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered,' R Eisenman and M Wise, p. 233-234, (Element Books, 1992)