Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity
Part 4: Question: Bart Ehrman asserts that Jesus never claimed to be God. Instead the later Christians attributed divinity to Jesus because they were influenced by surrounding pagan ideas and especially by the influence of Jewish angelology at that time. How would you evaluate the historical basis for Ehrman’s assertion?
Discussants: Dr. Ng Kam Weng and Mr. Micheal Lim
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Was the early Christian belief in the deity of Jesus influenced by non-Christian ideas?
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Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity
Question: How did the apostles and early Christians come to believe in the deity of Christ?
Question: But critics like Elaine Pagels & Bart Ehrman argue that this traditional history of orthodoxy is skewed because it grants greater authority to the canonical gospels and ignores the other (gnostic ) gospels. Why do you think the canonical four gospels provide more accurate historical information about Jesus than the gnostic gospels?
Question: Many secular university scholars argue that there was diversity of Christian beliefs in the early church as different sects competed with one another for influence. When the sect in Rome gained power it declared itself orthodox and condemned the other sects like Gnosticism to be heretical. What is your response?