Christianity, at least
the practice of religious faith and history that has been handed down to us by
Ecclesiastical Church fathers and biblical historians covering roughly the past
two thousand years ago, doesn’t tell the whole story. To begin with it did not have its beginnings
in Rome, Italy of Western Europe. To make a long story short, Christianity, as
it pertains to non-native Jews and Gentiles outside of Judea, began in the
country of Syria (Acts 11:
19-21, 26). In fact, the Church at Antioch, where believers were first
called “Christians” was west of the town of Aleppo, where some of the fighting between
the military of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and rebel anti-government had
been taking place in contemporary times. This Antioch Church became headquarters
for the great missionary expedition of Barnabas and Saul [Apostle Paul]. The
Holy Spirit commissioned the two church leaders to the work and this is the
first time in the entire Bible that the Holy Spirit is recorded to have spoken
audibly to anyone. The places that were evangelized are located in Turkey [Galatia]
mostly, with Greece/Acaia [Macedonia] next, and lastly, a few places in Eastern Europe.
This will probably come as a surprise or shock to most readers of this article. In order to verify whether this is true or not, start with the place names in Acts 2: 19 all the way through Revelation 3: 14 and reference them in a current Bible Dictionary [HOLMAN]. Afterwards, use the Bible map of the Roman Empire that is included at the back references in most bibles and compare the geographical shape and boundaries to Google maps of Northern Africa and the Middle East, and also Europe. The Apostle Peter, who is traditionally considered the first Bishop of Rome doesn’t seem to have visited Rome, but the closest he may have gotten was Corinth, which in Achaia, south of Greece (1 Corinthians 1: 12; 9: 5). As far as correspondence to believers, in his epistles or letters, the recipients were located in parts of Turkey (1 Peter 1: 1).
The Apostle Peter, one would think should have had a more prominent role in the affairs of the Church (Matthew 16: 17-18; John 21: 15-17), but he didn’t; at least from the Scriptural accounts of his life. James, the Lord’s brother, became the head of the Jerusalem Church (Acts 12: 17; 21: 18; Galatians 1: 9, 19; 2: 9, 12), and even in his first epistle, presumably written from Rome (Babylon), he mentions about being a fellow elder, one among others, and not as the head Elder/Bishop [Pope] of the Church or congregation (1 Peter 5: 1-2a, 13). The word used to translate “elder” might refer to Peter’s age or experience as opposed to any official title; since he always referred to himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1: 1; 2 Peter 1: 1). Certainly the Apostle Paul had an impact on Christianity, especially with his voluminous writings; and in fact, without such documents Christianity as experienced throughout the world, would not exist in the form we know today.
This will probably come as a surprise or shock to most readers of this article. In order to verify whether this is true or not, start with the place names in Acts 2: 19 all the way through Revelation 3: 14 and reference them in a current Bible Dictionary [HOLMAN]. Afterwards, use the Bible map of the Roman Empire that is included at the back references in most bibles and compare the geographical shape and boundaries to Google maps of Northern Africa and the Middle East, and also Europe. The Apostle Peter, who is traditionally considered the first Bishop of Rome doesn’t seem to have visited Rome, but the closest he may have gotten was Corinth, which in Achaia, south of Greece (1 Corinthians 1: 12; 9: 5). As far as correspondence to believers, in his epistles or letters, the recipients were located in parts of Turkey (1 Peter 1: 1).
The Apostle Peter, one would think should have had a more prominent role in the affairs of the Church (Matthew 16: 17-18; John 21: 15-17), but he didn’t; at least from the Scriptural accounts of his life. James, the Lord’s brother, became the head of the Jerusalem Church (Acts 12: 17; 21: 18; Galatians 1: 9, 19; 2: 9, 12), and even in his first epistle, presumably written from Rome (Babylon), he mentions about being a fellow elder, one among others, and not as the head Elder/Bishop [Pope] of the Church or congregation (1 Peter 5: 1-2a, 13). The word used to translate “elder” might refer to Peter’s age or experience as opposed to any official title; since he always referred to himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1: 1; 2 Peter 1: 1). Certainly the Apostle Paul had an impact on Christianity, especially with his voluminous writings; and in fact, without such documents Christianity as experienced throughout the world, would not exist in the form we know today.
As a
final point, Christianity is NOT a separate, exclusively non-Jewish religion
but rather the opposite; it is a part of the Jewish faith or rather, the
fulfillment or culmination of it through Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Jewish
Messiah (Romans 11: 1-32; Ephesians 2:
11-16).
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11Tacoma, WA 98402
October 17, 2013
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
