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| All these sources agree that the Ebionites denied the divinity of ] and the doctrine of the ]. One group, apparently the larger, denied the ] as well, while a smaller group accepted this doctrine. | All these sources agree that the Ebionites denied the divinity of ] and the doctrine of the ]. One group, apparently the larger, denied the ] as well, while a smaller group accepted this doctrine. | ||
| Both groups revered ] as the |
Both groups revered ] as the legitimate apostolic successor of Jesus rather than ], considered ] to be an apostate, and of the books of the ] they accepted only a version of the ] of ] to be Scripture. Both groups also adhered to the Jewish religious law. Apparently, one group considered observance of the law mandatory for all followers of Jesus, while the other considered it to apply only to Messianic Jews. | ||
| Neither group exerted any great influence, and both gradually dwindled into obscurity and extinction. | Neither group exerted any great influence, and both gradually dwindled into obscurity and extinction. | ||
Revision as of 18:59, 20 December 2003
The Ebionites (from Hebrew אביונים, Ebionim, "the poor ones") were a Messianic Jewish sect which existed in the Near East during the early centuries of the Common Era.
Virtually no writings of the Ebionites have survived, except as excerpted in the writings of orthodox Christians, such as Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and Tertullian, who considered the Ebionites to be heretics.
All these sources agree that the Ebionites denied the divinity of Jesus and the doctrine of the Trinity. One group, apparently the larger, denied the Virgin Birth as well, while a smaller group accepted this doctrine.
Both groups revered James the Just as the legitimate apostolic successor of Jesus rather than Peter, considered Paul to be an apostate, and of the books of the New Testament they accepted only a version of the Gospel of Matthew to be Scripture. Both groups also adhered to the Jewish religious law. Apparently, one group considered observance of the law mandatory for all followers of Jesus, while the other considered it to apply only to Messianic Jews.
Neither group exerted any great influence, and both gradually dwindled into obscurity and extinction.
A later form of Ebionism was Gnostic in its teachings. Whether it was truly an historical development of earlier Ebionism, or simply shared the name, is not clear.
In 1995, Shemayah Phillips started a Ebionite revival by forming the online Ebionite Jewish Community whose goals are the promotion of Judaism to Gentiles, the restoration Jesus as a Jewish prophet through the deconstruction of the "Christ myth", and disproving that Christianity is a biblically related religion.