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| Virtually no writings of the Ebionites have survived, except as excerpted in the writings of orthodox Christian theologians, such as ], ], and ], who considered the Ebionites to be heretics. | Virtually no writings of the Ebionites have survived, except as excerpted in the writings of orthodox Christian theologians, such as ], ], and ], who considered the Ebionites to be heretics. | ||
| 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. The former emphasized the humanity of Jesus as the human son of ] and ], who was ']' as a ] when he was anointed by the ] at his baptism, and therefore the rightful priest-king of Israel by virtue of being a descendant of high priest ] through his mother and a descendant of king ] through his father. | 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. The former emphasized the humanity of Jesus as the human son of ] and ], who was ']' as a ] (or rather elevated to the status of prophet) when he was anointed by the ] at his baptism, and therefore the rightful priest-king of Israel by virtue of being a descendant of high priest ] through his mother and a descendant of king ] through his father. | ||
| Both groups revered ] as the legitimate apostolic successor of Jesus rather than ], considered ] to be an apostate, and of the books of the ] only accepted 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. | Both groups revered ] as the legitimate apostolic successor of Jesus rather than ], considered ] to be an apostate, and of the books of the ] only accepted 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. | ||
Revision as of 21:21, 27 December 2003
The Ebionites (from Hebrew אביונים, Ebionim, "the poor ones") were a Messianic Jewish sect which existed east of the Jordan River during the early centuries of the Common Era.
Virtually no writings of the Ebionites have survived, except as excerpted in the writings of orthodox Christian theologians, 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. The former emphasized the humanity of Jesus as the human son of Mary and Joseph, who was 'adopted' as a son of God (or rather elevated to the status of prophet) when he was anointed by the Holy Spirit at his baptism, and therefore the rightful priest-king of Israel by virtue of being a descendant of high priest Zadok through his mother and a descendant of king David through his father.
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 only accepted 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 Ebionitism (or Ebionism) was Gnostic in its teachings while another was Essene. Whether they were truly historical developments of earlier Ebionitism, or simply shared the name, is not clear.
In 1995, Shemayah Phillips started a modern Ebionite revival by forming the online Ebionite Jewish Community whose goals are the promotion of Judaism to Gentiles, the restoration of Jesus as a Jewish prophet through the deconstruction of the "Christ myth", and disproving that Christianity is a biblically related religion.