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Ebionites
Ebionites (Ancient Greek: Ἐβιωναῖοι, romanized: Ebiōnaîoi, derived from Hebrew language אֶבְיוֹנִים, ʾEḇyōnīm, meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a nontrinitarian Mosaic Law-observant Jewish-Christian sect that existed in Palestine and Transjordan during the early centuries of the Common Era.
Since historical records by the Ebionites are scarce, fragmentary and disputed, much of what is known or conjectured about them derives from the polemics of their Gentile-Christian opponents, specifically the Church Fathers—Irenaeus, Origen, Eusebius, and Epiphanius of Salamis—who saw the Ebionites as an unorthodox sect more or less distinct from other Jewish-Christian sects, such as the Nazarenes.
The Church Fathers agree on key points about the Ebionites, such as their rejection of core dogmas of proto-orthodox Christianity, such as Jesus' alleged divinity, pre-existence, and incarnation. They report that the Ebionites believed that Jesus was a righteous human being, who, by virtue of his faithful observance of the Law of Moses, was chosen by God to fulfill the role of a fully human Messiah. Accordingly, the Ebionites maintained that repentance and striving to observe both the Law of Moses and Jesus' moral teachings were necessary to be righteous and meritorious of entry into the coming kingdom of God on Earth, while rejecting Paul as a false apostle and an apostate from the Law.
However, the Church Fathers diverge on details regarding Ebionite views about the nature, role and mission of Jesus (denial or affirmation of the virgin birth; moral or metaphysical adoptionist Christology; Mosaic Law fulfillment or animal sacrifice abolishment), their use of additional scripture to the Hebrew Bible (Gospel of Matthew or one of the Jewish-Christian gospels), and their lifestyle practices (traditional Jewish dietary laws or ethical vegetarianism, etc.). Such variations may reflect either the genuine diversity among Ebionites sub-sects or the tendency of patristic heresiologists to conflate different early Christian sects and misattribute views and practices more typical of Gnostic Christianity to the Ebionites.
Modern critical scholars argue the Church Fathers' condemnation of the Ebionites as "judaizing heretics" only reflects the biased perspective of Gentile-Christian polemics. Some scholars propose that certain non-gnostic Ebionite views, particularly their emphasis on observing the letter and spirit of Mosaic Law and their belief in a non-divine fully human Christ, may reflect traditions close to those of the earliest disciples of Jesus and possibly of the historical Jesus himself.
The hellenized Hebrew term Ebionite was first applied by Irenaeus in the second century without making mention of Nazarenes (c. 180 CE). Origen wrote "for Ebion signifies 'poor' among the Jews, and those Jews who have received Jesus as Christ are called by the name of Ebionites." Tertullian was the first to write against a heresiarch called Ebion; scholars believe he derived this name from a literal reading of Ebionaioi as 'followers of Ebion', a derivation now considered mistaken for lack of any more substantial references to such a figure. The term the poor (Greek: ptōkhoí) was still used in its original, more general sense. Modern Hebrew still uses the Biblical Hebrew term the needy for almsgiving to the needy at Purim.
Scholar James D. Tabor argues that the Ebionites most likely named themselves after the poor, the first of many groups of people mentioned in the Beatitudes of Jesus as blessed and meritorious of entry in the coming Kingdom of God on Earth.
The earliest reference to a sect that might fit the description of the later Ebionites appears in Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho (c. 155-60).[citation needed] Justin distinguishes between Jewish Christians who observe the Law of Moses but do not require its observance upon others and those who believe the Mosaic Law to be obligatory on all. Irenaeus (c. 180) was probably the first to use the term Ebionites to name a sect he labeled heretical "Judaizers" for "stubbornly clinging to the Law". Origen (c. 212) remarks that the name derives from the Hebrew word evyon, meaning 'poor'. Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 310–320 – 403) gives the most complete account in his heresiology called Panarion, denouncing eighty heretical sects, among them the Ebionites. Epiphanius mostly gives general descriptions of their religious beliefs and includes quotations from their gospels, which have not survived. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the Ebionite movement "may have arisen about the time of the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem" (70 CE). The tentative dating of the origins of this sect depends on Epiphanius writing three centuries later and relying on information for the Ebionites from the Book of Elchasai, which may not have had anything to do with the Ebionites.
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Ebionites
Ebionites (Ancient Greek: Ἐβιωναῖοι, romanized: Ebiōnaîoi, derived from Hebrew language אֶבְיוֹנִים, ʾEḇyōnīm, meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a nontrinitarian Mosaic Law-observant Jewish-Christian sect that existed in Palestine and Transjordan during the early centuries of the Common Era.
Since historical records by the Ebionites are scarce, fragmentary and disputed, much of what is known or conjectured about them derives from the polemics of their Gentile-Christian opponents, specifically the Church Fathers—Irenaeus, Origen, Eusebius, and Epiphanius of Salamis—who saw the Ebionites as an unorthodox sect more or less distinct from other Jewish-Christian sects, such as the Nazarenes.
The Church Fathers agree on key points about the Ebionites, such as their rejection of core dogmas of proto-orthodox Christianity, such as Jesus' alleged divinity, pre-existence, and incarnation. They report that the Ebionites believed that Jesus was a righteous human being, who, by virtue of his faithful observance of the Law of Moses, was chosen by God to fulfill the role of a fully human Messiah. Accordingly, the Ebionites maintained that repentance and striving to observe both the Law of Moses and Jesus' moral teachings were necessary to be righteous and meritorious of entry into the coming kingdom of God on Earth, while rejecting Paul as a false apostle and an apostate from the Law.
However, the Church Fathers diverge on details regarding Ebionite views about the nature, role and mission of Jesus (denial or affirmation of the virgin birth; moral or metaphysical adoptionist Christology; Mosaic Law fulfillment or animal sacrifice abolishment), their use of additional scripture to the Hebrew Bible (Gospel of Matthew or one of the Jewish-Christian gospels), and their lifestyle practices (traditional Jewish dietary laws or ethical vegetarianism, etc.). Such variations may reflect either the genuine diversity among Ebionites sub-sects or the tendency of patristic heresiologists to conflate different early Christian sects and misattribute views and practices more typical of Gnostic Christianity to the Ebionites.
Modern critical scholars argue the Church Fathers' condemnation of the Ebionites as "judaizing heretics" only reflects the biased perspective of Gentile-Christian polemics. Some scholars propose that certain non-gnostic Ebionite views, particularly their emphasis on observing the letter and spirit of Mosaic Law and their belief in a non-divine fully human Christ, may reflect traditions close to those of the earliest disciples of Jesus and possibly of the historical Jesus himself.
The hellenized Hebrew term Ebionite was first applied by Irenaeus in the second century without making mention of Nazarenes (c. 180 CE). Origen wrote "for Ebion signifies 'poor' among the Jews, and those Jews who have received Jesus as Christ are called by the name of Ebionites." Tertullian was the first to write against a heresiarch called Ebion; scholars believe he derived this name from a literal reading of Ebionaioi as 'followers of Ebion', a derivation now considered mistaken for lack of any more substantial references to such a figure. The term the poor (Greek: ptōkhoí) was still used in its original, more general sense. Modern Hebrew still uses the Biblical Hebrew term the needy for almsgiving to the needy at Purim.
Scholar James D. Tabor argues that the Ebionites most likely named themselves after the poor, the first of many groups of people mentioned in the Beatitudes of Jesus as blessed and meritorious of entry in the coming Kingdom of God on Earth.
The earliest reference to a sect that might fit the description of the later Ebionites appears in Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho (c. 155-60).[citation needed] Justin distinguishes between Jewish Christians who observe the Law of Moses but do not require its observance upon others and those who believe the Mosaic Law to be obligatory on all. Irenaeus (c. 180) was probably the first to use the term Ebionites to name a sect he labeled heretical "Judaizers" for "stubbornly clinging to the Law". Origen (c. 212) remarks that the name derives from the Hebrew word evyon, meaning 'poor'. Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 310–320 – 403) gives the most complete account in his heresiology called Panarion, denouncing eighty heretical sects, among them the Ebionites. Epiphanius mostly gives general descriptions of their religious beliefs and includes quotations from their gospels, which have not survived. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the Ebionite movement "may have arisen about the time of the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem" (70 CE). The tentative dating of the origins of this sect depends on Epiphanius writing three centuries later and relying on information for the Ebionites from the Book of Elchasai, which may not have had anything to do with the Ebionites.