Arabic Nazarenes May Have Kept Original Christian Practices

COGwriter

There are scattered reports of people living in areas now predominantly populated by Arabic peoples who held to original Nazarene Christianity. But in most of the older literature, very little is mentioned about them. Some believe that the Greco-Romans intentionally reported little about them or even destroyed the records of them.

Notice the following comments:

References to early Nasarene beliefs and practices are extremely rare in western literature. The few we find in Epiphanius' unsympathetic Panarion and other such "Christian" propaganda literature, represent the "party line" against the original Essene Nasarene Way.

The Christian movement was relatively thorough, even ruthless, in destroying all original documents and indicators of its true origins. The only things we are given to know are what they wanted us to know. Farther east, in the Islam world, their influence was not so strong and perhaps not so thorough. It appears as if some original documents, traditions and legends have survived in Islamic literature, notably the Tathbit Dala'il Nubuwwat Sayyidina Mahammad, (The Establishment of Proofs for the Prophethood of Our Master Mohammed'), written in Arabic by 'Abd al-Jabbar (10th century Mu'tazilite) and recently translated by Shlomo Pines (Arabic Traditions on Christian Origins. As reported at http://www.essene.com/Bible/ArabicTraditionsOnChristianOrigins.html viewed 09/16/08).

Shlomo Pines translated much of the one chapter of it into English, that discussed Arabic Judeao-Christians who seemed to have practices like other Nazarene Christians (Nazarene Christianity: Were the Original Christians Nazarenes?).

A Harvard journal indicates that the source document came may have originated from the fifth, sixth, or seventh century (Howard G. The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 81, No. 1 (Jan., 1988), pp. 117-120), while others have claimed that part of it could have originally came from the first century or first half of the second (Pines, p. 21).

I cannot make the age determination, other than to say that if the document is actually true, it probably partially originated in the second century for it is in the second century A.D. that a variety of compromises with the Romans occurred with those that did not practice original Christianity (though the first reference in it could be somewhat of an oral tradition from the first century).

As I do not have the entire original manuscript (though I do posses Shlomo Pines' book), nor do I consider that all of it can be authentic, this article will only contain a couple of key pieces.

Nazarenes Follow Jesus and Behave as He Did

Here is some of what Shlomo Pines translated that 'Abd al-Jabbar wrote:

(70a) He {Jesus} and his companions behaved constantly in this manner, until he left this world. He said to his companions: "Act as you have seen me act, instruct people in accordance with instructions I have given you, and be for them what I have been for you." His companions behaved constantly in this manner and in accordance with this. And so did those who (came) after the first generation of his companions, and (also) those who came long after (the second generation). Then they began to make changes and alterations, (to introduce) innovations into the religion (al-din), to seek dominion (ri`asa), to make friends with people by (indulging) their passions, to (try) to circumvent the Jews and to satisfy the anger (which) they (felt) against the latter, even if (in doing so) they (had) to abandon the religion. This is clear from the Gospels which are with them and to which they refer and from their book, known as the Book of Praxeis (Acts). It is (written) there: A group (qawm) of Christians left Jerusalem (bayt al-maqdis) and came to Antioch and other towns of Syria (al-Sham) (Pines S. The Jewish Christians of the Early Centuries of Christianity according to a New Source. Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities II, No.13; 1966. Jerusalem, p. 25).

What the above emphasizes is that Christians were to Jesus' practices--19 times in the New Testament (NKJV) Jesus tells people "follow Me" (e.g. Mathew 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 16:24; 19:21, etc.). Those who help to original Nazarene forms of Christianity certainly did that better than those who practice Greco-Roman forms.

And while some will complain about following Jesus' examples in observing the Ten Commandments (see also What Did Jesus Teach About the Ten Commandments?), the seventh-day Sabbath (see also The Sabbath in the Early Church and Abroad), Passover (Passover and the Early Church), and the other Biblical Holy Days (see Is There "An Annual Worship Calendar" In the Bible?), they fail to realize the ramifications of what the Apostles Paul and John wrote.

Paul wrote:

Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1, NKJV throughout).

Paul, of course, had Nazarene practices (Acts 24:5) and kept the Sabbath (The Sabbath in the Early Church and Abroad) and the Holy Days (Is There "An Annual Worship Calendar" In the Bible?).

John wrote:

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ... 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 1:1-3;2:3-4).

Thus, the Bible is clear that John taught the truth of Christianity from the beginning.  And he taught it so that others could have the same fellowship with the Father and the Son.  Thus, the Bible shows that faithful would follow John in order to be true Christians. Thus the idea that original Christians would actually follow what Jesus, Paul, and John did, and live their lives as they did, is not restricted to an Arabic report, but is consistent with the teachings of the Bible.

Did Some Early Christians Flee to Arabic Lands?

Michael Germano, president of Living University, reported:

…scholars speculate that the flight of the last remaining members of the church at Jerusalem on the Feast of Pentecost in CE 69, may have been recorded by Flavius Josephus who writes:

Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost as the priests were going by night into the inner court of the temple...they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking and heard a sound as of a multitude saying, ‘Let us remove hence.’ (Josephus, Wars, bk. VI, ch. v, sec. 3; Whiston 1957:825 (Germano M. Pella.  http://www.bibarch.com/ArchaeologicalSites/Pella.htm 06/20/07).

According to the fourth century Catholic historian Eusebius, during the first century,

James, the first that had obtained the episcopal seat in Jerusalem after the ascension of our Saviour...But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella (Eusebius. The History of the Church History, Book III, Chapter V, Verses 2,3.  Translated by A. Cushman McGiffert.  Digireads.com Publishing, Stilwell (KS), 2005, p. 45).

Shlomo Pines wrote the following:

The story which relates the flight of the original Christian community from Palestine has an evident counterpart in the departure of that community from Jerusalem to Pella accounted in Eusebius and in Epiphanius...It is, moreover, an interesting point that Eusebius seems to say or to imply that this appeal was the indirect cause of the action resulting in the murder committed by the Jews, of James, the brother of Jesus, who was the head of the Christian community of Jerusalem. The hypothesis can at least be envisaged that the attempts of some members of the Christian community in question to obtain help from the Romans, or arrive at an understanding with them, may on the whole have worsened the position of this community, and finally rendered it untenable, making flight necessary. Our text seems to indicate that, as a result, Jewish Christian communities were formed in the Mosul district and in the Jazira (or in Arabia) (Pines S. The Jewish Christians of the Early Centuries of Christianity according to a New Source. Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Volume II, No.13; 1966. Jerusalem, pp. 21-23).

And while I do not believe that all the Jerusalem Christians went to Arab lands (many ended up in Asia Minor and elsewhere, and some went back to Jerusalem), I do believe that some did end up in Arab lands.

Did Non-Nazarenes Make an Early Deal with the Romans?

Here are more quotes from Shlomo Pines' The Jewish Christians of the Early Centuries of Christianity according to a New Source as follows (written originally in Arabic by Abd al-Jabbar):

(71a) 'After him', his disciples (axhab) were with the Jews and the Children of Israel in the latter's synagogues and observed the prayers and the feasts of (the Jews) in the same place as the latter. (However) there was a disagreement between them and the Jews with regard to Christ.

The Romans (al-Rum) reigned over them. The Christians (used to) complain to the Romans about the Jews, showed them their own weakness and appealed to their pity. And the Romans did pity them. This (used) to happen frequently. And the Romans said to the Christians: "Between us and the Jews there is a pact which (obliges us) not to change their religious laws (adyan). But if you would abandon their laws and separate yourselves from them, praying as we do (while facing) the East, eating (the things) we eat, and regarding as permissible that which we consider as such, we should help you and make you powerful, and the Jews would find no way (to harm you). On the contrary, you would be more powerful than they."

The Christians answered: "We will do this."

(And the Romans) said: "Go, fetch your companions, and bring your Book (kitab)." (The Christians) went to their companions, informed them of (what had taken place) between them and the Romans and said to them: "Bring the Gospel (al-injil), and stand up so that we should go to them."

But these (companions) said to them: "You have done ill. We are not permitted (to let) the Romans pollute the Gospel. In giving a favourable answer to the Romans, you have accordingly departed from the religion. We are (therefore) no longer permitted to associate with you; on the contrary, we are obliged to declare that there is nothing in common between us and you;" and they prevented their (taking possession of) the Gospel or gaining access to it. In consequence a violent quarrel (broke out) between (the two groups). Those (mentioned in the first place) went back to the Romans and said to them: "Help us against these companions of ours before (helping us) against the Jews, and take away from them on our behalf our Book (kitab)." Thereupon (the companions of whom they had spoken) fled the country. And the Romans wrote concerning them to their governors in the districts of Mosul and in the Jazirat al-'Arab. Accordingly, a search was made for them; some (qawm) were caught and burned, others (qawm) were killed." (Pines S. The Jewish Christians of the Early Centuries of Christianity according to a New Source. Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Volume II, No.13; 1966. Jerusalem, pp. 14-15).

The above is interesting for a number of reasons. It shows that there were two group that professed Christ then. One called "Christians" above, and the other (the faithful ones) called "companions". The fact that the companions would no longer associate with the compromisers showed that in whatever area the above occurred in, there were definitely two groups.   It is also interesting to note that the “companions” were the ones with all, or at least part, of the New Testament.

It is a fact that the Romans made a deal with those who were willing to renounce original Christianity in Jerusalem in 135 A.D. (see The Ephesus Church Era). It is possible that the above account is related to that (or may have been what led to the 135 deal). Ray Pritz’s written statement that the Nazarenes were “found in Galilee and probably in Jerusalem until 135” is also consistent with that conclusion (Pritz R. Nazarene Christianity. Magnes Press, Jerusalem, 1988, p. 108).

It is also a fact that in the second century, Romans and Alexandrians that claimed Christ rejected the biblical date for Passover and probably because of compromise with the Romans (see Passover and the Early Church), apparently switched to regular Sunday worship (see Sunday and Christianity), and decided that eating biblically unclean meat was acceptable (see The New Testament Church and Unclean Meats). Thus, it is possible that the Arabic document demonstrates that.

Arabic Nazarenes Did not Consider that those who held to Greco-Roman Versions of Christianity As Faithful

Shlomo Pines, the translator of this text, sees four or five categories within the manuscript by those he feels are Judeo-Christians against the Greco-Roman faiths. He classifies these as:

1. An attack on the Christians for having abandoned the commandments of the Mosaic Law and having adopted different laws and customs.

2. Polemics against the dogmas, or, more precisely, the Christology of the three dominant Christian sects, i.e., the Jacobites, the Nestorians and the Orthodox, sometimes called Rum, i.e., the Romans or the Byzantines.

3. An outline of the early history of Christianity, or at least of certain notable events which are part of this history.

4. Malicious stories about the habits of monks and priests and Christian laymen... (Pines, p. 3).

In other words, it appears that the Arabic Nazarenes did not consider that those who held to Greco-Roman versions of Christianity were faithful. Thus, they tended to be separate from them.

Of course, the Bible teaches:

Therefore

"Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you." (2 Corinthians 6:17)

Shlomo Pines also summarized the Arabic Judeo-Christian perspective on Emperor Constantine with statements including the following:

Helena {his mother} was…a Christian, and she induced her husband to favour her co-religionists to whom the Jews were giving a bad name.  Constantine, who as far as outward appearances went, professed the Roman religion, had been brought up by his mother to love the cross (whose worship as well as that of the crucifix seems to be repugnant to our texts) and had accustomed him to Christian ways.  After he succeeded to the throne, he was afflicted with leprosy, a disease which, according to Roman usage, disqualified the man suffering from it for kingship.  In consequence, Constantine made a secret of it.  He also decided to destroy the authority of the Roman religion, whose notions placed him in this predicament, and to replace it by Christianity.

It may be noted in parenthesis that the theme of Constantine’s leprosy is found in various Christian texts, both eastern and western.  However, in these texts his cure is brought about by baptism.  It is not certain whether this version antedates that of our text, which is derogatory to Constantine.

According to this Jewish Christian version, Constantine, using various stratagems, caused his soldiers to think that the sign of the cross brought them good fortune in war.  In consequence, they replaced in their flags the emblem of the crescent by that of the cross…Constantine, while professing to venerate the cross, did not put an end to the observance of the Roman religious rites; one of them was the custom to turn to the east when praying.  Nor did he prohibit the worship of the stars...

Constantine called a gathering of Christian monks with a view to the formulation of obligatory religious beliefs…However, some of them disagreed with this text…There was a scission and the symbol of faith which had been formulated was not regarded as valid.

Thereupon, three hundred and eighteen men gathered in Nicaea and formulated a symbol of faith, which was accepted and made obligatory by Constantine.  People who dissented from it were killed and professions of faith differing from it suppressed.

In this way people who professed the religion of Christ came to do all that is reprehensible; they worshipped the cross, observed the Roman religious rites and ate pork.  Those who did not eat it were killed (Pines, pp. 28-31).

Thus, according to an Islamic reporter, there were Christians who challenged Emperor Constantine's motives for "conversion" and who were upset by the changes that Emperor Constantine enforced (after the 325 A.D. Council of Nicea), such as crosses and Roman religious rites. Furthermore, the same reporter stated that the Nazarene Arabic-region Christians denounced the use of incense in Christian churches as “an adaptation of a Pagan custom” and that they had to become a clandestine group (Pines, pp. 32,43).

Clearly, what Emperor Constantine did had no biblical support and was repulsive to those faithful to the original teachings.

Other Sources That Show Nazarene-Type Christians in Arabic Lands

In the third century, once there were some few real Christians in northern Africa, in the area of Egypt. Origen noted that there were two groups that he considered to be “Ebionites,” one who believed in the virgin birth (and that would be those who this paper suggests were also known as the Nazarenes) and those who did not:

Let it be admitted, moreover, that there are some who accept Jesus, and who boast on that account of being Christians, and yet would regulate their lives, like the Jewish multitude, in accordance with the Jewish law,—and these are the twofold sect of Ebionites, who either acknowledge with us that Jesus was born of a virgin, or deny this, and maintain that He was begotten like other human beings…(Origen.  Contra Celsus, Book V, Chapter 61).

The true Christians in those lands were not those associated with Origen (please see what happened in Alexandria), nor those that denied the virgin birth. The true Christians were those professed Jesus and had practices similar to those of the Jews.

It probably should also be mentioned that around that time, at least one African leader stood up to allegorists like Origen. The Catholic Encyclopedia reported:

An Egyptian bishop, Nepos, taught the Chiliastic error that there would be a reign of Christ upon earth for a thousand years, a period of corporal delights; he founded this doctrine upon the Apocalypse in a book entitled "Refutation of the Allegorizers" (Chapman, John. "Dionysius of Alexandria." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 14 Aug. 2008 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05011a.htm>.).

A nineteenth century anti-millennial scholar named Giovanni Battista Pagani went as far as to write the following about Nepos and those who supported the millennium:

…all those  who teach a millennium framed according to Jewish ideas, saying that during the millennium, Mosaic law will be restored…These are called Judaical Millenarians, not as being Jews, but as having invented and upheld a millennium according to Jewish taste.  The principal authors of this error were Nepos, an African Bishop, against whom St. Dionysius wrote his two books on Promises; and Apollinaris, whom St. Epiphanius confound in his work against heresies (Pagani, Giovanni Battista. Published by Charles Dolman, 1855. Original from Oxford University. Digitized Aug 15, 2006, pp. 252-253).

It should be of interest to note that neither Nepos nor Apollinaris were Jews, but were condemned for having a religion that had “Jewish” beliefs.  And since Apollinaris is a Catholic saint (see article Apollinaris of Hierapolis), it should be clear that the respected and non-Jewish Christian leaders in the early third century clearly did hold to ideas that were condemned by the allegorists.

The following from Dionysius clearly shows that Nepos was still respected after he died (Nepos died prior to Dionysius’ mid-third century writing of the following) and really did not refute him from a biblical perspective:

But as they produce a certain composition by Nepos, on which they insist very strongly, as if it demonstrated incontestably that there will be a (temporal) reign of Christ upon the earth, I have to say, that in many other respects I accept the opinion of Nepos, and love him at once for his faith, and his laboriousness, and his patient study in the Scriptures, as also for his great efforts in psalmody, by which even now many of the brethren are delighted. I hold the man, too, in deep respect still more, inasmuch as he has gone to his rest before us. Nevertheless the truth is to be prized and reverenced above all things else. And while it is indeed proper to praise and approve ungrudgingly anything that is said aright, it is no less proper to examine and correct anything which may appear to have been written unsoundly. If he had been present then himself, and had been stating his opinions orally, it would have been sufficient to discuss the question together without the use of writing, and to endeavour to convince the opponents, and carry them along by interrogation and reply. But the work is published, and is, as it seems to some, of a very persuasive character; and there are unquestionably some teachers, who hold that the law and the prophets are of no importance, and who decline to follow the Gospels, and who depreciate the epistles of the apostles, and who have also made large promises  regarding the doctrine of this composition, as though it were some great and hidden mystery, and who, at the same time, do not allow that our simpler brethren have any sublime and elevated conceptions either of our Lord's appearing in His glory and His true divinity, or of our own resurrection from the dead, and of our being gathered together to Him, and assimilated to Him, but, on the contrary, endeavour to lead them to hope  for things which are trivial and corruptible, and only such as what we find at present in the kingdom of God. And since this is the case, it becomes necessary for us to discuss this subject with our brother Nepos just as if he were present (Dionysius of Alexandria. From the Two Books on the Promises. Copyright © 2008 by Kevin Knight. Viewed 8/14/08).

In other words, Nepos knew his Bible, but did not hold to the same position that allegorists like Dionysius of Alexandria held.  But those who held to Judaeo-Christian beliefs, while slightly chastised, simply were almost never condemned by the early allegorists. Mainly, because the early allegorists knew that the original Christians held to beliefs and practices that the allegorists considered to be Jewish--and at this stage, the allegorists simply did not have the ability to condemn the literalists because most who professed Christ at the time knew that the literalists had ties to the original apostolic church.

In the fifth century, Augustine of Hippo claimed that the Nazarenes existed in his day:

...those who, calling themselves Nazarene Christians...persist...to the present day (Augustine. On Baptism, Against the Donatists (Book VII), Chapter 1, Verse 1. Translated by J.R. King and revised by Chester D. Hartranft. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1887.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/14087.htm> viewed 07/12/09).

Hippo was an area that ended up primarily Arabic and hence Augustine may have been referring to some Arabs as Nazarenes.

How Long Were There Nazarene Arabic Christians?

Were the Nazarenes in Arabic lands only there a relatively few years? Or were they around for many centuries?

Even though the following says that original Nazarene Christianity ceased to exist, it admits to faithful Christians from the late second existed at least into the seventh century on the outskirts of Arabic lands, they were "law-observant" and considered to be a faction of Christianity in the Middle East:

On the other hand, the other faction which left Antioch to preserve its distinctive Christian perspective eventually faded from history. Its disappearance from the stage of history can possibly be attributed to the success of Islam which swept through the region in the seventh century (Sim, David C. The Gospel of Matthew and Christian Judaism: The History and Social Setting of the Matthean Community Published by Continuum International Publishing Group, 1998, p. 297).

Shlomo Pines felt that while they went into hiding, they sometimes popped up in the nineth and tenth centuries (Pine, pp. 40-41).

So, there were some who professed Christ for centuries in the Middle East that apparently kept original practices, and did so for many centuries.

Summary Comments on Nazarene Arabs

While it is hard to know how much a late document may have been changed, it is interesting that several of the comments attributed to these "Nazarene" Arabs are certainly consistent with the Bible.

Whether or not they held to all Nazarene Christian beliefs is unclear, but it seems that perhaps that they did (more on the Nazarenes can be found in the article Nazarene Christianity: Were the Original Christians Nazarenes?). I have seen other sources that suggest that there were Nazarene Christians in the Arabic lands that lasted until at least the time of Islam.

I have also personally met persons of Arabic heritage (in the United States) who keep Nazarene practices within the genuine Church of God.

The truth is that the religions that trace themselves through the changes that many made with Imperial Roman authorities simply do not have the same claim to original Christianity that the faithful "Nazarene" Christians did (and still do).

Some items of possibly related interest may also include:

Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differ from most Protestants How the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background. As far as some changes affecting Protestantism, watch the video Charismatic Kenneth Copeland and Anglican Tony Palmer: Protestants Beware! [Português: Esperança do salvação: Como a igreja do deus difere da maioria de protestantes]
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Continuing Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? Which group best represents true Christianity? This documented article answers those questions. [Português: Qual é fiel: A igreja católica romana ou a igreja do deus?]
Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to be the original church, but both groups have differing ways to claim it. Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are?
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics Unity between these groups will put them in position to be part of the final end time Babylon that the Bible warns against as well as require improper compromise.
Similarities and Differences Between the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to represent the original Christian faith.  Do you know much about them? Both groups have some interesting similarities, but many major differences. Would you like information on how to deal with Jehovah's Witnesses?
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SDA/CCOG Differences: Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 The genuine Church of God is NOT part of the Seventh-day Adventists. This article explains two prophetic differences, the trinity, differences in approaching doctrine, including Ellen White. Did Ellen White make prophetic errors? Did Ellen White make false prophecies? Here is a version in the Spanish language: SDA/COG Diferencias: La bestia de dos cuernos de Apocalipsis y 666. Here is a sermon in the English language: CCOG and SDA differences and similarities.
Some Dissimilarities Between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) and the Continuing Church of God The genuine Church of God is not related to the Mormons and this article explains some differences and a couple of similarities. Also, might certain LDS prophecies apply to Mitt Romney?
Differences Between Islam and the Continuing Church of God What are some of the main differences? Are there any similarities? A video of related interest is titled: Islam: Any Christian Concerns or Similarities?

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