Arius, arguing for the heretical position that Jesus was created by (and is inferior to) God.

Many critics like to claim that the Christian faith we know today is not the earliest form of Christianity.  Instead, they say there were many competing versions of Christianity in the first century—often with wildly diverging beliefs about God, Jesus, and salvation—that were all vying for supremacy.  Over the centuries, the narrative goes, “orthodox” Christianity was the most aggressive form, suppressing all other forms and crowding them out.  Therefore, they conclude, the Christian faith we know today is invalid.  It just happened to be the “winner” among competing mythologies simply because its adherents were more aggressive, ruthless, and shrewd than those who followed other “Christianities.”

Three Points on Orthodoxy and Heresy

To put it simply, the narrative above is incorrect.  Those who propagate it display an ignorance of history, an unwillingness to accept evidence, or a combination of both.  When honestly assessing the history of Christianity, a few points become very clear: Continue reading →