Ebionites
Early Christian sect / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ebionites (Greek: Ἐβιωναῖοι, translit. Ebiōnaîoi, derived from Hebrew אֶבְיוֹנִים,[1] ʾEḇyōnīm, meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect that existed during the early centuries of the Common Era, whose name may have reflected its adherents viewing voluntary material poverty and/or spiritual humility as a prerequisite of righteousness.[2][3]
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 opponents, the Church Fathers — Irenaeus, Origen, Eusebius, and Epiphanius of Salamis — who saw the Ebionites as distinct from other Jewish Christian sects, such as the Nazarenes.[4][5][6][7]
The Church Fathers generally agree on key points about the Ebionites, such as their rejection of proto-orthodox Christian beliefs in Jesus' divinity, pre-existence, virgin birth, and atonement; they argue the Ebionites believed that Jesus was a mere man, born the natural son of Joseph and Mary, who, by virtue of his righteousness in perfectly following the Law of Moses, was adopted by God to be a Messiah in the mold of a new "Prophet like Moses".[8]
According to these patristic sources, the Ebionites insisted on the necessity of following the letter and spirit of Mosaic Law (which Jesus affirms and radicalizes in his Sermon on the Mount); opposed animal sacrifices; and revered James the Just as an exemplar of righteousness and the true successor to Jesus (rather than Peter), while rejecting Paul as a false apostle and an apostate from the Law.[9][10][11]: 88
However, the Church Fathers diverge on details regarding some specific Ebionite views about Jesus (the nature of Christ, of his mission, and of his resurrection), their use of additional scripture to the Hebrew Bible (one, some or all of the Jewish–Christian gospels), and their lifestyle practices (religious vegetarianism, ritual bathing). These variations reflect the complex and evolving nature of early Christian sects, as well as the likely tendency of patristic polemicists to conflate different sects and misattribute objectionable views and practices, more typical of Gnostic Christianity than Jewish Christianity, to Ebionites to further discredit them.[12]: 39
Some modern critical scholars on the quest for the historical Jesus argue that the condemnation of Ebionites as "heretics" and "Judaizers" by the Church Fathers is both ironic and tragic since many Ebionite views may have been closer to the authentic views of not only the first disciples of Jesus but of Jesus himself.[8]