"Church Fathers" Scriptural or Not

[Amo]

CHAP. IV.—HAVE BUT ONE EUCHARIST, ETC.

I have confidence of you in the Lord, that ye will be of no other mind. Wherefore I write boldly to your love, which is worthy of God, and exhort you to have but one faith, and one [kind of] preaching, and one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ; and His blood which was shed for us is one; one loaf also is broken to all [the communicants], and one cup is distributed among them all: there is but one altar for the whole Church, and one bishop, with the presbytery and deacons, my fellow-servants. Since, also, there is but one unbegotten Being, God, even the Father; and one only-begotten Son, God, the Word and man; and one Comforter, the Spirit of truth; and also one preaching, and one faith, and one baptism; and one Church which the holy apostles established from one end of the earth to the other by the blood of Christ, and by their own sweat and toil; it behoves you also, therefore, as "a peculiar people, and a holy nation," to perform all things with harmony in Christ. Wives, be ye subject to your husbands in the fear of God; and ye virgins, to Christ in purity, not counting marriage an abomination, but desiring that which is better, not for the reproach of wedlock, but for the sake of meditating on the law. Children, obey your parents, and have an affection for them, as workers together with God for your birth [into the world]. Servants, be subject to your masters in God, that ye may be the freed-men of Christ. Husbands, love your wives, as fellow-servants of God, as your own body, as the partners of your life, and your co-adjutors in the procreation of children. Virgins, have Christ alone before your eyes, and His Father in your prayers, being enlightened by the Spirit. May I have pleasure in your purity, as that of Elijah, or as of Joshua the son of Nun, as of Melchizedek, or as of Elisha, as of Jeremiah, or as of John the Baptist, as of the beloved disciple, as of Timothy, as of Titus, as of Evodius, as of Clement, who departed this life in [perfect] chastity. Not, however, that I blame the other blessed [saints] because they entered into the married state, of which I have just spoken. For I pray that, being found worthy of God, I may be found at their feet in the kingdom, as at the feet of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; as of Joseph, and Isaiah, and the rest of the prophets; as of Peter, and Paul, and the rest of the apostles, that were married men. For they entered into these marriages not for the sake of appetite, but out of regard for the propagation of mankind. Fathers, "bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord;" and teach them the holy Scriptures, and also trades, that they may not indulge in idleness. Now [the Scripture] says, "A righteous father educates [his children] well; his heart shall rejoice in a wise son." Masters, be gentle towards your servants, as holy Job has taught you; for there is one nature, and one family of mankind. For "in Christ there is neither bond nor free." Let governors be obedient to Cæsar; soldiers to those that command them; deacons to the presbyters, as to high-priests; the presbyters, and deacons, and the rest of the clergy, together with all the people, and the soldiers, and the governors, and Cæsar [himself], to the bishop; the bishop to Christ, even as Christ to the Father. And thus unity is preserved throughout. Let not the widows be wanderers about, nor fond of dainties, nor gadders from house to house; but let them be like Judith, noted for her seriousness; and like Anna, eminent for her sobriety. I do not ordain these things as an apostle: for "who am I, or what is my father's house," that I should pretend to be equal in honour to them? But as your "fellow-soldier," I hold the position of one who [simply] admonishes you.

Ignatius of Antioch, "The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians," in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 81–82.

There you have it, the established order of the Roman church, Roman Catholicism. Caesar himself subject to the bishop, not bishops. Which bishop in the singular is he talking about, or does he mean that Caesar himself should be subject to all bishops? Where does our Lord Jesus Christ or any of His Apostles declare that the Caesars themselves must be obedient to bishops, which is to bring the world directly into the church. Which is exactly what happened under the mandate of the first professed Caesar and Roman Pontifex Maximus Constantine, when he decreed Christianity to be the official religion of the empire. Which later developed into the bishop of Rome (Pope), being over all other bishops and leaders of the world, as Pontifex Maximus. Ignatius was a forerunner of Roman Catholicism, more than a church father of bible believers, he was a church father of Roman Christianity.

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Pontifex_Maximus

Quote below from link above.

The Pontifex Maximus (which literally means "Greatest Pontiff") was the high priest of the Ancient Roman College of Pontiffs. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 B.C.E., when a plebeian first occupied this post. A distinctly religious office under the early Roman Republic, it gradually became politicized until, beginning with Emperor Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office. Its last use with reference to the emperors is found in inscriptions of Gratian, Emperor from 375 to 383 C.E., who, however, then decided to omit the words "pontifex maximus" from his title.

The title of "Pontifex Maximus," dating back to the times of the Roman Republic, was eventually adopted by the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The terms pontifex maximus and summus pontifex were for centuries used by the Bishop of Rome also known as the pope. After Christ himself, the pope is considered to be the "high priest" (the veritable meaning of summus pontifex and "pontifex maximus"). However, this term is not officially included in his titles, but it is used in practice in the headings of his encyclicals and other papal documents.

The following papal bull, ends with the highlighted ultimatum of Roman Catholicism.

UNAM SANCTAM

Bull of Pope Boniface VIII promulgated November 18, 1302
Urged by faith, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins, as the Spouse in the Canticles [Sgs 6:8] proclaims: 'One is my dove, my perfect one. She is the only one, the chosen of her who bore her,' and she represents one sole mystical body whose Head is Christ and the head of Christ is God [1 Cor 11:3]. In her then is one Lord, one faith, one baptism [Eph 4:5]. There had been at the time of the deluge only one ark of Noah, prefiguring the one Church, which ark, having been finished to a single cubit, had only one pilot and guide, i.e., Noah, and we read that, outside of this ark, all that subsisted on the earth was destroyed.

We venerate this Church as one, the Lord having said by the mouth of the prophet: 'Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword and my only one from the hand of the dog.' [Ps 21:20] He has prayed for his soul, that is for himself, heart and body; and this body, that is to say, the Church, He has called one because of the unity of the Spouse, of the faith, of the sacraments, and of the charity of the Church. This is the tunic of the Lord, the seamless tunic, which was not rent but which was cast by lot [Jn 19:23- 24]. Therefore, of the one and only Church there is one body and one head, not two heads like a monster; that is, Christ and the Vicar of Christ, Peter and the successor of Peter, since the Lord speaking to Peter Himself said: 'Feed my sheep' [Jn 21:17], meaning, my sheep in general, not these, nor those in particular, whence we understand that He entrusted all to him [Peter]. Therefore, if the Greeks or others should say that they are not confided to Peter and to his successors, they must confess not being the sheep of Christ, since Our Lord says in John 'there is one sheepfold and one shepherd.' We are informed by the texts of the gospels that in this Church and in its power are two swords; namely, the spiritual and the temporal. For when the Apostles say: 'Behold, here are two swords' [Lk 22:38] that is to say, in the Church, since the Apostles were speaking, the Lord did not reply that there were too many, but sufficient. Certainly the one who denies that the temporal sword is in the power of Peter has not listened well to the word of the Lord commanding: 'Put up thy sword into thy scabbard' [Mt 26:52]. Both, therefore, are in the power of the Church, that is to say, the spiritual and the material sword, but the former is to be administered for the Church but the latter by the Church; the former in the hands of the priest; the latter by the hands of kings and soldiers, but at the will and sufferance of the priest.

However, one sword ought to be subordinated to the other and temporal authority, subjected to spiritual power. For since the Apostle said: 'There is no power except from God and the things that are, are ordained of God' [Rom 13:1-2], but they would not be ordained if one sword were not subordinated to the other and if the inferior one, as it were, were not led upwards by the other.

For, according to the Blessed Dionysius, it is a law of the divinity that the lowest things reach the highest place by intermediaries. Then, according to the order of the universe, all things are not led back to order equally and immediately, but the lowest by the intermediary, and the inferior by the superior. Hence we must recognize the more clearly that spiritual power surpasses in dignity and in nobility any temporal power whatever, as spiritual things surpass the temporal. This we see very clearly also by the payment, benediction, and consecration of the tithes, but the acceptance of power itself and by the government even of things. For with truth as our witness, it belongs to spiritual power to establish the terrestrial power and to pass judgement if it has not been good. Thus is accomplished the prophecy of Jeremias concerning the Church and the ecclesiastical power: 'Behold to-day I have placed you over nations, and over kingdoms' and the rest. Therefore, if the terrestrial power err, it will be judged by the spiritual power; but if a minor spiritual power err, it will be judged by a superior spiritual power; but if the highest power of all err, it can be judged only by God, and not by man, according to the testimony of the Apostle: 'The spiritual man judgeth of all things and he himself is judged by no man' [1 Cor 2:15]. This authority, however, (though it has been given to man and is exercised by man), is not human but rather divine, granted to Peter by a divine word and reaffirmed to him (Peter) and his successors by the One Whom Peter confessed, the Lord saying to Peter himself, 'Whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in Heaven' etc., [Mt 16:19]. Therefore whoever resists this power thus ordained by God, resists the ordinance of God [Rom 13:2], unless he invent like Manicheus two beginnings, which is false and judged by us heretical, since according to the testimony of Moses, it is not in the beginnings but in the beginning that God created heaven and earth [Gen 1:1]. Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.

[garee]

Bull of Pope Boniface VIII promulgated November 18, 1302
Urged by faith, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins, as the Spouse in the Canticles [Sgs 6:8] proclaims: 'One is my dove, my perfect one. She is the only one, the chosen of her who bore her,' and she represents one sole mystical body whose Head is Christ and the head of Christ is God [1 Cor 11:3]. In her then is one Lord, one faith, one baptism [Eph 4:5]. There had been at the time of the deluge only one ark of Noah, prefiguring the one Church, which ark, having been finished to a single cubit, had only one pilot and guide, i.e., Noah, and we read that, outside of this ark, all that subsisted on the earth was destroyed.

We venerate this Church as one, the Lord having said by the mouth of the prophet: 'Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword and my only one from the hand of the dog.' [Ps 21:20] He has prayed for his soul, that is for himself, heart and body; and this body, that is to say, the Church, He has called one because of the unity of the Spouse, of the faith, of the sacraments, and of the charity of the Church. This is the tunic of the Lord, the seamless tunic, which was not rent but which was cast by lot [Jn 19:23- 24]. Therefore, of the one and only Church there is one body and one head, not two heads like a monster; that is, Christ and the Vicar of Christ, Peter and the successor of Peter, since the Lord speaking to Peter Himself said: 'Feed my sheep' [Jn 21:17], meaning, my sheep in general, not these, nor those in particular, whence we understand that He entrusted all to him [Peter]. Therefore, if the Greeks or others should say that they are not confided to Peter and to his successors, they must confess not being the sheep of Christ, since Our Lord says in John 'there is one sheepfold and one shepherd.' We are informed by the texts of the gospels that in this Church and in its power are two swords; namely, the spiritual and the temporal. For when the Apostles say: 'Behold, here are two swords' [Lk 22:38] that is to say, in the Church, since the Apostles were speaking, the Lord did not reply that there were too many, but sufficient. Certainly the one who denies that the temporal sword is in the power of Peter has not listened well to the word of the Lord commanding: 'Put up thy sword into thy scabbard' [Mt 26:52]. Both, therefore, are in the power of the Church, that is to say, the spiritual and the material sword, but the former is to be administered for the Church but the latter by the Church; the former in the hands of the priest; the latter by the hands of kings and soldiers, but at the will and sufferance of the priest.

However, one sword ought to be subordinated to the other and temporal authority, subjected to spiritual power. For since the Apostle said: 'There is no power except from God and the things that are, are ordained of God' [Rom 13:1-2], but they would not be ordained if one sword were not subordinated to the other and if the inferior one, as it were, were not led upwards by the other.

For, according to the Blessed Dionysius, it is a law of the divinity that the lowest things reach the highest place by intermediaries. Then, according to the order of the universe, all things are not led back to order equally and immediately, but the lowest by the intermediary, and the inferior by the superior. Hence we must recognize the more clearly that spiritual power surpasses in dignity and in nobility any temporal power whatever, as spiritual things surpass the temporal. This we see very clearly also by the payment, benediction, and consecration of the tithes, but the acceptance of power itself and by the government even of things. For with truth as our witness, it belongs to spiritual power to establish the terrestrial power and to pass judgement if it has not been good. Thus is accomplished the prophecy of Jeremias concerning the Church and the ecclesiastical power: 'Behold to-day I have placed you over nations, and over kingdoms' and the rest. Therefore, if the terrestrial power err, it will be judged by the spiritual power; but if a minor spiritual power err, it will be judged by a superior spiritual power; but if the highest power of all err, it can be judged only by God, and not by man, according to the testimony of the Apostle: 'The spiritual man judgeth of all things and he himself is judged by no man' [1 Cor 2:15]. This authority, however, (though it has been given to man and is exercised by man), is not human but rather divine, granted to Peter by a divine word and reaffirmed to him (Peter) and his successors by the One Whom Peter confessed, the Lord saying to Peter himself, 'Whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in Heaven' etc., [Mt 16:19]. Therefore whoever resists this power thus ordained by God, resists the ordinance of God [Rom 13:2], unless he invent like Manicheus two beginnings, which is false and judged by us heretical, since according to the testimony of Moses, it is not in the beginnings but in the beginning that God created heaven and earth [Gen 1:1]. Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.
[/quote]

Religious titles and sincere zeal do not, by themselves, establish that someone speaks for God.

In Acts 22:3–5, Paul recounts being taught according to "the law of the fathers." With authorization from the high priest and elders, Saul persecuted followers of Christ "unto the death," imprisoning both men and women. He believed he was serving God, yet he was opposing Christ.

After his conversion, the persecutor became the persecuted. Paul's defence was:

"Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets" (Acts 24:13–14, KJV).

Here I see the distinction between inherited religious teaching and faithfulness to God's written word. Paul did not reject the God of his fathers or the Scriptures. He rejected his former opposition to Christ while confessing belief in all things written in the law and prophets.

The high priest in Acts was a Jewish religious leader, not the pope. My comparison concerns the danger facing religious leadership in every age: a title does not guarantee that its holder faithfully teaches God's word.

That warning applies to all of us. Claims of authority and traditions must be tested by Scripture. I understand Paul's confession as supporting my appeal to sola scriptura.

Calling sola scriptura a teaching "heresy" does not prove it false. Let us examine whether it agrees with what God has written.

[pppp]

Wanted to share this with readers ...
Saint Ignatius of Antioch always urged Christian unity.
And himself suffered & was martyred, yet kept the faith.

Christianity & the Christian people always faced a lot of trials & suffering in every era.
And this suffering was both emotional & physical.
But Christianity is not a religion for the weak of heart.
It is for those who lived by the soul.
And Christianity survived in every era, because of the martyrdom of Saints, the kings & knights (of all denominations), who not only stood to protect Christendom but by their sacrifices helped the faith to grow.

So, despite the trials & p*rsecutions, believers went through, God always sent kings & knights who brought light in the lives of His people & who stood up as defenders of the faith.
One of the people God chose was Emperor Constantine the Great.
And acc., to the true story, Emperor Constantine saw a vision, just before he defeated his rival at the Tiber River, near Rome.
The vision took place in 312 AD.

Emperor Constantine & his army saw a fiery Cross in the sky.
And it also came with the words "In hoc signo vinces"  which meant ''By, this sign, you will conquer''.
Emperor Constantine also saw a dream where Christ told him to use the Christian symbol as a mark & paint it on the shields of the soldiers in his army.
The result was the victory of Emperor Constantine the Great.
He attributed his victory to the God of the Christians & became a follower of Christ.

In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great and co-emperor Licinius granted legal status and religious toleration to Christians across the Roman Empire.
And the Rise of Christianity had started.
All the Church property which had been seized was returned & religious freedom for believers had been granted, which meant that Christians could freely practice the faith.

Emperor Constantine also promoted the Christian faith by building grand Basilicas, giving funds for the Church, exempting the clergy from giving taxes & summoned and presided over the historic Church council to settle theological debates and create a unified Christian belief system
& declared that Jesus Christ is fully divine and of the same essence as the Father.

Emperor Constantine was a Christian patron for decades & received formal Baptism before he passed away in 337 AD. as in those days it was a common practice to be baptized later. He was later venerated as a saint.
Writers of ancient times looked upon Emperor Constantine as a person Chosen by God to end bloodshed & grant peace to the Church.

Saint Helena (mother of Emperor Constantine ) was born around AD 248–250 .
& was converted by her son Emperor Constantine the Great
& became the Roman Empress.
She was respected across many Christian Churches for spreading Christianity,
helping the poor people & also made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land where acc., to legend, she located the True Cross.
She also funded Church constructions.

[pppp]

Thanks Amo, for your reply given earlier.
I've understood what you've written.
But I'm stating something totally different.

In my earlier posts I mentioned about true Christian unity.
I never mentioned Christian unity which should be fake or used for personal gains.
Instead Christian unity should be about keeping Christ as the Head & seeing to the welfare of all the Christians & the Jews as well.

And I also wrote about unity among different denominations.
If anyone will read about the kings, knights & Saints (be they of any denomination),  & the conditions of those times,
they will know about  the trying conditions of those times,
& why kings, knights & Saints joined together.

Words may never be enough to describe how the Christians were suffering.
And the unity that I wrote about was the unity of different denominations who came together to protect Christians & Christianity. And they were not the ones who initiated a conflict rather rose to protect those behind them,
when heathen started those conflicts.

And that was the true unity of all the Christians.
After all, had they wanted they could have just stayed in their respective kingdoms,
or they could have just safeguarded their own kingdoms, without risking their own lives or spending their own finances.
But they chose differently.

And went across miles to join together & protect Christendom.
This is the true UNITY, about which I had written.
Secondly, I meant to explain that in every denomination there are & were good people,
who genuinely came forward to save & protect Christendom.
This is the true unity I had written about.

And there should be TRUE UNITY.
Unity among different denominations & Christians groups & amongst Christian people.
And also unity between the Jews & Christians.
And that is what Christ wishes for.
And such unity is blessed by Christ Himself.

And it is this unity which will help, save & protect Christendom in every era.
Unity in Christ is strength, courage & resilience.
Amen.

[Amo]

The last two posts are excellent examples of effective revisionist history. A version of history which ignores all negative aspects related to the history being addressed, painting a one sided false concept of what truly happened, and therefore the true effects of that being defended. Namely, the use of force by professed "Christians" upon others not simply to defend their positions, but also to impose their beliefs and will upon others. Not employing just force, but persecuting and deadly force. Not just upon the heathen, but upon other professing Christians, not in agreement with those "Christians" having and exercising the power to do so. Forced acceptance of religious faith, and forced unity with the church which had entered into unholy and unscriptural relations with the kings and powers that be of this world.

Revisionist history is not a new or recent phenomenon, it has been foisted upon humanity for a long time now. From professed "Christians" themselves as well, who throughout their past have censored the teachings or historical accounts of even other professed Christians with penalties up to death. Torturous death at that. These are the types of history, many "Christian" history revisionists ignore and often seek to censor and often do censure. 

I will provide one example concerning Constantine who was addressed in one of the previous posts I am addressing to prove my point. After which, I will direct those wishing to continue this conversation to create a new topic to do so. Where I will gladly examine this issue more closely. As this topic is about whether the writings of the "Church Fathers" is in agreement with Holy Scripture or not. If necessary I will start this new topic myself, to direct all those wishing to continue such discussion of the subject there. The following quoted material is from a book which may be viewed at the link above it, in chapter three entitled BABYLON.

https://www.gracecentered.com/christian_forums/index.php?topic=113707.0

"The Catholic Church demanded assistance in her ambitious aim to make her power and authority absolute over all; and for Constantine's purposes it was essential that the church should be a unit. These two considerations combined to produce results both immediate and remote, that proved a curse to the time then present and to ages to follow. The immediate result was that Constantine had no sooner compassed the destruction of Licinius in A.D. 323, than he issued an edict against the Novatians, Valentinians, Marcionites, Paulians, Cataphrygians, and "all who devised and supported heresies by means of private assemblies," denouncing them and their heresies, and commanding them all to enter the Catholic Church. The edict runs as follows: —

"Victor Constantinus Maximus Augustus, to the heretics: Understand now, by this present statute, ye Novatians, Valentinians, Marcionites, Paulians, ye who are called Cataphrygians, and all ye who devise and support heresies by means of your private assemblies, with what a tissue of falsehood and vanity, with what destructive and venomous errors, your doctrines are inseparably interwoven; so that through you the healthy soul is stricken with disease, and the living becomes the prey of everlasting death. Ye haters and enemies of truth and life, in league with destruction: All your counsels are opposed to the truth, but familiar with deeds of baseness; fit subjects for the fabulous follies of the stage: and by these ye frame falsehoods, oppress the innocent, and withhold the light from them that believe. Ever trespassing under the mask of godliness, ye fill all things with defilement: ye pierce the pure and guileless conscience with deadly wounds, while ye withdraw, one may almost say, the very light of day from the eyes of men. But why should I particularize, when to speak of your criminality as it deserves, demands more time and leisure than I can give? For so long and unmeasured is the catalogue of your offenses, so hateful and altogether atrocious are they, that a single day would not suffice to recount them all. And indeed it is well to turn one's ears and eyes from such a subject, lest by a description of each particular evil, the pure sincerity and freshness of one's own faith be impaired. Why then do I still bear with such abounding evil; especially since this protracted clemency is the cause that some who were sound are become tainted with this pestilent disease? Why not at once strike, as it were, at the root of so great a mischief by a public manifestation of displeasure? "Forasmuch, then, as it is no longer possible to bear with your pernicious errors, we give warning by this present statute that none of you henceforth presume to assemble yourselves together. We have directed, accordingly, that you be deprived of all the houses in which you are accustomed to hold your assemblies: and our care in this respect extends so far as to forbid the holding of your superstitious and senseless meetings, not in public merely, but in any private house or place whatsoever. Let those of you, therefore, who are desirous of embracing the true and pure religion, take the far better course of entering the Catholic Church, and uniting with it in holy fellowship, whereby you will be enabled to arrive at the knowledge of the truth. In any case, the delusions of your perverted understandings must entirely cease to mingle with and mar the felicity of our present times; I mean the impious and wretched doublemindedness of heretics and schismatics. For it is an object worthy of that prosperity which we enjoy through the favor of God, to endeavor to bring back those who in time past were living in the hope of future blessing, from all irregularity and error, to the right path, from darkness to light, from vanity to truth, from death to salvation. And in order that this remedy may be applied with effectual power, we have commanded (as before said), that you be positively deprived of every gathering point for your superstitious meetings; I mean all the houses of prayer (if such be worthy of the name) which belong to heretics, and that these be made over without delay to the Catholic Church; that any other places be confiscated to the public service, and no facility whatever be left for any future gathering; in order that from this day forward none of your unlawful assemblies may presume to appear in any public or private place. Let this edict be made public."
 ( Eusebius's- "Life of Constantine," book 3, chaps. 64, 65. )


Some of the penal regulations of this edict "were copied from the edicts of Diocletian; and this method of conversion was applauded by the same bishops who had felt the hand of oppression, and had pleaded for the rights of humanity." ( Gibbon- "Decline and Fall," chap. 21, par. 1. )

For more examination of Church and state relations in history recorded by Gibbon, the following link is recommended.

https://www.gracecentered.com/christian_forums/index.php?topic=113379.0
 

[Amo]

CHAP. VI.—DO NOT ACCEPT JUDAISM.

If any one preaches the one God of the law and the prophets, but denies Christ to be the Son of God, he is a liar, even as also is his father the devil, and is a Jew falsely so called, being possessed of mere carnal circumcision. If any one confesses Christ Jesus the Lord, but denies the God of the law and of the prophets, saying that the Father of Christ is not the Maker of heaven and earth, he has not continued in the truth any more than his father the devil, and is a disciple of Simon Magus, not of the Holy Spirit. If any one says there is one God, and also confesses Christ Jesus, but thinks the Lord to be a mere man, and not the only-begotten God, and Wisdom, and the Word of God, and deems Him to consist merely of a soul and body, such an one is a serpent, that preaches deceit and error for the destruction of men. And such a man is poor in understanding, even as by name he is an Ebionite. If any one confesses the truths mentioned, but calls lawful wedlock, and the procreation of children, destruction and pollution, or deems certain kinds of food abominable, such an one has the apostate dragon dwelling within him. If any one confesses the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and praises the creation, but calls the incarnation merely an appearance, and is ashamed of the passion, such an one has denied the faith, not less than the Jews who killed Christ. If any one confesses these things, and that God the Word did dwell in a human body, being within it as the Word, even as the soul also is in the body, because it was God that inhabited it, and not a human soul, but affirms that unlawful unions are a good thing, and places the highest happiness in pleasure, as does the man who is falsely called a Nicolaitan, this person can neither be a lover of God, nor a lover of Christ, but is a corrupter of his own flesh, and therefore void of the Holy Spirit, and a stranger to Christ. All such persons are but monuments and sepulchres of the dead, upon which are written only the names of dead men. Flee, therefore, the wicked devices and snares of the spirit which now worketh in the children of this world, lest at any time being overcome, ye grow weak in your love. But be ye all joined together with an undivided heart and a willing mind, "being of one accord and of one judgment," being always of the same opinion about the same things, both when you are at ease and in danger, both in sorrow and in joy. I thank God, through Jesus Christ, that I have a good conscience in respect to you, and that no one has it in his power to boast, either privately or publicly, that I have burdened any one either in much or in little. And I wish for all among whom I have spoken, that they may not possess that for a testimony against them.


Ignatius of Antioch, "The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians," in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 82 & 83.

Interesting. Two extra biblical specific condemnations placed right in the middle of scripturally supported truths and or condemnations. While Holy Scripture does of course command, approve of, and therefore also support marriage and procreation, it does not actually address anyone who declared such destruction and pollution. As though some did, and such needed to be specifically addressed. After which Ignatius connects the condemnation of any who would deem certain kinds of food as abominable, in the same sentence. Deceptively I do believe, tying that which would certainly be acceptable to condemn according to scripture, with that of a new and questionable condemnation concerning Old Covenant laws spoken to Moses from God Himself concerning Israel. As God Himself declared certain foods to be abominable for Israel to eat. Hmmmm? Not just any condemnation, but declaring that any who would do so had the apostate dragon himself dwelling within them.

Lev 11:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,....................................................... .............................. 10  And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: 11  They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. 12  Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. 13  And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, 14  And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; 15  Every raven after his kind; 16  And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, 17  And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, 18  And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, 19  And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. 20  All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you..........................................................................................41  And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. 42  Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination. 43  Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. 44  For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 45  For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46  This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: 47  To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

Some people think that the New Testament teaches that all may now eat anything. Some disagree. The Jews of course still abide by the above, as well as some professed Christians. Do they all now have the apostate dragon within them because of what they choose to eat or not according to the above dietary law of God for Israel because Ignatius said so? Does Holy Scripture teach any such thing anywhere? To the contrary -

Rom 14:19  Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 20  For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. 21  It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 22  Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. 23  And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Who is Ignatius to contradict the words of the Apostle Paul concerning the convictions of others regarding what they will eat or not, and or why? Judging those who might still believe and or think it wise not to eat those things God Himself declared to be unclean and an abomination for the Israelites to eat? Not just judging but condemning them as apostates of the dragon and or devil himself. No sir, this teaching of Ignatius is not scriptural at all, along with others I have already addressed.