The Doctrines and Politics of the Early Church (Essay Sample)

The Doctrines and Politics of the Early Church
Name
Institution
Introduction
The politics of the early church had a major impact on the Christian doctrines that were developed after the death of Jesus Christ. The Christian doctrines were developed and shaped over time because most were not stable or fixed. Once a doctrine was established subsequent doctrines were developed to clarify subtle nuances. Living experiences were the basis of developing and reshaping doctrines. In concise, the doctrine about Jesus Christ was developed as individuals sought to experience the different aspects of the Christian life. The objective of the essay is to discuss the doctrines and politics of the early church.
Discussion
The foundation of the early church begins at Pentecost when a frightened group of disciples made frenetic attempts to convert the outside world before the second coming of Jesus Christ (Ferguson, 2014). The church endured a bloody struggle with the Roman authorities as they spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through the empire. Many disciples were persecuted as the Roman authorities tried to stop the spread of Christianity, especially since Jesus Christ was dead. Rumors of his resurrection were of great concern to the Roman authorities as they feared his second coming would oust them from power.
The concept of resurrection and immortality created a lot of controversy between the Sadducees and the followers of Jesus Christ. In Mark 12:18-27, Jesus suggests that the topic was fairly open for debate. This is the reason for variances in the story of Jesus’ resurrection. Prominent figures in the early church community such as Justin Martyr helped to make the connection between the doctrine of soteriology and the resurrection of the body (Friesen, 2013). On his part, Irenaeus argued that the New Testament interpretation of resurrection implied to the transformation of the body.
However, the Gnostic Christians rejected the theory of body rejection and argued that the lord had risen as a purely spiritual and divine being. Furthermore, they claimed that resurrection symbolized the ascension of souls to heavenly status. They were opposed to any notion of bodily transformation by all accounts (Edwards, 2009). They considered spiritual vision to be more important that literal vision. In this regard, resurrection symbolized Christ’s presence, but in a spiritual form. The doctrine of the early church reached its highest point with the conversion of the Roman Empire to the new faith. However, the gradual decline of the great empire and the emergence of the new world caused a paradigm shift in the Christian doctrines (Evangelicals and the early church : recovery, reform, renewal, 2012).
Conclusion
The early church doctrines were not stable because the politics of the church played a major role in establishing them. Different religions groups within the Christian community had different perceptions of resurrection and immortality. Each group tried to establish its own doctrine by building on what had already been established or by offering a different concept all together. Rumors about the resurrection of Jesus Christ led to different i...