I know what you are saying. But let's call it for what it is here- there's no such thing as Ebionite theology. All we know about this group is second hand knowledge at best. It seems to me that there is a romantic myth about them that is being promoted by people who find NT living a bit too hard. There are no systematic theologies or lasting written masterpieces by any Ebionite..
Regardless of whether it's second hand information or firsthand, the reality is that there is information on them--and that is something to consider when it comes to many of the ways others live out certain things.
As far as “beliefs” of the Ebionites, the documents of the New Testament, critically evaluated, are our best sources, including some of the fragmentary traditions still embedded in the book of Acts (7:37-53). There are fragments and quotations surviving from their Hebrew Gospel tradition (see see A. F. J. Klijn,
Jewish-Christian Gospel Tradition, E. J. Brill, 1992), the so-called Pseudo-Clementine materials, as well as some of the traditions reflected in texts such as the “
Hebrew Matthew” preserved by Ibn Shaprut, and now published in a critical edition by George Howard (
The Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, Mercer University Press, 1995). Based on what we can reliably put together from these sources we can say the Ebionite or Nazarene movement could be distinguished by the following views:
1) Jesus as a human being with father and mother but designated a “Prophet like Moses,” or “the Anointed of the Spirit,” who will be revealed in power as the “Son of Man coming in the Clouds of heaven,” following his rejection and death (Acts 7:37; Luke 4:18-19; Mark 10:35-45; 13:26-27).
2) Disdain for eating meat and even the Temple slaughter of animals, preferring the ideals of the pre-Flood diet and what they took to be the original ideal of worship (see Genesis 9:1-5; Jeremiah 7:21-22; Isaiah 11:9; 66:1-4). This reflects a general interest in seeking the “Path” reflected in the pre-Sinai revelation, especially the time from Enoch to Noah. For example, divorce was shunned, as violating the Edenic ideal, even though technically it was later allowed by Moses (Mark 10:2-11).
3) Dedication to following the whole Torah, as applicable to Israel and to Gentiles, but through the “easy yoke” or the “Torah of liberty” of their Teacher Jesus, which emphasized the Spirit of the Biblical Prophets in a restoration of the “True Faith,” the Ancient Paths (Jeremiah 6:16; Matthew 11:28-30; James 2:8-13; Matthew 5:17-18; 9:13; 12:7), from which, by and large, they believed the establishment Jewish groups of 2nd Temple times had departed.
4) Rejection of the “doctrines and traditions” of men, which they believed had been added to the pure Torah of Moses, including scribal alterations of the texts of Scripture (Jeremiah 8:8).
Generally, the movement came to have a very negative view of Paul as an “apostate from the Torah,” though it is possible that in the 2nd and 3rd centuries there were branches of the Nazarenes who were more tolerant of Paul as the “apostle to the Gentiles,” but who as Jews, nonetheless, insisted on Torah observance.
Noting the rise of Ebionite theology again doesn't mean that others are seeking to study them/live that out as if there is an organized system of thought. Rather, the same tendencies that led to the development of Ebionite practice/actions, be it in denying that Christ was God/Man (as some have done on the forum) or denying that Paul was legitimate and thus seeking to attack his theology (as is STILL happening) or declaring that the only way believers line up with Torah is to ensure Gentiles live fully as Jews do in practice so that they can get approval (as has happpened many times
here)....all of that has its roots in the thinking of Ebionite ideology.
And the level of aggression toward Paul is not surprising seeing how the same happened back in the day of the early church. Seriously, in a forum where the moderators have explicitly asked that no bashing of Paul is allowed and threads have been shut down, the same insistence in bringing up those topics blatantly, be it in hinting on it or outright bringing up the same in dishonor of what the Mods have done (against the rules ) and dishonoring what CF has noted as Law is what most of the Ebionites did when told of what was accepted in certain areas....and yet they still tried to bring the same arguments that were refuted into the synagouges/fellowships of believers against it repeatedly----all in the name of trying to get others to understand the Torah.
We've already had a couple of threads locked up on the issue whenever discussion arises saying that Paul was false and things got very harsh from the mods before on the issue...as seen in places like
Opinion Of Paul,
Not Paul bashing and
[REPORT FREE THREAD] staff/member(MJ members) discussion "Discrediting Paul" ..but the dedication others still place into going against what Paul said and what the Mods have asked is the same type of agre'"ssion shown in previous times when people were determined to "prove" that Paul was false/others needed to hear it.
As said before, it's not Messianic Judaism in what they do when arguing for such------but they are trying to redefine the movement to suit their desires. In many ways, the real battle is discussing what is the BEST kind of Messianic Judaism--and in that regards, the conversation (IMHO) becomes more focused if examining the claims of differing camps of the early church/1st century Judaism and seeing what they all felt about Yeshua....and how all had differing beliefs on how to express their devotion to the Messiah, yet they were all "Messianic"--and one of those camps had the best solution.
As said before, alot of the differing stances that're said by others on the boards claiming to be "Messianic Jewish" do have a historical basis if examining some of the earlier camps....specifically the Ebionites when it came to the early church and certain groups saying that anything of Paul was counter to Torah. Although the Ebionites were very diverse/didn't all see the same, Paul’s oppoments were often those who were “Ebionites” ..just as it is with many here in their stances against Paul on a host of issues and choosing to be aggressive in noting it. With the Ebionites, as many here also believe, they felt that only certain books in the NT Gospels could be trusted while Gentiles were bound to keep all of the OT laws as the Jews were. Much of what they held to was shot down by the early church--and some felt that their lack of being accepted was a sign of God's approval.......and although there were many Gentiles who joined with them believing they had to observe all aspects of the Torah in order to have acceptance before the Lord, those Gentiles within the Ebionite version of Christianity and the Ebionite Jews would collectively be a different kind of "Messianic" altogether.
If I'm alone in that viewpoint, cool..but IMHO, it truly does seem to be a resurrgence of such thought on the forums when seeing the side of "Messianic Jew" you come at and the other side others reside..akin to
Neo-Ebionites --of Christ and others discussed how one could discuss and some of which was discussed elsewhere in places like #
91 .
Again, my referencing them doesn't mean that they are idolized by myself in any way..as many of them, if in our times, would probably be going to war against mostly all of the people on the boards---including those supporting them--since many of them were against the apostles as well. The variations amongst the groups cannot be ignored, of course, as some were in support of the apostles (though more strict) whereas others went to war---and vehemently hated Pauline thought.
As much as there is a romanticized notion, I think the same thing can be said in having unecessary notions that demonize all things about them simply because many of the Church fathers spoke negatively of them..and we in our times take that commentary/make our own conclusions even though the amount of evidence to know fully what was going on is often uncertain/speculation on many points. In light of that,
I greatly appreciate others such as Derek Leman for his work in trying to address the issue graciously---both with those seeking to idolize all things "Ebionite" and those who demonize all things "Ebionite"...for either end of the specturm is a matter of historical slander, IMHO, that doesn't need to happen if simply going through the facts and seeing the Mosaic that existed in the early world of Jewish Christianity. And I take that seriously in light of how Derek is one who
doesn't even believe that Gentiles are in any way required to live the same as Gentiles ( as seen
here,
here ,
here ,
here and
here ).
The leader of the Messianic Fellowship I attend has also noted some of the same things---and for him as one who was a priest within Eastern Orthodoxy (where some things by the Ebionites were condemned with their views of Christ), I'll take that seriously.
Let's look at false teacher identifying mark no.1 here: try to find some ancient friends so you don't look like the person inventing a new religion. If you get enough of them, maybe your religion might fly. However, every sect and cult I know of tries to find their friends in history but always have to cover up the whole story. This is the elephant in the room here. While people want to hang their hats on ancient sects, those sects are long gone. They did not proceed or survive in God's blessing. Why? The usual answer is to demonize those who continued to thrive and still do (eg. the church), but that still makes God a weakling unable to maintain His truth and sustain His people. Looks like God's favor rests upon the NT and the Gospel taught by Paul in complete agreement with the other Apostles
I agree...and in noting where others may identify with the Ebionites, that is in no way an endorsment of that belief system.
The notion that these guys were "ok" because they allegedly stuck to the Law is besides the point. They erred on many
more serious matters of theology, including promoting heretical Christology and heretical soteriology, and that's just for starters. What is an issue is that just because they had the outward appearance of being Torah keepers all is forgiven by the 21stCentury student who may be desperate to find validation for his or her rejection of the full Gospel in the early Christian Faith. ..even though they were ultimately deniers of God's revelation.