Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines

by John Claudius Pitrat

Therefore the proposition we were to prove in the present article, that the first Christians did not believe in the doctrine of endless hell, remains peremptorily established.

Objection.—Since the fourth century the Church of Rome obtained the condemnation of the above Christian sects in five general councils. But if the above sects had composed the majority of the body of Christians, the Church of Rome would not have obtained their condemnation. Consequently the above sects did not compose the majority of the body of Christians during the third, the fourth, and the fifth centuries.

Answer.—We deny the minor proposition of this syllogism, which is: But if the above sects had composed the majority of the body of Christians, the Church of Rome would not have obtained their condemnation—and we prove our denegation as follows:—

Supposing that the United States be constituted into an empire—God forbid!—that the emperor would have the control of Church property, would side, say with the Presbyterian Church, or any other, claiming supremacy over the other Christian denominations; and that the emperor would assemble councils conjointly with that Church, would attend and even be vice-president of those councils, would enforce them with civil and military force, and also the execution of their acts condemning another sect arrayed before those councils, without permitting the other sects to vote in those councils, would it follow from this that all the other Christian sects do not compose the body of Christians in the United States? Certainly not.

But the case was the same with the Church of Rome. Since the end of the second century the bishop of Rome (we do not say the Pope, for it was only centuries after that he had the boldness, or rather impudence, to call himself exclusively Pope,) commenced to claim a personal supremacy over the other bishops, and also a supremacy of his church over the other Christian churches. Vain were his efforts until the beginning of the fourth century, when Sylvestre, bishop of Rome, obtained for himself and for his church the favors and protection of the emperor Constantine I., who afterwards joined it, (we will state in the last chapter of this work the reasons why this tyrant took these steps.) In behalf of the Church of Rome, he convoked the council of Arles, and the general council of Nice, and defrayed the expenses of the bishops out of his own treasure. His protection to the Church of Rome the most of his successors on the imperial throne continued; and thus the power and supremacy of this church grew in ratio of the persecutions directed against the other Christian denominations, which were debarred from voting in the councils; whose church property was oftentimes confiscated; and which many of them were prohibited to publicly worship. In consequence, it is not true to say that, if the various Christian sects spoken of before had composed the majority of the body of Christians, the Church of Rome would not have obtained their condemnation. Therefore the various sects spoken of before composed the majority of the body of Christians during the third, the fourth and the fifth centuries.

APPENDIX

To the proofs that the first Christians did not believe in endless hell.

From the second to the fourth centuries many Apocryphal Gospels had been written. Some of them have been transmitted down to us, at least their fragments; and others have not been preserved except their titles.

Among those gospels are: 1st, the Gospel according to the Hebrews; 2d, according to the Nazareans; 3d, according to the Twelve Apostles; 4th, according to St. Peter. It is supposed that these four Gospels were that of Matthew, altered by the Hebrews. This circumstance has led the critics to believe, that the Hebrew or Syriac text of Matthew had been abandoned, lest it might be altered; and that the Greek version had been preserved.

5th, The Gospel according to the Egyptians; 6th, that of the birth of the virgin Mary: we have read it in Latin; 7th, the Protogospel of James, written in Greek and in Latin; 8th, the Gospel of the Infancy, in Greek and in Arabic; 9th, that of St. Thomas; 10th, the Gospel of Nicodemus, in Latin; 11th, the Gospel Eternal; 12th, that of Andrew; 13th, that of Bartholomew; 14th, that of Apelles; 15th, that of Basilides; 16th, that of Cerinthus; 17th, that of the Ebionites—perhaps it was the same as that of the Hebrews; 18th, that of Tatian; 19th, that of Eve; 20th, that of the Gnostics; 21st, that of Marcion; 22d, that of St. Paul; 23d, the Gospel of the small and great interrogations of Mary; 24th, that of the birth of Jesus: probably the same as the Protogospel of James; 25th, that of John, or of the death of the virgin Mary; 26th, that of Matthias; 27th, that of Perfection; 28th, that of the Simonians; 29th, that of the Syrians; 30th, that of the Encratites: probably the same as that of Tatian; 31st, the Gospel of Thadeus, or of Jude; 32d, that of Valentine; 33d, that of Life, or of the Living God; 34th, that of Philip; 35th, that of Barnabeus; 36th, that of James, the major; 37th, that of Judas; 38th, of the Truth: probably the same as that of Valentine; 39th, the Gospels of Leucius, of Seleucus, of Lucianus, and of Hesychius.