Description
.Author: Laurence Lepherd. 124 pages soft cover. Published by The Christadelphian Scripture Study Service April 2017.
The way was an early term for the disciples of Christ, who said of himself "Ï am the way, the truth and the life". We have to wonder how the simple Bible truths of 'the way" have been construed by the churches into complex and irrational ideas bearing very little likeness to the original teachings of the Word of God.
This book provides many insights into this question. The writer has consulted primary historical documents and has been cautious to make sure the evidence has been faithfully cited. He has cited only direct writings from the first three centuries since the Bible was completed.
The headings of the chapters in the book are:
Chapter 1 The way
Chapter 2 ''Church" hierarchy
Chapter 3 God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Mary
Chapter 4 Sin and redemption
Chapter 5 Salvation, baptism, the Kingdom of God and other matters.
A Review of the book
Readable, accessible and straightforward – these are terms not often associated with books on ecclesiastical history and the evolution of doctrine in the post-Apostolic era. The doctrinal debates in which the “church fathers” engaged were convoluted and arcane. This means that many of the books which have sought to document these matters, while they might be erudite, are also usually tedious, complex and heavy-going for most readers. That certainly is not the case with Losing the way, a new book by bro Laurence Lepherd published recently by the Christadelphian Scripture Study Service.
In Acts, the gospel message preached by the Apostles is referred to as “the way”, reflecting the Lord’s statement that he was “the way, the truth and the life”. In his remarkably succinct book, bro Laurence demonstrates how “the way” as enunciated by the Lord and preached by the Apostles became corrupted so quickly after the ascension of the Lord. Indeed, as the book acknowledges, that process of corruption commenced even during the lifetime of the Apostles who sought to warn the early believers of the threats to doctrinal integrity that were emerging (e.g. Acts 20:29-31).
After an opening chapter entitled “The way”, the author addresses several key themes where a decline in doctrinal purity can be observed in the first few centuries of the Christian era. In each of these chapters, he commences by summarising the teaching of the Bible on that theme before he quotes from early church writers to show how errors were introduced and promoted. A feature of the book is its reliance only on primary sources; the author makes his case using only the words of writers from the period rather than the views and interpretations of writers in later centuries.
Losing the way shows very clearly how the purity of the gospel became degraded and false teachings such as the trinity and belief in an immortal soul evolved. It is, however, is more than a history text documenting these developments. In the process of describing how errors arose in the first three centuries, the book has lessons which are very relevant to ecclesial life in the twenty-first century.
Bro Laurence shows that two key factors underpinned a drift from apostolic doctrine to church error:
1. The emergence of a hierarchy which assumed responsibility for determining which teachings were sound and which were not, and the complicity of the lay members in allowing their leaders to do their thinking for them. The author adopts a balanced approach to the need for sound ecclesial leadership while avoiding a usurpation of the responsibility of individuals to “work out their salvation”. In this context, his comments about Hebrews 13:17 are well worth considering; and
2. A tendency to over-define doctrinal issues and, in the process, deviating from the use of Biblical language and introducing non-Biblical terms, thus muddying the waters in relation to issues being debated. As the author says, “Early churchmen through over-explanation of simple principles, confused correct doctrine and became erroneous” (page 108). Our own community has been troubled by this same problem at times over the past 150 years.
The book notes the negative impact of dominant personalities in the creation of factions in the early ecclesias. Paul warned the Corinthians about this in 1 Corinthians 1:10, and the author quotes from later non-inspired writers to Corinth to demonstrate that this continued to be a problem long after Paul had died. There are lessons in this which continue to be applicable today.
Bro Lepherd’s book is a valuable contribution to the brotherhood’s literature and a timely reminder of the need to uphold Apostolic teaching in the face of threats posed by other philosophies. It is also a timely reminder of the need to meet doctrinal challenges when they arise in ways which do not compromise the soundness of the ecclesia in the longer-term.
Geoff Henstock
This review appeared in The Christadelphian August 2017 and The Lampstand November - December 2017