Tuesday, June 10, 2008

First Christian Church Discovered in Jordan?

Luke 10:1 records " After these things, the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two by two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come." The scriptures are very clear that the early Christians met in their homes, so I urge caution, as with any archaeological discovery, until this discovery can be authenticated to ascertain exactly what has been found here. Acts 2: 46 records "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, and in Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul also carried on this biblical practice of meeting in private homes. Acts 20:20 the apostle Paul stated “And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house”.

Also, from the article "Inside the cave there are several stone seats which are believed to have been for the clergy and a circular shaped area, thought to be the apse. "

I have doubts that any "clergy" was established in the early Christian Church, as the word clergy is not mentioned in the NT, or an "apse." The apostle Paul mentions bishop and deacon in 1 Timothy 3:2. This sounds something like a Roman Catholic thing, which most definitely is not New Testament Christianity.

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Archaeologists in Jordan have unearthed what they claim is the world's first church, dating back almost 2,000 years, The Jordan Times reported on Tuesday.
"We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD," the head of Jordan's Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan, said.
He said it was uncovered under Saint Georgeous Church, which itself dates back to 230 AD, in Rihab in northern Jordan near the Syrian border.
"We have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians--the 70 diciples of Jesus Christ," Husan said.
These Christians, who are described in a mosaic as "the 70 beloved by God and Divine," are said source

Here's another source covering this story

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