So who was Polycarp? According to GotQuestions.com... Polycarp was a bishop of the early church, a disciple of the apostle John, a contemporary of Ignatius, and the teacher of Irenaeus. According to Irenaeus, Polycarp “was instructed by the apostles, and was brought into contact with many who had seen Christ.” He lived from the latter half of the first century to the mid-second century. Polycarp was martyred by the Romans, and his death was influential, even among the pagans. Polycarp was one of the Apostolic Fathers—a group of church leaders and early Christian writers who directly followed the apostles. Unfortunately, the only extant writing by Polycarp is his letter to the Philippians, but he is mentioned in other documents including “The Martyrdom of Polycarp” and a few papers written by Irenaeus. Even Polycarp’s “Letter to the Philippians” isn’t a stand-alone document. When Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch, was ordered to Rome to be executed for refusing to renounce Christianity, he passed through Smyrna (Izmir) and visited with Polycarp, who was bishop there. Ignatius then went to Philippi, where the church became quite fond of him. After he left to continue his journey to Rome, the church in Philippi wrote to Polycarp, requesting copies of Ignatius’ writings. Polycarp obliged, including a cover letter of his own. The letter is notable for two things. First, it continues Paul’s tradition of warning against false teaching in the church, namely the heresies of Gnosticism and Marcionism. Second, it quotes or paraphrases from many books that would later be recognized as part of the New Testament canon. Polycarp’s letter includes phrases from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 1 and 2 Peter, 1 John, and Jude. This is strong indication that the early church already considered the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles as inspired Scripture. Information on Polycarp is scarce. Ignatius included him in his greeting in his letters to the churches in Magnesia Ephesus, but most of our information about Polycarp comes from the writings of his student Irenaeus. In Irenaeus’ letter to Florinus, he attempts to bring an old friend back from heresy by recounting their time together under Polycarp’s tutelage, reminding him of when Polycarp spoke of his own study under the apostle John and others who’d had firsthand experience with Jesus. In Irenaeus’ letter to Pope Victor, he reminds the pope that, despite Polycarp’s strict rejection of false teaching, he was gracious regarding non-theological matters—and so the pope should lighten up about when to celebrate Easter. Irenaeus’ passage on the Roman church gives us an interesting view of the troubles the church had with maintaining orthodoxy and the role Polycarp played in the debate. The last of the apostles to teach in Rome was killed around AD 67. The last of their students, Clement, died twenty-five years later. But, in Asia, the apostle John lived until around AD 100, and his student, Polycarp, wasn’t killed until half a century later. Irenaeus points out that teachers several church-generations removed from the apostles could not extrapolate special knowledge from the apostles’ teachings that Polycarp (and, by extension, Irenaeus) would not be aware of. Irenaeus then gives specific notes of Polycarp’s strong words against Marcion and the Gnostic Cerinthus. “The Martyrdom of Polycarp” was a letter from the church in Smyrna to the congregation in Philomelium and surrounding area. After general introductions, the letter contrasts the martyrdom of Germanicus of Smyrna (a young man who refused to renounce Christianity despite the pleadings of the Roman proconsul who didn’t wish to see him attacked by wild beasts) with that of Phrygian Quintus (who recanted his faith) to illustrate the difference between a good martyr and a poor one. The bulk of the letter then gives specifics on Polycarp’s death. There is some debate as to the letter’s authenticity, but, authentic or not, “The Martyrdom of Polycarp” was effective in encouraging persecuted believers and instructing them on proper behavior during martyrdom. Some of the details of Polycarp’s death are up for debate. It’s agreed that he was arrested as an old man and sentenced to be burned at the stake for his devotion to Christ. The Roman proconsul took pity on Polycarp and urged him to recant. All he had to do was say, “Caesar is Lord,” and offer a little bit of incense to Caesar’s statue, and he would live. Polycarp’s stalwart response: “Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” So he was taken to the place of execution. One tradition states that, when the guards realized they had no nails or rope to affix him to the post, Polycarp assured them that no restraint was necessary—that Jesus would empower him to bear the flames. Another account says that the flames avoided his body, arching over his head. When the guards realized that Polycarp could not be burned, they stabbed him with a spear—and the blood that ran down extinguished the flames. Polycarp's reliance on the Gospels and the Epistles gives evidence of the inspiration of the New Testament; his dedication to the theology taught by the apostles encourages believers to take their writings at face value even as they follow his lead in not concentrating on the nonessentials; and his steadfastness in the face of death inspires Christians to remain faithful to the Messiah.
Have you heard of David Koresh...Waco Texas? Of the 76 who died by fire, 25 were children. I'm noting how you like to inculcate without any push back or resistance. Is this why you are interested in inculcating starting at a very young age? How then do you differ from Koresh, who was always listening for instructions from god, with intent to do god's will? Finally, he delayed surrender of his compound in order to write a treatise regarding some interpretation of the bible. I think it was in regard "revelation". The delay was allegedly Koresh's interpretation of the will of god at that time...but resulted in mass death by fire. This is not to say that the FBI and political officials above them acted in good faith, without their own brand of deception and danger (manslaughter under guise of plausible deniability). This is not a commentary on the FBI using fire-arms law pretexts to initiate a trespass. I am simply comparing your teaching style and apparent need to inculcate a passive audience with Koresh and his apparent emphasis on holy books. Apparently you memorize large sections of text in other languages besides your native language? Initially, before the fire-arms pretext (Koresh was supplementing income with fire arms sales, apparently legal in Texas at the time) Koresh brought FBI attention upon himself having to do with how he disciplined children. This became all the more important as he eventually expropriated all the men's wives to himself, and, using their wives for his own breeding, was in process of gathering more and more children under his direct influence. I hope that we don't hear about you in the news some years from now. Once such books can be pawned off as authoritative, several other kinds of authoritative behavior can be weaved into the narrative, not-withstanding polygamy. What are your thoughts on the discipline of children, K-12? It's important to discuss because your most revered book suggests god killed his own son after subjecting him to severe torture...besides abetting Abraham in the near killing of his own (Abraham's) son. It's concerning that besides the holy book, you are interested in names who have achieved fame in association with revered books.
So, if Polycarp was a contemporary of Ignatius... Who was Ignatius? Again, according to GotQuestions.com, Ignatius of Antioch was an early church father, the bishop of the church in Antioch, Syria. Not much is known about him, and what is known is primarily drawn from his own writings. He was martyred under Emperor Trajan around AD 110, and was apparently a disciple of John along with Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp, Irenaeus, and Origen all refer to him or his epistles in their writings, confirming what is known of his life. After presenting himself to Emperor Trajan and declaring his allegiance to Christ, Ignatius of Antioch was condemned to die in Rome. On his journey from Antioch to Rome, he was allowed to stop and visit Christians, and he wrote seven letters which have survived to this day. In these letters, he warned the churches about heresies that threatened their peace and unity and addressed points of ecclesiastical order that give us a glimpse of how the early church functioned. The heresies that Ignatius of Antioch addressed were primarily Gnosticism and Docetism. The basis of these heresies was the pagan belief in dualism: spirit is good, flesh is evil. They recognized an eternal conflict between good and evil, mind and matter, idea and object. According to the Gnostics, Satan is the co-eternal opposite of the good God. With this view of the spirit world, people would be likely to say that God is limited in power and perhaps in knowledge and is doing the best he can with a sinful world. This heresy separated the divine Christ from the human Jesus and taught that the divine Christ came upon the human Jesus at His baptism and departed just before His death. According to Doceticism, since God is spirit, and spirit is good, but flesh is evil, then, if Jesus is God, He could not have taken on sinful flesh. The Jesus that lived among men and died on the cross was simply a phantom with an appearance like flesh. Ignatius argued that if Jesus did not truly take on human flesh and die as a man, then He could not have made atonement for our sins (Hebrews 2:9, 9:12, 10:12). His letters stressed the importance of communion as a means of stressing the reality of Jesus’ humanity. He believed that, if Jesus did not truly shed His blood, then His martyrdom was meaningless. Ignatius of Antioch’s letters addressed the organization and authority of the local church. It is in his letters that we first find a clear distinction between bishops and elders. In the New Testament, the terms pastor, elder, and bishop are used interchangeably and clearly point to different aspects of one position. Pastor refers to the duties of feeding and tending to the flock of God as a shepherd. Elder refers to the position of honor and respect as the head of a family. Bishop refers to the duty of exercising oversight of others. The first churches appointed multiple elders who fulfilled all of these duties (Acts 14:23; 1 Peter 5:1–2). It is in Ignatius’s writings that we first find the terms bishop and presbyter set in opposition to each other. By the time of Ignatius, churches had come to the practical conclusion that there had to be one “senior” pastor, who was called the bishop, and the other elders, or presbyters, were ranked under him in authority and position. Ignatius’s letters acknowledged that the bishop was not necessarily the oldest among the elders, but was one whom God called to that position. Ignatius argued that there should be one bishop in charge of each congregation in order to prevent splits and ensure correct beliefs were preserved. Men like Ignatius of Antioch followed in the footsteps of the apostles and formed the second generation of church leaders.
I've heard the name Origen a lot, but know absolutely nothing about him. So who was he? Origen of Alexandria (AD 185—254), also known as Origen Adamantius, was one of the earliest and most important Christian scholars. He is remembered both for prodigious scholarship and fanatical commitment to purity. He is credited with producing hundreds of works on theology, textual criticism, and biblical interpretation. Among Origen’s most important works are the Hexapla, De Principiis, and Contra Celsum. A few of his views were unorthodox, to the point that later generations debated whether he was a saint or a heretic. In the year 202, Origen’s father was beheaded for his Christian faith. To support his family, the teenaged Origen began teaching grammar and basic Christian beliefs. His writing and education career grew quickly. Before long, he was running an entire school and hosting visits from politicians and academics. All the while, Origen produced scholarly work both in high quality and massive quantity. At one point, he was said to have kept seven scribes working at top speed. The scholar Jerome (AD 354—420) would later ask, sarcastically, “Has anyone read everything Origen wrote?” Origen studied under non-Christian philosophers in his birth city of Alexandria, Egypt, in order to better understand their arguments. This fueled one of his most important works, De Principiis (On First Principles). This is believed to be Christianity’s first comprehensive work of systematic theology. In it, Origen not only laid out a structured approach to Christian belief, but did so through (then) contemporary Greek philosophy. Another of Origen’s most important works is his Hexapla (Sixfold). This book is one of the earliest examples of textual criticism and scholarly apologetics, as well as a true interlinear Bible. The Hexapla is formatted in six columns: one column of Hebrew text in parallel with five columns of various Greek translations. Origen’s purpose in compiling this was to counter Gnostic and Jewish attacks on early Christianity. This work also provided Christians with a comprehensive guide to the Old Testament. The original is estimated to have been more than 6,500 pages long and took more than 28 years to complete. Origen also responded to an anti-Christian work, written shortly before his birth, by the Greek philosopher Celsus. Celsus’ work broadly attacked the history, philosophy, prophecies, and social duties of Christianity. In Contra Celsum (Against Celsus), Origen produced a detailed, powerfully intellectual defense of Christianity, one of the first and best of the early church era. In it, Origen answers Celsus point by point, weaving evidence, logic, and philosophy together in support of Christianity. Understanding Origen’s work can be challenging. He believed all Scripture had three levels of meaning: literal, figurative, and moral, and he often expounded various ways to interpret the same passage. Origen is a prime example of early church scholars accepting non-literal interpretations of certain passages, such as the creation account of Genesis. He was also a vocal critic of the view that only specially ordained men had the spiritual authority to interpret Scripture. Much of his work was a deliberate effort to promote knowledge over mere authority, including church leadership. Some of Origen’s ideas were unorthodox (more like "off the wall" in my opinion) and were key to his being declared a heretic by various councils in the centuries after his death. Moreover, his radical approach to purity of lifestyle was infamous, and seen as extreme and unnecessary, even among his admirers. Eventually, Origen’s uncompromising attitude toward Christianity and knowledge ran him afoul of the Roman Empire, and during the (Emperor) Decian persecution, he was imprisoned and brutally tortured, but purposefully kept alive in hopes he would recant his faith. He was released from prison when Emperor Decius died, but unfortunately, his body hadn’t weathered the torture as well as his faith, and he died from his injuries very shortly after being freed. His legacy is an excellent counter to any claim that early Christianity was anti-intellectual, and Heretic or not, Origen is among the most important figures of the early church. (From GotQuestions.org)
The so called Fathers of the Christian Church were not only superstitious and credulous, and therefore unreliable, but many of them were absolutely fraudulent, not hesitating to use any and every means to further the interests of their religion. Bishop C. J. Ellicott, in his article on the Apocryphal Gospels, which appeared in the "Cambridge Essays" for 1856, pp. 175, 176, says: "But credulity is not the only charge which these early ages have to sustain. They certainly cannot be pronounced free from the influence of pious frauds.... It was an age of literary frauds. Deceit, if it had a good intention, frequently passed unchallenged.... However unwilling we may be to admit it, history forces upon us the recognition of pious fraud as a principle which was by no means inoperative in the earliest ages of Christianity."
So, Irenaeus learned from Ignatius, but he also learned from Justin Martyr, a name I have heard repeatedly over the years. So then, exactly who was this guy?
Irenaeus was bigging up Polycarp with stuff history shows Polycarp never even said, who in turn also bigged up an early apostle who history shows Polycarp could not have met, let alone be a disciple of, or study under, nor did he ever mention as much in his own writings, and Justin Martyr merely bigged up those same things again, which history shows were never accurate or true in content, all of whom as historical figures in their turn, bigged up on a non-historical fictional character called Christ, for which there was then and still is now, no historical evidence of him existing. A giant religious telephone type, Chinese whispers type, pass the parcel type, religious story game.
Summary: So then, from the Apostle John having possibly reported the teaching and works of the apostles to Papias (who became the bishop of Hierapolis, though it might have been a different “John the Elder” who did the reporting) we have excerpts found in second- and third-century writings that came from the five books written by Papias, all of which are lost. More certain than the possible connection between John and Papias is the connection between John and Polycarp, who was one of John’s disciples and who became a bishop of Smyrna. The only one of his writings that has survived to this day is a letter he wrote to the Philippians, but Polycarp is mentioned in several other documents. Polycarp had a contemporary in the form of Ignatius, who was apparently another one of John’s disciples, and who became the bishop of Antioch, Syria. Among his writings—the primary source of what is known about him—are seven letters in which he informed churches of his day about heresies that threatened their peace and unity, and about points of ecclesiastical order. Irenaeus, on the other hand, was a student of Polycarp, and became the bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul (Lyons, France). Irenaeus is significant because of his writings against Marcionism, Gnosticism and Valentinianism. And finally, Origen was a student of philosophy (in Alexandria, Egypt) who produced a massive amount of writings on Christian theology and textual criticism, and Justin Martyr was a student of philosophy (after moving from Samaria to Ephesus) who became a Christian teacher and writer in Rome.