What challenges did the early Christians face as the Church grew?

Answer 1

A:

The most widely documented challenge to Christianity in the first century was internal dissent and disagreement as to what the gospel actually was. We see, in Paul's epistles, each of the gospels and Acts of the Apostles, references to 'false apostles' who taught a different gospel than the author. By the second century, the growth of the church presented a different type of challenge, as Christian communities had simply outgrown the unstructured leadership of the first century. The role of bishop was established in the first half of the second century, and we find evidence of this in the pseudo-Pauline epistles and other early second-century Christian writings.

Answer 2

Early Christians, most, had to face persecution by the Romans for not believing in the Roman Catholic Church. Most followed Jesus but were were crucified after his death. They also were afriad to practice that is why there were not many Christians because they thought they would die if they became one. so the main points are they had to face persecution and and what they did while they were Christians because they are two , not entirely, different religions.

Answer 3

The main problem that the Church has had to deal with since the very beginning has been sin and Satan. Some of the other problems that the Church has had to deal with have been pride and ignorance. All throughout the New Testament, starting with Acts of the Apostles, and going through the various letters, are detailed the problems the early Church had to deal with. Some of these problems became so overwhelming they became heresies, like the Circumcisers in the first century which are dealt with in Acts, and Romans. Early Christians who thought that they still had to follow the Jewish law, not realizing that it has been fulfilled in Christ. This heresy has actually become its mirror opposite and the modern Protestants and Evangelicals now maintain that Christians have to follow NO laws, not realizing the St. Paul was talking about the Jewish law.

Other problems that the Church had to deal with early on were Gnosticism and Montanism. In the third century we had Sabellianism and in the fourth century we had Arianism - which also had reappeared in the last couple centuries. Old heresies never die, they just acquire new life and new names. Satan never wastes a good misdirection.

For a complete discussion of these please read the Catholic Answers article on The Great Heresies.

Answer 4

The earliest conflict that the Church had was with the Judaisers who insisted that new Christians keep the entire Jewish law. At the Council of Jerusalem, they were over-ridden.