Colossians
The Colossian error (heresy) was a local blend of Jewish (perhaps Essene) and Oriental ideas from Mesopotamia or Egypt. The heretics thought they were “supplementing” apostolic Christianity, which they saw as primitive, with greater knowledge and better access to spiritual things. They imagined that (a) the hierarchy of celestial powers (the “angels” in some Jewish thought) was supreme, rather than Christ; (b) Christ was not unique in His divine nature nor in His actions, for He was not God but one of several mediators; (c) sin resulted from a lack of knowledge (Gr. gnosis), a particular sort of knowledge in which the heretics were specialists; and (d) salvation consisted in having this gnosis imparted by a series of rituals and ascetic practices (among which Jewish rites were prized, but Christian baptism was considered a mere low-level initiation). Although the church does in fact have Apostolic rituals and ascetic practices, the Apostolic kind were being supplanted or put aside by the Colossian christians who were losing ground to the Gnostic teachers.
Title - Thesis | Scroll | Short Description | Synthesis 2nd Temple | Antithesis | Synthesis Apostolic | Synthesis Amoraim | Continent Origin | Southern Worldview | Northern Worldview |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colossians | Scroll 84 | Against Essenic and Mesopotamian Rules | Paul's Epistle to the Colossians | Πρὸς Κολοσσαεῖς | Didactic | NA | Europe | Pauline Epistle | Prison Epistle |
Category Reference Guide
Title/Thesis - The name of the book in American English
Synthesis 2nd Temple - The name of the book in order of its presentation other than the Apostles, ranging from 2nd temple Judaism up to the 1st century
Antithesis - The name of the book in another language
Synthesis Apostolic - The identity of the book in order of its presentation according to Tradition in the church after the 3rd century
Synthesis Amoraim - The name of the book in order of its presentation other than the Apostles, ranging from Tannaim up to the 5th century
Continent Origin - Continent from where the Text Type Source comes from
Southern Worldview - Catalog strategy for storing the scrolls include the interpretation. South means Africa or Egypt (Alexandrian) such as LXX. South of Palestine.
Northern Worldview - Catalog strategy for storing the scrolls include the interpretation. North means Asia or Persia (Babylonian) such as Masoretic. North of Palestine.
Here are additional resources for those who want to continue learning and exploring:
Link to some reference to cancelling sins in Colossians from the Orthodox phronema