Let's go through these ridiculous, unproven statements just for a laugh. The entry begins:
The Ebionites were a Jewish-Christian sect that insisted on the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites, which they interpreted in light of Jesus' expounding of the Law.
Yikes! This is an utterly incredible statement which is flatly contradicted by the parallel New Advent entry on the Ebionites.
Yes the Catholic Encyclopedia begins with an unfortunate statement:
By this name were designated one or more early Christian sects infected with Judaistic errors
But notice how much more nuanced the Catholic source handles the issue of the 'observance of the Law':
The doctrines of this sect are said by Irenaeus to be like those of Cerinthus and Carpocrates. They denied the Divinity and the virginal birth of Christ; they clung to the observance of the Jewish Law; they regarded St. Paul as an apostate, and used only a Gospel according to St. Matthew (Adv. Haer., I, xxvi, 2; III, xxi, 2; IV, xxxiii, 4; V, i, 3). Their doctrines are similarly described by Hippolytus (Philos., VIII, xxii, X, xviii) and Tertullian (De carne Chr., xiv, 18), but their observance of the Law seems no longer so prominent a feature of their system as in the account given by Irenaeus.
Say what you want about the Catholics they take seriously their religious heritage. I am utterly embarrassed by the Wikipedia entry. It demonstrates the dangers of allowing 'anonymous editors' to infect the world with utterly biased interpretations.
Indeed if we go back to the Eisenman-inspired statement about the Ebionites, notice how different what is actually said by Irenaeus than what appears in Wikipedia. Irenaeus' whole entry is:
Those who are called Ebionites agree that the world was made by God; but their opinions with respect to the Lord are similar to those of Cerinthus and Carpocrates. They use the Gospel according to Matthew only, and repudiate the Apostle Paul, maintaining that he was an apostate from the law. As to the prophetical writings, they endeavour to expound them in a somewhat singular manner: they practise circumcision, persevere in the observance of those customs which are enjoined by the law, and are so Judaic in their style of life, that they even adore Jerusalem as if it were the house of God.
So where on earth did the author of the Wikipedia get the monstrous statement that:
they interpreted [their halakhah] in light of Jesus' expounding of the Law
Indeed I happened to have visited Eisenman one day on his houseboat in Long Beach. I remember he had a well worn edition of Epiphanius' Panarion which is clearly the inspiration to his entire Jamesian system.
Yet notice that Irenaeus does not mention James at all. The whole idea that James is somehow responsible for the beliefs of the Ebionites comes from a very late period. It really results from Eisenman's over reliance on a questionable source - Epiphanius (who as I said in an earlier post is the Don Knotts of the Church Fathers owing to his constant befuddling and misunderstading of original sources).
Eisenman's interpretation of the Ebionites should be qualified with a statement telling unsuspecting readers that this is a modern (which means bad) take on the ancient sect. The truth is that the author of the Wikipedia post fails to tell the reader that even Epiphanius emphasizes that the Ebionites only held fast to SOME of the legal observances. There is no mention of Jesus being the teacher of this halakhah. It is all attributed to James.
I can only go through so much of the Wikipedia entry without having my stomach turn so I remind you once again, be careful what you read, be careful what you recite as 'fact' when it comes to the writings of the Church Fathers and those who would cite them uncritically!
MY TAKE ON THE EBIONITES - go to Epiphanius' account of the group AFTER he ends his story about his friend Josephus of Tiberias and notice how remarkably similar the sect seems to the Marcionites.
And while you've dropped by, why not read my book that answers all questions you never thought about asking about the origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam?
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