Many serious Christians today (Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants) are interested in discovering how the early Christians lived and worshipped. Many scholars today astutely investigate the early Church, considering the first three centuries following the Passion and Resurrection of Christ before all else. This investigation into the early Church is highly laudable, especially when using primary sources. Of course, authentic research into any form of history must refrain from both cherry-picking and excluding evidence that might be contrary to a desired outcome.But heretics have always attempted to foist their own errors upon the early Church in order to pretend like their new theories are, in fact, very old. In other words, founders of new ecclesial communities in every age have always acted like their novelties were inspired by the Holy Spirit in the early Church.Of course, their interlocutors will inevitably ask: Why weren’t such beliefs found in later documents of the Catholic Church? Heretics alway say the same thing in response: The Apostles secretly had the same theology as such founders of new religions, but only lukewarm Christians in between the two groups (the old Apostles and new heretics) lost the true beliefs. This is why you can’t find any evidence of their novel ideas in the Middle Ages! To do this, they clearly have to fabricate evidence or use ad hoc reasoning. (Ad hoc reasoning is defined as “starting with a fixed conclusion and inventing excuses or logic to fit it.”)

Originally published in Padre Peregrino. Read original article