For centuries, countless books have attempted to tell the story of early Christianity. Yet despite the sheer volume of scholarship, a surprising number overlook essential questions, sidestep major contradictions, or ignore the beliefs of those earliest Christians whom many later traditions still call saints.
Original Catholic Beliefs takes a different path.
This book explores some of the most neglected teachings of the original catholic church-teachings that shaped the earliest followers of Jesus and that continue today within the Continuing Church of God. Rather than offering a sweeping, surface-level overview, it focuses on key doctrines, practices, and historical testimonies that reveal a striking continuity between the first-century faith and a small but enduring body of believers.
Drawing from Scripture, early catholic writers, primary and non-primary sources, and both conventional and unconventional scholarship, this work invites readers into a documented search for truth. Some findings may surprise or even challenge long-held assumptions. Yet the call remains the same as it was in the first century: to "prove all things" and hold fast to what is good.
You will discover:
- How early Christianity was understood as a Jewish sect-and why ignoring this has distorted church history
- The earliest uses of the term catholic church and what those communities actually believed
- Doctrines and practices preserved by faithful Christians but later abandoned or reinterpreted by others
- The existence of two distinct groups in early Christianity-one holding to the original faith, the other diverging
- Evidence for apostolic succession through Asia Minor and the Church of God
- The original views on liturgy, baptism, Passover, holy days, the Godhead, the canon, and more
- Why the Berean model of honest inquiry remains essential for Christians today
This book is written for readers who genuinely love the truth-those willing to examine Scripture and history with the openness of the Bereans, who "studied the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so."
If Christianity is true, it has nothing to fear from honest inquiry.
Original Catholic Beliefs offers that inquiry-carefully, respectfully, and with a commitment to evidence over tradition.
Step into the documented story of the original catholic church and discover which teachings have endured unchanged from the apostles to the present day.
