Written in the wake of Maurice Wiles Archetypal Heresy Arianism through the Centuries this book narrates the gripping account of William Whiston s outsized affections for the Apostolic Constitutions The Apostolic Constitutions a collection of teachings concerning issues such as baptism the eucharist proper gender relations and the ordination of bishops claim to have been given by the resurrected Jesus to his apostles during the forty days before his ascension back into the presence of God In addition the Apostolic Constitutions claim to have been gathered by Clement understood to be the companion of the apostle Paul Most scholars from Whiston s seventeenth and eighteenth century world concluded that the Apostolic Constitutions was not in fact apostolical no matter its claims The consensus today perhaps unanimous even is of a similar nature the Apostolic Constitutions consists of church orders emerging from the second and third centuries that were then assembled sometime during the fourth century when the apostles names along with first person pronouns were added William Whiston however concluded that the Apostolic Constitutions was the most sacred book of the New Testament How then did William Whiston who as the successor to Sir Isaac Newton as the Cambridge University Lucasian Professor of Mathematics was a member of the intelligentsia of his day come to such a conclusion The pages of this book will answer this question As the narrative unfolds it will become apparent that even though Whiston was wrong about the apostolicity of the Apostolic Constitutions he nevertheless made important contributions to patristic scholarship as well as and perhaps most important religious liberty for all persons Furthermore even though Whiston was mistaken about the centerpiece of his project to restore primitive Christianity some readers will appreciate his sincere desire to bring the reformation work of Martin Luther and others to completion

William Whiston and the Apostolic Constitutions PDF

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