The earliest Christians stood against Gnostic infiltration and the scorn of invented slanderous myths about Christians. Today Masons and New Agers often pose as Christians and masquerade with their invented platitudes as though they are representing Christ true doctrine. Nothing of what these false masquerading "teachers" say is continuing to abide in the foundational New Testament Scriptures and it's calling. The origin of these tactics in the early church before the full 4th century gnostic infiltration of the state Roman civil church, was to misrepresent Christianity. As the earliest Christians presented the Gospel, to the philosophical Gnostics of their day. It reveals to us that nothing with these goat gnostics has changed, or will ever change apart from their salvation out of Gnosticism. Below is part of the account of Theophilus who some scholars believe could be the "most excellent Theophilus" of Luke 1:3. What we do know about Theophilus is that he stood against the scorn of Gnosticism's parent ideology of philosophy in the man named Autolycus.
In the third volume of the Ante-Nicene writings Theophilus to Autolycus.
Book III. Chap. IV. — How Autolycus Had Been Misled by False Accusations Against the Christians.
We read.
Nor indeed was there any necessity for my refuting these, except that I see you still in dubiety about the word of the truth. For though yourself prudent, you endure fools gladly. Otherwise you would not have been moved by senseless men to yield yourself to empty words, and to give credit to the prevalent rumor wherewith godless lips falsely accuse us, who are worshipers of God, and are called Christians, alleging that the wives of us all are held in common and made promiscuous use of; and that we even commit incest with our own sisters, and, what is most impious and barbarous of all, that we eat human flesh. But further, they (Gnostics) say that our doctrine has but recently come to light, and that we have nothing to allege in proof of what we receive as truth, nor of our teaching, but that our doctrine is foolishness. I wonder, then, chiefly that you, who in other matters are studious, and a scrutinizer of all things, give but a careless hearing to us. For, if it were possible for you, you would not grudge to spend the night in the (Gnostic) libraries.
Theophilus' defense is very similar to what we are seeing in our day with the promulgation in America and the world of a gnostic church that worships Lucifer, and is busy slandering Biblical foundational Christianity. The traits of what Theophilus defends against, are actually true in our day in the Satanic churches that pervade the land of American Christianity. Yet Theophilus would defend the earliest Christians against the easy yielding that Gnostics give to credit rumors of ungodly false philosophical accusers. We see these tactics of prostituting a false presentations of the gospel, by gnostic facilitators of our day, is not a new phenomenon. Although most think that what was know as Christian America is foundational Christianity, and is in it's lost state, worth saving. This is the big lie about Gnostic Americanism.
It is only the elect of God's grace who walk in Christ Jesus abiding doctrine, by believingly following Christ out of Gnosticism's false pretense, will be saved.
"If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." John 15:6
Carry your cross pilgrim unto the gates of heaven...
