As we explore what I believe was the turning point in early church history, I want to refer to a post in a Catholic website: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8782
In the chapter on Justyn Martyr, one of the leaders of the second century church, is the quote from his Defense of Christianity: “And many, both men and women, who have been Christ’s disciples from childhood, have preserved their purity at the age of sixty and seventy years; and I am proud that I could produce such from every race of men and women.”
What he was saying is that he is proud to have produced a group of influential people who remained virgins and childless all of their lives. How is that good for society? How can those people minister and guide a healthy culture? I think the history of the Catholic Church provides evidence that it does not. According to an article from NBC news, in recent years, Catholic agencies in the United States shared the names of more than 5,100 clergy members credibly accused of child sexual abuse. Those offenders were hidden by the church and allowed to continue abusing until the public pressure became so great that the church could not deny it.
In that article from catholicculture.org, it further states: “He cites these examples because he obviously considers that Antoninus, who was a practicing Stoic, would understand the meaning of virtue and self-denial, and would be impressed with this asceticism.”
This is a stunning exposition of how a group of men transformed a culture from a prosperity producing society that understood how to live within the natural world (even if they struggled), into a perverse, self-debasing mess.
If you want to do a deeper study on Asceticism, you will find it a morbid and twisted practice, and it was greatly pursued by early church leaders like Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Evagrius Ponticus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Barsanuphius of Gaza, John the Prophet, Anthony the Great, Mary of Egypt, Simeon Stylites, and many others. It formed much of the culture of Christianity, extending up through the Middle Ages, where it twisted doctrine and scripture.
Those tenants continued to be promoted through the Middle Ages and into the Protestant Reformation, where Martin Luther wrote as an ascetic who later decried the monastic life, calling it an abomination. Unfortunately, he also advocated burning the homes and churches of the Jews, which influenced Hitler and Marx. For more on that, you can refer to https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0039338X.2020.1746397#d1e100.
Deniers of my opinions can’t deny the truth of history. They can put their hands over their eyes, ears, and mouths, but the truth is before us. We are living the consequences of the second century church leadership’s influence. Step by step you can trace their malfeasance through history like footprints in fresh sand.
For thousands of years prosperity was considered a blessing from God. In the second century we suddenly find many single men in the ministry. These unnatural men taught that celibacy, stoicism (the denial of temporal needs or desires), and asceticism (the belief that suffering and self-mortification increases spiritual enlightenment) were to be valued above parenthood and family life. They even influenced people away from marriage, and in the case of Thomas apparently encouraging canceling a wedding. They beat themselves, isolated and starved themselves, cut and burned themselves. They punished their bodies to drive out natural desires in the belief that suffering was a way to earn purity of spirit. I find nothing virtuous in NOT building a society and having children. How does it make any sense for Christians to deny what God created?
When it came to non-believers, Christians judged, then sometimes burned them alive to purify them from evil. In one case in Alexandria, the Christians chased down a famous non-believing philosopher, beat her, dragged her to a church, then proceeded to skin her alive on the alter using oyster shells. Once she was dead, they tore her body limb from limb and burned her parts on the alter. What a fine example of 1Corinthians: 13.
These acts were not isolated, as the Dark Ages and the Inquisition testify. Extreme physical punishment and even burning live people at the stake to purify them was common. Christianity was supposed to be a demarcation from heathenism. I find nothing of Christ in these actions and everything of evil.