Questions for Research and Discussion

1. Compare and contrast the earliest church’s doctrines and practices with those evident in incipient early catholicism (refer especially to the chart in this chapter).
2. Trace the elements of incipient early catholicism in the early documents of the NT.
3. What kind of leadership did the church have from the very beginning? How did this change as the first century drew to a close?
4. Trace elements of the earliest church’s doctrine and practice in the later documents in the NT.
5. After reading this chapter and working through the preceding questions, what is your opinion of incipient early catholicism and why?

---