The Heresy of Orthodoxy, ch. 2

This chapter takes up the thesis of Bauer and Ehrman to see if it is plausible that diversity preceded orthodoxy in the Christianity that immediately followed the ascension of Christ. The authors demonstrate that the development of Docetism and Gnosticism could not have been the norm. Philosophically they do not hold up. Docetism assumes a reaction to a physical Christ which only supports that orthodoxy existed prior. Gnosticism was nearly entirely individualistic and was not a singularly connected movement. Beyond this, historically, the theory does not hold water from what we already know. The earliest writers were clearly in unity and it doesn't seem to be the best explanation to call them the "winners" as Bauer seeks to do. The timeline and historical evidence points to an orthodoxy contrary to the suggestion of Bauer/Ehrman.