Is anyone aware of any writing pertaining to the years between Jesus living and the formation of Catholicism?

Question

For roughly three hundred years peoples followed an example set by a person named Jesus. From what I understand the Roman state then created a religious order. I am not here to argue. I am just curious as to whether there have been any published findings or writings pertaining to this period, aside from or independent of biblical descriptions or those suggested by the church.

I was merely asking a question but it seems to disturb many of certain persuasions. I have heard enough from the likes of you.

Is someone aware of verifiable archeological accounts of how the peoples in the areas where Christianity and Catholicism came about, lived for say the first three hundred years after the man called Jesus walked the earth.

I am talking about those that declared their behavior to emulate that of Jesus.
These people did not have bibles, or did not know every one who wrote a book about this.
I am not against or bashing catholics or any religious sects or any conceptions of gods or saviors but rather the notion that one particular religion or belief or ideal will save any of us from the reality we face if we continue in our collective directions.

Answer 1

Weofearth: I believe you have asked a very profound question, one that definitely will set some “Christians” teeth on edge. As you will notice, by most of the answers submitted here, it is pretty much as you stated in your commentary.

People followed Jesus’ teachings and his way of life for approximately 300 years before so-called religious sovereigns decided to institutionalize the church. These religious monarchs, first church, authorized & used so-called “authorized Bible” of the gospels prior to the, now as we know it, Bible. Prior to this the only way of passing knowledge and way of life was by example and letters written by the disciples during and shortly after the life and death of Jesus. It is understandable to assume that of all the numbers of people then, that each did not have these letters in hand and if they had them the chances of their interpretation was very unlikely.
Now for a history of how the Bible was compiled. I feel obligated to do so that you realize that it wasn’t until 1604, approximately 1300 years after institutionalization of “the church”, before a Bible was published; and then it was only done at that time because of the out cries of the people. This out cry occuring after the time people left "the church", and are now know as Protestants. However, there are some people that never enter into "the church" yet are still called Protestants.

Just making friends and influencing people Weofearath. Boy I am afraid NOT. If you can ask the question, I will answer it. PS: I have added you a bit of FYI at the end of my answer.

Thirty-five years after the second of these “authorized” Bibles appeared; King James became King of Great Britain.
In 1588 a period of comparative peace and quiet prevailed after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. This heightened academic effort.
One a day in 1604 the Hampton Court Conference was convened. King James listened to the complaints of the Puritans as they touched on many subjects till finally the matter of the Bible. John Reynolds, Puritan president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, moved that there might be a new translation of the Bible. Why? Those which were allowed in the reigns of Henrie the eighth, and Edward the sixth, were corrupt and not answerable to the truth of the Original.”
No immediate action was taken by the king. But the idea appealed to him. He thought that there could never yet be a Bible well translated in English & of all the versions, he thought Geneva to be the worst. He wished for special plans taken for an uniform translation, he approved a list of some fifty scholars, represented by both Universities, to serve as translators, then reviewed by the Bishops, presented to the Privy Council, and finally ratified by the Royal authority. Before long, he gave order for this translation to be made.
In 1611 a new translation emerged, the first edition of the Authorized Version issued from London press. In honor of the king it was called the King James Bible.

In response to your comment: "....that you are against the notion that one particular religion or belief or ideal will SAVE any of us from the reality we face if we continue in our collective direction:

John 12:18-32
28: Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
29: The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
30: Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for YOUR sakes.
31: NOW is the judgment of this world: NOW shall the prince of this world be cast out.
32: And I, If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL men unto me.
Jesus was lifted up from the earth and nailed to the cross. Along with Jesus was nailed the judgement of THIS word & the prince of THIS world, Satan, and Satan will be cast out of this world at the end. Jesus' final victory was death. Death is another name for the Devil).

1st Corinthians 15:24-26
24: Then cometh the end, when he SHALL have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he SHALL have put down ALL rule and ALL authority and power.
25: For he reign, till he hath put ALL enemies under his feet.
26: The last enemy that SHALL BE destroyed is DEATH, (another name for the Devil).

Hebrew 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through DEATH he might destroy him that HAD the power of DEATH, that is, the DEVIL

FYI
Matthew 16:13-19
Here is the way which I read this text:
vs 13: Jesus asks His disciples who are people saying I am.
vs 14: Peter answers: men are saying You are one of the DEAD prophets risen.
vs 15: Jesus asked Peter who he thought He, Jesus, was.
vs 16: Peter answers: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
vs 17: Jesus explains to Peter how he, Peter, knew what he had just said and how blessed he was for knowing it. That it was not by man but by God.
vs 18: Jesus says to Peter: I say upon this rock (the one Peter just said in vs. 16) I will build my church; and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.
vs 19: And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: "Jesus was making reference to the revelaltion which the Father gave to Peter. Because that revelation came to Peter he was given the name change and the keys. The keys were used at the house of Cornelius when the Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles. The rock, upon which the Lord has built his true church, is revelation

To me “The True Church” is not any man made structure or institution. I truly believe that our fellowship right here on YA is a part of that church & I see no building. Where two or three are gathered together in MY name, not Peter's, there “am I” in the midst of them.
Further, I think that churches do build on one foundation or the other.
As for man’s institutionalizing & organization of their churches, that is being build & laid upon Peter’s, man’s, foundation.
To state that of having a church physically built on dead man bones, I think of the spiritual aspect of that, the spiritual building (body), I had much prefer a foundation of a living spirit, Word, to those of the dead.

My hope & prayer is that we each have our faith built on the spirit which flow the living waters & not that of dead man’s bones, dry & without life.

This is just a portion of an answer to a question posted here on YA. If you want to see the answer in its entirety or all the answers you can go to: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuJF2_WMDsRkBHOD0BKUahXty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20070903154911AAGdFrd&show=7#profile-info-FTKBnEYWaa. There really is some good info there.

picklejuiceonrye: So what you are saying is Peter baptisted and added to the church daily. My Bible says:
39: For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our GOD SHALL CALL.

40: And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
He is talking to the ones the promise is made to that the LORD our GOD SHALL CALL and telling them to WATCH out for this outoward (perverse, crooked, warped) generations. Why? Because they will kill with their perverted, crooked, warped ways.
Now that they are a part of the true & spiritually lliving church built of the revelation of God, these untoward generations could hope for nothing more than to destroy it by removing them from the truth, "true church". How better to destroy than to teach them lies, destroying from within.
Rev 14:9 If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark IN (NOT ON) his forehead, or in his hand, (what has been taught them and what they do with what they've been taught, falsehood.
47: Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the LORD ADDED to the church daily such as should be saved.
Saved from what? If you are IN the Word of God (in the truth which is THE CHURCH, the truth, the way and the life) you can't be killed (deceived) by perverted, crooked, warped ways or word.

Whitehorse456: EXACTLY. It was the same with the Pharisees, then as it is with them now. GREAT point!!!

PS: As for any Christian organization or institution boasting of being the largest group of members, the “Word of God” is testimony to the protection of the Holy Spirit. For the Bible, The Word of God, speaks of the remnant, "a fragment", of His people.
DO NOT rely on any Christian pamphlets for you information. God’s word is thoroughly furnished.

Answer 2

Whether you are here to argue or not, you must understand that your question is not based on a verifiable premise. The Catholic church can factually be demonstrated to predate Constantine's edict of tolerance by centuries.

In the year 102 A.D. the bishop of Antioch, Ignatius, who had himself been both baptized and appointed by the apostle John wrote in a letter, "Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_of_Antioch

The epistles of the new testament show that this was not a sudden innovation, but in fact weekly celebrations of communion were the norm (1 Corinthians 11) and that apostles were appointing bishops (1 Timothy 3:1)

So there are no writings to find, for there is no such gap. However if you want to read the early writings of the CATHOLIC church, I would suggest:

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/
http://www.bible.ca/history/fathers/
http://www.tertullian.org/

Answer 3

Matthew 16:18-19
Jesus replied.... Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

Acts 2:1...31
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven.... Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day.

Answer 4

I will recommend the Thompson chain-ref Bible to you. The study materials in the back are very informative. Lots of archology.
While you are at it look inside.

Answer 5

wrong, wrong, WRONG! Quit relying on anti-Catholic pamphlets for your information. Jesus promised, "I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). This means that his Church will never be destroyed and will never fall away from him. His Church will survive until his return.

Among the Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has existed since the time of Jesus. Every other Christian church is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. The Eastern Orthodox churches broke away from unity with the pope in 1054. The Protestant churches were established during the Reformation, which began in 1517. (Most of today’s Protestant churches are actually offshoots of the original Protestant offshoots.)

Only the Catholic Church existed in the tenth century, in the fifth century, and in the first century, faithfully teaching the doctrines given by Christ to the apostles, omitting nothing. The line of popes can be traced back, in unbroken succession, to Peter himself. This is unequaled by any institution in history.

Even the oldest government is new compared to the papacy, and the churches that send out door-to-door missionaries are young compared to the Catholic Church. Many of these churches began as recently as the nineteenth or twentieth centuries. Some even began during your own lifetime. None of them can claim to be the Church Jesus established.

The Catholic Church has existed for nearly 2,000 years, despite constant opposition from the world. This is testimony to the Church’s divine origin. It must be more than a merely human organization, especially considering that its human members— even some of its leaders—have been unwise, corrupt, or prone to heresy.

Any merely human organization with such members would have collapsed early on. The Catholic Church is today the most vigorous church in the world (and the largest, with a billion members: one sixth of the human race), and that is testimony not to the cleverness of the Church’s leaders, but to the protection of the Holy Spirit.

As for early Christian writing, ALL early Christian writings are quoted in the Catechism Of The Catholic Church. In fact, you will not find any other Christian publication the quotes the early Christans more than the Catechism Of The Catholic Church:
http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/entiretoc1.htm

Answer 6

There are many many such writings. The early church fathers, such as Origen, Iraeneus, and many others wrote during that period.

There's a good on-line listing of many of these at

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com

Answer 7

When Jesus said "I will build my church" He wasn't referring to a physical structure or worldly institution....the Pharisees made this same kind of error. For when Jesus was asked how He might prove His divine authority, He answered, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” Those whose minds were on worldly things assumed He was referring to the physical temple. Yet it is then written, “…the temple he had spoken of was his body.”

Answer 8

I think there is none. If there were... there would be no Christian faith, as we would only have true facts and no mythology... that can only be told by people who did not witness the events and could invent miraculous tales!

Answer 9

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS FORMED AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO BINGO FOR FUND-RAISING PURPOSES. BY SHEER STROKE OF LUCK THEY ADOPTED THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS AND EVERYTHING WORKED OUT BECAUSE GOD WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.