Welcome to Restoring Apostolic Faith
Christianity did not begin in the modern West. Scripture emerged from the ancient Near East, Second Temple Judaism, the Greco-Roman world, and the earliest Christian communities. RAF exists to help ordinary readers recover that world and hear these texts more nearly as their original audiences would have heard them.
Context Before Conclusions
Begin with what an author communicated to the original audience. Language, history, genre, culture, and audience come before theological conclusions or modern application. Context does not weaken Scripture; it helps us understand what Scripture was actually saying.
Scripture in Its Ancient World
The ancient Near East, the Septuagint, Second Temple literature, Greco-Roman sources, archaeology, and related historical evidence help illuminate the world in which Scripture was written. These sources provide context; they do not replace Scripture as Christian authority.
The Earliest Christians Matter
The Didache, Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin, Irenaeus, and other early Christian witnesses allow us to examine how the generations nearest the apostles understood and practiced the faith. They are valuable historical witnesses without being treated as Scripture.
In Conversation With Serious Scholarship
RAF regularly engages respected scholars across New Testament studies, early Christianity, Second Temple Judaism, archaeology, and the ancient Near East. Their work is not treated as unquestionable authority, but as part of the evidence that helps us test assumptions, sharpen arguments, and read Scripture within its historical world. Agreement is useful; disagreement can be just as valuable.
