[zeek]

Originally Posted by UntoHim

I should have known you had something up your sleeve in the OP. I find your hypothesis fascinating, and when one takes an honest, objective and historical view of the earliest post-NT history, it makes a lot of sense. So where would you set the boundary or transitional point when "the Church" transformed or morphed into "Christianity"? I would think most people would say it took place during the reign of Constantine. And frankly, I've never had a good argument against this contention. There is little doubt that the church became more institutionalized during those years.

Your observation about LC taking a "New Testament model" is spot on. Of course Nee/Lee were not the first to make an attempt at "restoration" or "recovery", they are simply the ones we are most familiar with.
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Constantine certainly represented a milestone in the development of Christianity. He set a precedent for the position of the emperor exerting influence and ultimate regulatory authority within religious discussions involving the early Christian Councils. But I think the wheels of Christianity were in motion several centuries before Constantine. Two Pre-Constantine trends that I would point to are the development of hierarchical authority and the work of church fathers.