David W. Bercot (pronounced as David Berçot; born April 13, 1950) is an

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

Christian

church historian Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...

, attorney, author, and international speaker from the United States. He has written various books and magazine articles about

early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...

and Christian

discipleship In Christianity, disciple primarily refers to a dedicated follower of Jesus. This term is found in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. In the ancient world, a disciple is a follower or adherent of a teacher. Discipleship is not the ...

. His two best-known works are ''Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?'', and the ''Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs.'' Bercot completed his theological education at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and was subsequently ordained as an Anglican priest before joining fellowship with

Conservative Anabaptist Conservative Anabaptism includes theologically conservative Anabaptist denominations, both in doctrine and practice. Conservative Anabaptists, along with Old Order Anabaptists and mainline Anabaptists, are a subset of the Anabaptist branch of Chri ...

s, whom he believed to best embody the practices of

Academic career

David Bercot was raised as a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

. After leaving Jehovah's Witnesses in 1976, he began his university education. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University summa cum laude, and he obtained his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree cum laude from

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

School of Law. In 1985, Bercot began an in-depth study of the early Christians who lived before the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325. His studies started him on a spiritual pilgrimage. In 1989, he wrote the book, ''Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up'', which sets forth some of the teachings and lifestyle of the early Christians. That same year, he joined with an

Assembly of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

pastor to establish Scroll Publishing Company for the purpose of publishing various writings of the pre-Nicene Christians, as well as to publish other Christian books. Bercot's studies of the early Christians brought him into contact and dialogue with three different branches of Christianity: the

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

(

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

, Brethren), the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

, and the churches of the

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (17 ...

( Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, International Church of Christ). In 1985, after completing his religious studies through

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, Bercot was ordained as an Anglican priest. However, he eventually left the

and began fellowshipping with various

churches, as Bercot understood Anabaptist Christianity to best embody the beliefs and practices of the early Church. Today Bercot is a lecturer and author who emphasizes the simplicity of Biblical doctrine and early (ante-Nicene) Christian teaching over against what he would call the heavy and complex body of theological understandings that have built up over the centuries in churches and in academia and that have come to be thought of as orthodoxy. He is particularly notable for his deeply nonresistant understanding of Jesus's and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

teaching.

Writings

Bercot's most widely read work is ''A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs'', published in 1998. It is a work that collects together over 7000 excerpts from the writings believed by many to be those of early Christians, arranged alphabetically by topic. According to Bercot, before the publication of his work, the only practical way to determine what the early Christians believed about any given topic was to read the actual writings of the

Ante-Nicene Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical pe ...

themselves. After the publication of ''A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs'', the ''Evangelical Review of Theology'' stated: “David Bercot has done the church a great service in providing an accessible point of entry into the extant writings of the pre-Nicene church.” ''The Conservative Theological Journal'' stated: “This is a must text for everyone interested in modern theological trends in general and especially historical studies.” Other popular books that Bercot has written are ''Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up'', published originally in 1989, and ''The Kingdom That Turned the World Upside Down'' (2003), and ''Will the Theologians Please Sit Down'' (2009).

Personal life

Bercot and his wife, Deborah, were married in 1972. They have three children. Bercot resides in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States.Martindale-Hubbel

accessed November 26, 2010.

Bibliography

:*''Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up'' (1989) :*''The Pilgrim Road'' (1991) :*''Common Sense'' (1992) :*''A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs'' (1998) :*''Let Me Die in Ireland'' (1999) :*''The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down'' (2003) :*''Plain Speaking: How to Preach and Teach Effectively'' (2007) :*''Will the Theologians Please Sit Down'' (2009) :*''In God We Don't Trust'' (2011) :*''Secrets of the Kingdom Life'' (2014)

References

External links